Extending a Hand Foundation DBA Fundación Una Mano Amiga Inc.
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Mission Statement
Our mission is to develop projects and programs that may improve the life quality and offer a hopeful future to hundreds of children and elders in the town of Agua de Dios, Cundinamarca and other regions of Colombia, who live in a state of vulnerability as a result of orphanhood, abandonment, violence, sexual abuse, lack of affection, and physical and psychological mistreatment. Being one of the most vulnerable communities in Colombia, Extending a Hand Foundation intends to bring love and happiness through education, preventive and healing health, better living conditions and development and self-sustained projects to this region with donations from all around the world. Our foundation, in 2024, is also supporting "La Sagrada Familia" The Sacred Family" Congregation. They sheltered and protected many women, girls and adolescents who are victims of social decomposition, family disintegration, the inversion of values and everything that marginalizes human beings from society and stagnates or denies their rights and the full satisfaction of your needs.
About This Cause
Extending a Hand Foundation, DBA Fundación Una Mano Amiga, is a nonprofit organization 501(c)(3) officially registered in the State of Florida that helps and supports children and elders in need in the community of Agua de Dios, an impoverished town in rural Colombia, located 3 hours away from Bogota. It was first founded as a leper colony and still suffers the consequences of leprosy today. In 2024 we are also supporting "La Sagrada Familia" The Sacred Family" in Bogotá, Colombia who shelter 95 abused girls. -OVERVIEW In 1998, Claudia Ibarbo-Gloyne, Colombian, visited a resort located near Agua de Dios for the first time. There she met a nun who asking for donations for a Christmas party to be offered to hundreds of poor children who needed to walk almost a mile just to get "a soda and a piece of bread" and that was their Christmas pasty. Claudia cried when she heard that story. She was broken heart and decided to go to Agua de Dios to see by herself the situation of those children and the community in general. She was so moved to see so much poverty and vulnerability: children running in unpaved streets without shoes and wearing rags; elders wandering in the street affected by leprosy; homeless living under trees and in coves. At that same moment Claudia made a decision: those children were going to have a dignified and deserving Christmas party that any child should have: they were going to wear shoes, have new clothes, food, balloons, candies and toys. At that same moment, the Foundation "Una Mano Amiga" was born in Colombia. As years have passed, more help was needed, and the Foundation started to develop new projects and activities in its commitment to help this community to improve their situation, their living conditions and to shape a better future. Since Claudia, the founder, had moved to the United States, Fundación Una Mano Amiga was officially registered in Florida. “If each of us did something for those in need, the world would be a much better place” . Anonymous OUR TARGET COMMUNITY: We support and empower more than 450 children and 150 elders from Agua de Dios, Colombia in the following areas Education, Personal and health care , Infrastructure, Sports and entertainment, Productivity and Self Sustainment. In 2024 we are also supporting "La Sagrada Familia" The Sacred Family" in Bogotá, Colombia who shelter 95 abused girls. Our charity provides direct help to: Children and Youth (See Projects below): 1. Boarding School for 40 girls (Santa Ana) 2. La Inmaculada School 3. Poor kids from Agua de Dios’s surrounding villages 4. Shelter "La Sagrada Familia" with 95 abused girls ELDERS (See projects below): 5. 150 Abandoned elders at the Guillermo Greffeinstein nursing home. For 25 years our foundation has executed a series of projects aimed at improving life conditions and the access to education in Agua de Dios. Our main projects in 2023 are: 1. THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW SANTA ANA BOARDING SCHOOL FOR 80 GIRLS: After having fulfilled the dream of building a Santa Ana boarding school with all the facilities for 80 girls to live and 150 children to study in a dignified and safe way. Our goals for 2023 are: ACCOMPLISHED - Continue with the Psychology Brigades to heal their minds and hearts ACCOMPLISHED - Continue teaching the Teaching English with Love Program ACCOMPLISHED - Implement the "Plan Padrino" so that more children can live and study at the Santa Ana Boarding School and to make technical and/or university