Hands on Hope, Jordan
13 Year Over view 2009-2021
After 31 years as a secretary, in 2008 I made the decision to go to the Middle East! The last 13 years have been in this beautiful field of Jordan. I established Hands-On Help and have been keeping 23 projects going! Of course with a lot of help from businesses, volunteers and your gifts. Below you’ll see a brief explanation of these projects implemented since 2009. After that is more information on what we are all about.
In 2009
In 2009
- Libraries for children: The first library was established with the Polish embassy in a remote area of Jordan.
- Eye and dental checkups: Thousands of children were able to get eye and dental checkups to detect problems early on 2009.
- MOVE Program: 32 medical students at Jordan University attended these motivational seminars.
- Scholarships for university students (yearly): 360 university students have been sponsored through university, and 40 vocational students. The program also includes seminars on soft skills, and each student receives a laptop!
In 2011
- School supplies for Bedouin children: Reaching remote areas with school equipment.
In 2012
- Winter campaign: Distributing heaters, blankets, and jackets for tent families and Syrian refugees
In 2013
- Family and orphan assistance (yearly): This program includes paying the rent and electric or water bills, and providing refrigerators, stoves, clean water, and repairing homes, and paying for births—to be admitted into a hospital here, people must pay before going in.
- “Family Kitchen”: We pick up food daily from five-star hotels. The food is then transported to poor areas with the help of an army of local volunteers. We are literally managing a mountain of food, filling seven 1,000-liter freezers a day. Sometimes we serve 40,000 meals a month! Picture is of our van.
- Certificate of graduation in food safety: Food safety course was sponsored by the Marriott Hotel. It is the same course that all five-star chefs are required to pass internationally.
- Becoming a household name. We received free billboard advertising, as well as free radio advertising on three stations, along with monthly news articles that helped us to become a household name.
- Training volunteers (yearly): We host seminars and workshops designed to train our army of volunteers from soft skills to food safety.
- Refugees flooding in (yearly): Work began (2014) with the influx of Iraqi and Syrian refugees as the war in Syria escalated, displacing thousands. ISIS caused people in Iraq to flee for their lives with nothing.
- Pioneering the area of Wadi Araba: This is the heart of ancient Jordan. We set up a center for food distribution.
- Pioneering the area of Petra: We put in place a program to feed the poorest people in the area of Petra. We made monthly trips to establish a safe place for the children of the moms who work in Petra to stay during the day, as well as provide family assistance.
- Setting up sewing centers: We provided industrial sewing machines and classes to teach women how to sew so they could make a profit to become self-sustainable.
- The Gaza war: The Gaza war began during Ramadan, and Jordan began taking in the severely injured that the doctors did not have the skills, know-how, or equipment to treat in Gaza. I spent the next nine months going to the hospital daily to bring food, medicine, money, wheelchairs, etc. After the injured returned to Gaza, we raised funds so they could rebuild their homes and feed their children. It was quite traumatic dealing with war injuries and the brutality of the savagery of war-torn children, bodies, minds, and homes.
- Mohammed. He was a medic, and lost both of his legs. We got him a laptop so he could study computer in the hospital. All the injured received laptops so they could communicate with loved ones and learn new skills in hopes of a better chance of survival on returning to Gaza. After the war we supported Mohammed’s university education for four years, during which he learned English. He now works online for Google.
- Delivering medical assistance to Gaza: We delivered thousands of dollars’ worth of heaters, gas bottles, blankets, winter clothing, and food for a population stripped of almost everything.
In 2015
- Rebuilding: Manar, who is 15 years old, lost both legs in Gaza and was raped by Israeli soldiers. She also lost her mom, dad, and 10 brothers and sisters. She is now back on her feet walking on artificial legs on the rubble of her home in Gaza. We helped her rebuild her home. The next months we focused on rebuilding homes in Gaza and feeding people so they wouldn’t starve. We also sponsored generators so families in Gaza could have electricity.
In 2016
- Ramadan and Eid: Ramadan, the month of fasting which is followed by three days of feasting, is always a huge yearly campaign. This is when people give food to the poor. Then there are parties and gifts for children. We sometimes work alongside volunteers from foreign embassies who want to help in an effort to create community and good relations between countries!
- Support for orphanages: This is our sixth year to support the Schnellar Orphanage of 100 kids with food, school supplies, heaters, blankets, beds, furniture, etc.
