Grant awarded to Into Your Hands Africa (IYHA)

The Foundation is pleased to again support Into Your Hands Africa (IYHA) with a grant.   The mission of IYHA is to empower youth and families in rural Uganda through education and enterprise development.

A second year grant by the Foundation will allow IYHA to continue supporting the same 55 students through the school year. Continued assistance will provide each student with an education stipend and program admittance in the Life Skills program. In addition, they will receive ten workshop lessons focusing on emotional intelligence, professional development, exposure visit to demonstration farms, technical application and motivation. Year two funding includes three career development and employability lessons including career planning, resume writing, and personal budgeting in addition to three practical workshops. Year 2 skills: Life Skills and Employability and Personal Development.  Project Management: quality control, risk management and value addition.  Demonstration Farms: Agriculture and livestock (exposure visits).  General Management of project: Adequate shelter, feeding and food quantities, alternative foods options during drought.  Specific risk associated with project: basic veterinary procedures.  Career guidance: Resume, applications and interviews.  Decision Making: conflict management and resolution.  Interpersonal Communication: communication skills, negotiation skills and teamwork.  Parent works shops.  Lunch and Learn Workshops.

The communities in Midwestern Uganda, served by IYHA are economically and geographically isolated. There are few support systems available to network and share resources. Additional challenges faced by the communities served include a shortage of skilled labor, lack of agricultural and veterinary expertise, along with physical access to schools. With 20 years of experience, IYHA has learned that education alone will not create a sustainable economic change in rural Uganda. As a response to this need, IYHA is implementing an entrepreneurial and professional development training program that combines education with entrepreneurship. This new program, Life Skills, includes in-class lessons, exposure visits and a livestock project to support students in self-funding their own education. This meets their immediate needs by funding the student’s secondary education while bringing long-term benefits of residual income, food security, and best practices in animal husbandry and economic opportunity for the local economy.