Hearts and Hands for Africa

Helping People Help Themselves and Others

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Background

Hearts and Hands for Africa is a grassroots initiative established to help people experience their own power to make a difference in the world.

Mission

To love.

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ACTIVITIES

Charity cripples people, creating depedency and unrealistic expectations. Therefore, we don't do it. We don't give hand outs or teach people how to fish. We build self-esteem and confidence, encourage dreaming and hold people responsible for themselves, their families and their communities. All projects we support are sustainable, benefit vulnerable women caring for vulnerable children, are of, for and by the community and nourish nature.

Mini-Money Mission

Micro-loans are given to groups of women to begin income generating iniatives. After decades of international aid and trillions of donated dollars later, the world community is aghast at how little there is to show globally for such compassion and generosity. Charity has crippled nations and left people waiting with their hands extended. Microloans have shown to defend the people’s right to something better based on their own will and initiative. Providing capital to people who would otherwise never qualify for such assistance has proven to be effective. In our project, microloans have become a panacea for poverty. Currently, we are working with over 50 groups which compromise more than 150 people. To date, recipients have, on the whole, been repaying their loans bi-monthly as outlined in their contracts. The results have been encouraging and rewarding. People previously sitting idle are active. Helpless people are hope-filled, people’s finances have increased, food security is greater, entrepreneurial creativity is stimulated and self esteem is on the rise.

Kiss Project (Kids Into SchoolS)

Micro-loans are given to children to go to school. The KISS PROJECT is a way of helping disadvantaged children return to school. Usually, following the death of parents, children are adopted by extended family members. Unfortunately, these families are often unable to cope with additional mouths to feed and these orphans are used as domestic helpers instead of being sent to school. Previously, we sponsored dozens of children to return to school. Sponsorship was expensive and unsustainable and created dependency and expectations among families. It is our belief that families should be responsible to educate their children. Therefore, we redesigned our support from sponsorship to microloans for education. The KISS PROJECT provides vulnerable families with interest-free microloans to pay for school fees for their children. Currently, The KISS PROJECT has enabled dozens children to return to school.

Goats for Grannies

Goats are loaned to groups of women to breed to uplift their respective communities. Communities of vulnerable women caring for children are gathered and offered an opportunity to breed goats. They are trained in animal husbandry, build proper housing for the goats and organize themselves in rotation to care for the animals. Goats provide manure to rehabilate their soil's fertility and help in sustainable income generation. 25 goats are loaned to 30 vulnerable women who in turn return 30 goats from their breeding. These goats are then used to begin other Goats for Grannies Projects for other communities of women in rural areas. The Goats for Grannies project is a community initiative that fosters team building and communal responsibility. The participants will learn first hand the power of the community in unity and they will quickly see the exponential benefits of cooperation. The project also builds people’s self esteem which is a fundamental building block for community development. Through the ONE of the people, members will have an opportunity to discuss social issues, learn life skills and find solutions to problems facing the communities. The longer term vision for Goats for Grannies includes introducing milk goats once the grannies are more experienced with animal husbandry. In addition, as the goats multiply, each participant will ultimately have their own goat house and an opportunity to develop their individual aspirations.

Project Pooh Bear (Dumping the dump)

An initiative to bring sustainable eco-friendly technologies forward to help nourish nature and help people gain greater food security and increase income through the distribution of cow, goat and chicken manure to peasant farmers. Because of poor farming techniques, global warming, floods and deforestation, the land is exhausted. As a result, crop yields are abysmally low and food security is worsening. Hunger follows and plagues the people year round. Manure is an exceptional addition to an ailing land. Project Pooh Bear will be a sustainable sack of SAK (Spontaneous Act of Kindness), a dumping the dump, so to speak.

Fruit Cocktail

Food security is a worldwide concern and preoccupation. Global warming is affecting weather patterns and rainfall which are adversely affecting crop yields and soil fertility. As temperatures rise, hunger does as well. In an attempt to combat hunger, we are offering fruit tree seedlings to committed villagers. Since charity and handouts create cripples and expectations and more extended hands out, we ask for 25 cents per plant. Those who pay acknowledge the value of these trees and are more apt to take care of them.

Fruit Cocktail is an initiative to provide people with a sustainable source of nutritious food. More specifically, it is a cornucopia of avocado, papaya, mango, guava, lemon, musinyika (an indigenous fruit), Indian nut and moringa. Besides providing food security, Fruit Cocktail combats deforestation and climate change.

Fruit Cocktail works with public schools to teach students about the importance of trees and how to raise and respect them. Students then plant numerous fruit tree seedlings in a school orchard and care for them until they are well established. Students are also encouraged to set up their own orchards at their own homes.