- Entrepreneurship and small businesses for women (yearly): This project helps set up low-cost small business models, including renting party and wedding dresses, raising rabbits, in-house beauty salons, etc. This helps women establish an income so they can support themselves.
- Boys football team outfitted (yearly): Equipping boys with uniforms and footballs has helped turn them into proud champions! To show their appreciation, they gave me their first first-place trophy.
- Emergency aid for orphans and families (yearly): Emergency aid is often needed and is one of our regular yearlong projects. A few examples of families helped: A father fell out of the fourth floor and died. The landlord kicked the family of five out on the street. We helped to pay the rent on a new apartment and furnished the home with a fridge, stove, and basic furniture. A Syrian woman whose husband was killed in Syria fled to Jordan with her six children. While she was out one day, her tent caught on fire and five of her children were killed. These families receive emergency aid to help them survive.
- Laptops and phones for students (yearly): Noorhan, who received a laptop in 2016, just graduated as a Doctor of Pharmacy. She graduated in five years instead of six. She also just got married. Helping brilliant students like Noorhan changes their lives forever! We have sponsored between 40 and 50 students a year for the last eight years. This is just one of many success stories!
- School campaign (yearly): Many children don’t even have a pencil and paper for school. Thanks to donors, we are able to distribute stationery, backpacks, slates, and educational toys. 1,500 kindergarten children receive school stationery every year.
- Gardens for kids project (yearly): Teaching children in villages to grow a vegetable garden with the perm culture technique helps them learn how to feed themselves. They receive a “kit” of a large container, workshops, and one-on-one training on soil management, how to compost, water conservation, and seed saving. This is Qsai, in the red sweater, one of our first gardening students (2016). Now, five years later, his dream is to become an agricultural engineer.
In 2017
- Medical aid (yearly): You must pay before entering the hospital, and we are able to provide medical assistance for some desperate cases. We’ve also helped with eye operations to prevent blindness.
- Sponsoring vocational students (yearly): Most of these students are 17 and 18 years old, and they take a two-year course in subjects such as electrical work, plumbing, car maintenance, or carpentry. These are basic skills sorely lacking in Jordanian society. The top students also receive the needed tools to start their career. We also help them to find jobs. Some of our students are orphans, and some even homeless and struggling to get an education.
- Dental hygiene program: We teach children how to brush their teeth and provide them with toothpaste and toothbrushes.
- Food security (yearly): This is a constant and main pillar of all our programs. These consist of 23 kg food packages, the majority of which are distributed in the camps. Our scholarship students also receive food boxes.
- Physiotherapy equipment for a center for the disabled (yearly): Many families who have disabled children cannot afford treatment. Providing this center with equipment helped them to serve disabled people from northern Jordan for free.
- Water tanks and water dispensers (yearly): There are families without water, who borrow from their neighbors. Jordan ranks second in the world for having the least amount of water. Water is rationed, bottled water is only delivered once a week, and you cannot drink the tap water. 60% of children in south Jordan suffer kidney problems from drinking unclean water. The water tank project provides each family with a 2,000-liter, high-quality water tank. Many of these are for families who live in the desert.
In 2018
- Milk drive (yearly): Children of Syrian refugees receive their main nutrition from the powdered milk we supply.
- Libraries for children: The second library was established in the village next to Petra for the children.
- Setting up a beauty academy (yearly): There was a beauty academy in a camp that had only a few broken brushes and almost no supplies. Thanks to the Lord’s miraculous supply, all needed supplies were purchased or donated, including wash basins, chairs, mirrors, hair dryers, makeup, dyes, shampoo, even the paint to remodel the school absolutely everything! It looked like a five-star, state-of-the-art university in the end. There were even enough materials to award prizes as “starter kits” to help the graduates begin their own in-house beauty salons!
- Renovating homes and kindergartens: Home renovations (for example, replacing collapsed roofs) have been one of our projects to provide shelter. And thanks to a sponsor who has a burden to renovate and paint kindergartens in the camps, they are taking on a whole new look! This includes painting the walls with inspiring designs, new floors, tables, chairs, blackboards and TVs. It is a total makeover, including playgrounds!
In 2020
- Monthly bread drive (yearly): Bread is a staple of the Jordanian diet. It’s eaten with every meal for nutrition and also as a cultural custom. Families and friends unite around bread at the meal. For some families, bread is where most of their nutrition comes from. This is one of our main pillar projects. It has now become a weekly project during Covid.