studies viable for those children who have already finished their high school. IN NEED OF FUNDS For more information about the school's construction project visit us at http://www.extendingahand.org Project Cost and Fundraising Goal: US$300,000.00 ACCOMPLISHED 2. BACKPACKS OF LOVE ANNUAL DRIVE: For 25 consecutive years we have delivered, once a year, backpacks filled with basic necessities such as food, clothing, hygiene items, school supplies, and toys to the children and elderly. This year of 2024 we need to distribute 350 children backpacks and 70 senior backpacks. To find out more about our campaign visit us at http://www.extendingahand.org/backpacks-of-love-2016/. Project Cost and Fundraising Goal: US$30,000 per year to deliver abut 450 backpacks of love. 3. ANNUAL HEALTH BRIGADE FOR LOVE: In 2015 we started activities to bring vision care to the children and elders. Thanks to generous donations vision exams, therapies, surgeries and corrective lenses were provided. In year 2016 two more brigades where accomplished, bringing dental and vision care and treatments. This year of 2017, we extended the program to other areas of health and accomplished three visits with a team of doctors and specialists in ophthalmologists, optometrists, pediatrics, gynecologists, dentists, general doctors, nutrition and more. These doctors have volunteered to visit Agua de Dios three times a year from now on to attend children, elders and nuns, and therefore provide preventive healthcare to this community and get the resources needed for those requiring medical care, including ophthalmologic surgeries, vision therapy, corrective lenses and even eye surgeries, as well as dentures when needed and when resources are available. As the time goes, this program will expand to cover more areas of health and more volunteers will certainly be incorporated. A total of 464 exams were practiced this year of 2017 to 301 children and elders. Dentures and dental treatments were provided to those in need, as well as nutritional plans and programs. Since 2019 We added the Psychology brigades to heal the minds and hearts of those children so affected by abuse and neglect. We have a team of 4 highly committed psychologists who are doing comprehensive work with both the boarding school teachers and the children, showing very positive results that perfectly complement our beautiful mission of providing general support: study, housing, physical and mental health. To learn more please visit http://www.extendingahand.org/health-brigade/ Project Cost and Fundraising Goal: US$30,000 per year (US$5,000 per visit, 4 visits per year). 4. COMPUTER LABS PROJECT: Extending a Hand already built and outfit two more computer labs to all children and teenagers in Santa Ana Boarding School and La Inmaculada where two large programs are carried out: The Psychology Brigades and the Teaching English with Love Program. These computer centers need maintenance and new equipment to optimize and increase the programs ACCOMPLISHED https://www.extendingahand.org/about-1 Project Cost and Fundraising Goal: US$15,000 to cover two Computer Labs. 5. Nursing Home update and furniture endowment: Funds need to be collected in order to update the building and to replace the old beds and mattresses for new ones. Wheelchairs and other sort of equipment for the elders mobility needs are a permanent requirement, as well as basic supplies and medicine, which are included in this project. 6. The development of a sustainable agricultural project for children: Our goal is to help the children fall in love with the land and learn to grow and harvest fruit and Sacha Inchi" trees. By providing resources and agricultural education, we hope to allow the children to become more self-sustained and ensure for a better future, and in that sense we have got the support of SENA, a National Technical Training Institute which is very important in the road to make this project real. THE CULTIVATION STARTED IN DECEMBER, 2023 WITH 12 HECTARES AND THE PROJECTION IS 200 HECTARES! These are the current goals Extending a Hand Foundation aims to achieve - to provide a better quality of life for the poor and orphaned of Agua de Dios and abused girls in Bogotá supported by "La Sagrada Familia and pave the way for a brighter future. But there is still much to be done to help those in need. Now, we extend a hand to you. In order to achieve our goals, we need your help and support. Visit our website at www.extendingahand.org to find our more about our mission, the Agua de Dios community and our projects. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or want to get involved. And please, DONATE. Every contribution counts no matter how small.