About Us
The goal of Project Impact is two-fold:
- • To teach young people the discipline of sacrifice in order to serve somebody else
- • Through the Feed-a-Child program, Project Impact will help reach The African Orchard
Project goal of caring for 10,000 orphaned and vulnerable children.
The African Orchard Project is a 5 year initiative of Helping Hands in Africa. Project Impact is a youth movement under THE AFRICAN ORCHARD PROJECT.
Helping Hands in Africa was started in South Africa in 1991 by native South Africans, Mike and Michelle Tessendorf. The primary function of Helping Hands from 1991-1994 was to feed poor and destitute children who were rummaging at the city rubbish dump. Although feeding these children was an act of compassion, it was not bringing lasting change to their lives. The issue of poverty, compounded by the HIV/AIDS pandemic amongst the youth of South Africa, needed to be addressed in a meaningful way. Helping Hands thus changed from being a feeding project only, growing into an organization that brings positive and lasting change to the socioeconomic situation and lifestyles of individuals and their communities.
Helping Hands has pioneered and developed programs that address issues that exist alongside extreme poverty: AIDS prevention and patient care, Orphan intervention, Foster Care, Poverty Alleviation, Social Grant Access, After School Learning Centers, etc. At grass roots level, these projects have been proven to be sustainable and easy to duplicate.
The African Orchard Project
Helping Hands is currently embarking on a five-year plan to equip and empower 450 African church leaders to implement programs that responds to the outworking of poverty and AIDS in their own community. Through this plan, which is called The African Orchard Project, 10,000 orphans and vulnerable children will be provided care and 50,000 youth will be reached with an AIDS prevention strategy.To learn more, please visit our website at www.TheAfricanOrchardProject.org or www.HelpingHandsinAfrica.org.
