Our Mission

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Hands For Africa provides innocent civil war victims in Africa with tools that enable them to become self-reliant. We provide immediate needs, such as food, water, clothing, and shelter, while developing and implementing successful programs that foster self-reliance. The result is a community of individuals capable of supporting themselves and their families. Our philosophy is to give people a "hand-up," not a "handout."

Hands For Africa’s  plan is to implement the same successful self-reliance programs within the United States. By partnering with after school programs through HandsUp4Health we are supporting underprivileged youth in Southern California. We raise funds primarily through generous donors who have chosen to stand up against inhumanity. Hands For Africa, our associates, and the victims we help are extremely grateful for your support of this movement.

Why HFA is Needed

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​While the war ended over a decade ago, the need for Hands for Africa is vital.  The CIA Factbook reports that the literacy rate in Sierra Leone for age 15 or older is 48.1%, while only 2.8% of Sierra Leone’s Gross Domestic Product is spent on education (ranking them 141 in the world).  There is little to no government help when it comes to education, and with 70.2% of the estimated population being below the poverty line, most families are not financially capable of providing an education for their children.  
 
The CIA World Factbook states that the “estimated 60% youth unemployment rate is attributed to high levels of illiteracy and unskilled labor” (CIA World Factbook, 2016).  Additionally, Sierra Leone’s main industries include agriculture and ore mining.  These manual labor jobs dominate the job market, making it hard for the over 10,000 people left as amputees, as a result of the Sierra Leone civil war, to work in these industries.  The provision of prosthetic limbs and rehabilitation programs help these survivors to get back into the labor force and provide for their families, thus breaking the cycle of poverty.​

Why Project USA: HandsUp4Health is Needed

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Project USA: HandsUp4Health offers aid to after school programs in the Southern California area. While public schools in the United States are federally funded, most after school programs have lost their funding and government grants because of recent budget cuts in education.

More than 1 in 5 students are sent home after school to take care of themselves between the hours of 3 pm and 5 pm, most in underprivileged areas where parents work and are unable to pay for childcare. With after school programs students are picked up from school and given a safe learning environment with structured healthy activity until their parents can take them home. Most of these programs come at no cost to the family or at an extremely low monthly payment for supplies & transportation. Through HandsUp4Health, HFA provides as needed in-kind donations of sports equipment, school supplies, healthy meals and more to keep after school programs running and able to provide for our youth! 

See our program page for more details on why HandsUp4Health is a vital program.