POP (Packs of Protein)

HIV/AIDS has killed over 45 million people worldwide since the early 1980's. Today, an estimated 46 million people are infected with the virus. Medication that stops viral replication has been on the market since 1996, but most people with AIDS worldwide cannot access them. Most people who are infected do not know they are infected and people are reluctant to be tested because of the devastating consequences of publicly being "outed."

Today, over 70% of the world's HIV/AIDS cases are in Sub-Saharan Africa and one of the highest per capita infection rates is in Zambia; a staggering 21% of the general population with 10% of its children left orphaned by AIDS. Thanks to international donors, anti-retroviral medications are provided for free, but less than 50% of those requiring them are currently on treatment. In addition, many people on treatment are dying anyway. Why? Zambia's population has one of the lowest daily caloric intakes in the world (1890 calories/day) and their diets are severely deficient in protein. Without protein the immune system cannot reconstitute itself no matter how much medication a person is taking.

POP is an initiative to help people with advanced AIDS regain their strength and health by supplementing their daily protein intake. Protein packs are formulated with indigenous foods and distributed to those in need along with inputs including seeds and seedlings for them to feed themselves.

Sheila Patterson's Cuddles for Kids

Cuddles for Kids was inspired and birthed by Sheila Patterson who shared a secret with me one day. She said, “You know, Dr. Cary, my dream is to go to Africa and hold and give loads of love to babies who have AIDS. Do you think I can do that?” Like a dream catcher, I took her dream and caught it.

Mother Theresa's orphanage in Lusaka is home to dozens of children, many of whom have HIV/AIDS. The Sisters do an excellent job maintaining a safe, clean and orderly facility; however, they are few and the children are many and increasing all the time. Numerous caregivers clean and feed the children, but there is little time left to cuddle the kids. The newborn ward houses about two dozen children and the adjacent under-2's ward has about the same. Cuddling the kids is tremendously heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. The children beg to be held and refuse to release you when you try to go to the next cradle to cuddle. So, Cuddles for Kids wants to make a habit of it. Our hope is that people will come, lots of people, to cuddle the kids.

Food For Thought Book Project

Development of a series of school books to raise socially conscious children, promoting life skills and leadership capacity. Education is the seed of creative and innovative thinking. Food for Thought is a monumental and ambitious undertaking to feed hungry minds through the creation of a series of children’s books designed to help children gain practical teachings and valuable life skills that will foster self reliance, social awareness, leadership capacity and self esteem. These books will be open sourced and non-copyrighted so all children can access them.

Spontaneous Acts of Kindness [SAK]

Spontaneous Acts of Kindness is everything we aren’t about, but isn’t it fun to be bad? We understand that charity cripples. We know that dumping and running isn’t developing people, isn’t transferring skills, promoting independence or self-reliance. We know and discourage this, but it feels so good to break ranks rules and regulations. Being bad is a necessary part of development work because it keeps the givers sane and humane. With such misery around and the tediously slow pace of change seen on the ground, quick fixes are breaths of fresh air that keep the brain oxygenated and aid workers going. SAK includes: Sewing really cool buttons on really cool kids’ crappy clothing. They were unanimously and instantaneously happy. Beading bracelets, rings and necklaces and drawing pictures. Photographing people and printing, framing and delivery them, often times to people who have never seen their faces before. Buying all there is to buy from women who carry their goods on their backs along with their children wondering in the streets in exchange for a meal. Knitting hats and blankets and then draping them around shivering children. There is no end to the possibilities of "SAK-ing."

Fuel Efficient Stove Construction

Construction of fuel efficient stoves using local materials to stop deforestation. Zambia has the second highest deforestation rate in the world. Trees are being recklessly downed for charcoal production which is consumed rapidly for people’s energy needs. As land is being denuded, the soil is left unprotected and parched by an unrelenting African sun. Soil erosion is real and crop yields are abysmal. As part of our commitment to stopping deforestation, we are promoting the construction of fuel efficient stoves. The design comes from the Peace Corps and is made from easily accessible local materials - mud, ant soil and ash. Everyone participating in our projects must commit to building a fuel efficient stove and also teaching their neighbors.

MYOB (Mine Your Own Books)

Mine Your Own Books is an opportunity for children to experience the joy of giving. Anyone at any age can wrap up some books and send them our way in Zambia to begin a library for the community. In this way people in places of plenty can help others in need. How does it work? Books are treasure chests of jewels with the most radaint brilliance. So, we ask you to select a few, put them into an envelope and mail them to us with a letter to the children. The children in Zambia will then write to you or draw you a picture of thanks. In time, a library will bloom.

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