- Baby formula drive (yearly): Many moms do not have breast milk because of cancer, illness, malnutrition, or stress. Without formula, their newborns can barely survive! This is a monthly project, along with providing baby clothes and blankets.
- The corona virus is making us stronger: Times of difficulty have made us stronger and brought out the best in people. Lockdowns have helped us to fight for things, such as education, that we took for granted before. It’s brought out the kindness and concern in people’s hearts as they prepare food for the needy. It’s brought families together, as moms are teaching their children. It’s helped us to be creative and better use what we already have, and we are learning more about how to solve problems and how to be happy with less. All of these things are valuable life lessons!
Hands-On Hope, Jordan
What is Hands-On Hope: Hands-On Hope is a local community service and humanitarian NGO providing critical support to those suffering from poverty and hardship. Hands-On Hope was established in 2015 in Amman, Jordan with the vision of reaching the poorest of the poor, and is comprised of Jordanian volunteers, students, and concerned individuals with a passion for helping the less-privileged.
Mission Statement: Hands-On Hope is a Jordanian NGO committed to improving the quality of life through supporting initiatives and services that respond to community needs at the grassroots, regional, and national levels. We focus on providing the resources to sponsor scholarships for bright but underprivileged students, humanitarian assistance through food security in remote areas, and support to families in emergency situations.
Our Vision: In order to impact the society in a transforming and long-lasting way, Hands-On Hope focuses its energy on successful programs dedicated to education and humanitarian aid to alleviate poverty where it is needed most. We mobilize and train local volunteers to become an integral part of our hands-on projects which provide opportunities for targeted community service.
Goals:
Who We Are: Hands-on Hope is a non-profit charity with a board of directors and a team of dedicated volunteers. We also collaborate with other local registered charities on the field in the needy areas we serve to expand and maximize our efforts.
Why We Do It: Every person; man, woman, elder, and especially child, deserves to have their basic needs of shelter, food, clothing, and to live a safe life without fear. Every person in Jordan is truly our mother, brother, or sister, and as such, it is our duty to help the needy in whatever way we can.
Contact info:
What is Hands-On Hope: Hands-On Hope is a local community service and humanitarian NGO providing critical support to those suffering from poverty and hardship. Hands-On Hope was established in 2015 in Amman, Jordan with the vision of reaching the poorest of the poor, and is comprised of Jordanian volunteers, students, and concerned individuals with a passion for helping the less-privileged.
Mission Statement: Hands-On Hope is a Jordanian NGO committed to improving the quality of life through supporting initiatives and services that respond to community needs at the grassroots, regional, and national levels. We focus on providing the resources to sponsor scholarships for bright but underprivileged students, humanitarian assistance through food security in remote areas, and support to families in emergency situations.
Our Vision: In order to impact the society in a transforming and long-lasting way, Hands-On Hope focuses its energy on successful programs dedicated to education and humanitarian aid to alleviate poverty where it is needed most. We mobilize and train local volunteers to become an integral part of our hands-on projects which provide opportunities for targeted community service.
Goals:
- University Scholarships for bright students with leadership potential, and training for post-grad students to prepare them for entering the work force.
- Food Security for orphans and families suffering malnutrition in remote areas.
- Family Assistance such as neighborhood kindergartens where children have exposure to early learning in a safe environment.
- Self-Sufficiency projects such as sewing centers where women can learn a trade and provide income for their families.
- Our Values: We value the collective and collaborative efforts of the community as we join forces to solve the problems of poverty and suffering.
- Equal Access: To provide the “right to education” for students, regardless of their economic background.
- Respect: To build respect towards all people no matter what their background, race, color or religion, is and to encourage human dignity and to help every human being feel their worth.
- Transparency: We aim for excellence and professionalism in all aspects of our organization and to carry a high standard of integrity regarding projects, finances and resources.
Who We Are: Hands-on Hope is a non-profit charity with a board of directors and a team of dedicated volunteers. We also collaborate with other local registered charities on the field in the needy areas we serve to expand and maximize our efforts.
Why We Do It: Every person; man, woman, elder, and especially child, deserves to have their basic needs of shelter, food, clothing, and to live a safe life without fear. Every person in Jordan is truly our mother, brother, or sister, and as such, it is our duty to help the needy in whatever way we can.
Contact info:
- To Donate: https://givingonpurpose.org/projects/hands-on-hope/
- Mail: P.O. Box 963228, Amman 11196, Jordan
Phone: 0787484445
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HandsOnHope/