2023 Grant Recipients
PROJECTS IN THE USA
Access H2O, Roswell, Georgia $6000
There is no substance more important to life than water, but due to the financial difficulties faced by many Americans, access to the liquid of life is not a guarantee. With low-income household spending an average of 12.4% of their income on water and sewage bills, it is no wonder that 15 million Americans have faced at least one water shut-off in their lives due to non-payment. Even worse, the COVID pandemic led to further financial stress for many low income families, forcing them to sacrifice any number of necessities in order to keep the water flowing in their homes.
Fortunately, organizations like AccessH20 are working to help alleviate this issue, by providing financial assistance, education, and support to individuals and families in the Atlanta area so that they are able to avoid a water shut off. The organization first works with utility companies to identify those most in need of help and then provides funds to cover past due debt, so homeowners/renters can focus on their upcoming bills, and/or provides free plumbing services to deal with unresolved plumbing issues (that cause the leaks that lead to even higher water bills).
For JHH’s part, we are providing a $6K grant so that AccessH2O is able to assist an estimated 60 individuals (adults and children) so that they do not lose access to water. These funds will be used to cover water bill installment payments, as well as the cost of plumbing equipment which will be used for repairs in individual’s homes. We are thankful to be partnering with AccessH20 and hope for a day when no one has to worry about having access to the most basic of needs like water.
WORLD WIDE PROJECTS
Jjenge Project, Kenya $5000
Jijenge Youth Organization, founded in 2018, advocates for marginalized children and youth in Kisumu, Kenya to have the tools to learn to read and write. This project seeks to bridge the literacy gap specifically among children of peasants and sugar cane workers in Yago Primary School.
With the JHH grant they have already procured 620 books (320 story books, 200 curriculum books and 100 reference books), bookshelves to store the books in the village library, a bike to deliver books to the homes of eager children who may have mobility challenges, reading tables & benches as well as tablets. This library - a dream born two years by university student Tom Ogalo who was driven to increase opportunities for everyone in his village - is consistently filled by over 20 students that now have a comfortable place to sit, focus and learn to read.
Kiwanyi Health Centre, Uganda $5000
Located in Uganda, the Kiwanyi Health Centre is the sole provider of healthcare services in the Kiwanyi community. Most recently, a maternity ward was constructed providing the mostly poor indigenous women of Kiwanyi access to pre- and post-pregnancy care and preventing a distant (40km) trip to a government facility. However, due to funding constraints, the newly constructed ward lacked proper electricity thus severely impacting the care of new mothers and their babies during the evening and early morning hours.
Through the work of Jewish Helping Hands, women will no longer have to wait for sun light to go into labor or to get the crucial care they need. The JHH grant will provide (4) solar panels and (20) lights that will provide the ward with enough electricity to run vital equipment and allow for doctors and nurses to provide proper care both during labor and thereafter. An estimated 60+ women are expected to benefit each month, with that number climbing as the village population continues to rise. JHH is excited to see and hear about all the new babies born who now have a safe place to enter the world.
Acacia of Hope International, Kenya $1800
Kenya is home to Kibera Slum, the largest slum in all of Africa, which has roughly two million residents originally from Kenya, along with refugees from nearby countries, who live in 12ft by 12ft shacks made of mud walls and tin roofs. According to UNICEF, “Nearly half of all people using dirty water live in sub-Saharan Africa” (2015). These people desire to live a better life, but due to the high unemployment rate, the residents are not able to progress beyond the slum. Only 20% of those in Kibera Slum have access to electricity and the only access to water, which is filled with water-borne diseases, are spouts spread throughout the slum. The water spouts in Kibera Slum are contaminated due to rusty pipes that pass under city sewage pipes.
By providing family-size water filters to families and educating them on the science of water and sanitation, you would be saving the lives of the hardworking men, women, and children in the slum. With the partnership of the JHH Tikkun Olam Grant, they will be able to expand their current clean water budget and bring water filters to more people who would not have had access to clean and pure water. Acacia of Hope will host this clean water filter project at their educational center in Kibera Slum. Additionally, they usually provide a small packet of food as an appreciation to our volunteers for their help in organizing on the day of the event. For every family-sized water filter given, 6 people will be impacted. One hundred and three water filters will impact 103 families (an average of 618 people). This means that 618 people will now have clean water for the next 8-10 years and more people will no longer have to fear death from drinking bad water.
Health for All, Nigeria Africa $2500
Health for All is a grassroots organization based in Nigeria, Sub-Saharan Africa.
The focus of their work is to help the residents of St. Vincent de Paul Home for the Destitute and Aged, located in Abakili, Ebonyi State Nigeria, to provide for themselves. With no government assistance this highly marginalized and vulnerable population needs a reliable source of income. The goal of this project is to teach the capable residents to sew and create clothing.
Participants will learn to sew free of charge at a local designer's shop and bring their knowledge and skills back to the home. The residents live as one family. Therefore, the income realized will be used to provide food and clothing for everyone. They also intend to renovate a nearby shop for their workplace. The first individuals to acquire the skill of sewing will in turn teach the next group, helping to perpetuate this means of self-sustainment.
The funds provided by JHH have already been used to purchase sewing machines, textiles, thread and related items.
KASADA, Kenya, Afria $4200
There are approximately 10,000 rural communities along the Kathaana River in south western Kenya, and all rely on the agriculture they can produce to sustain themselves. While the soil is rich and fertile, water is the primary determinant of whether or not the crops come in abundance, or wither and die before harvest. For the past 6 years, the Sand Dam Farmers Self Help Group (KASADA) has engaged in a variety of water-based projects in the area. When there is copious rain, and the river bed is full, the water must be collected and distributed before it runs off and evaporates. When there is no rain, it must be drawn (pumped) from borehole wells dug to depths of 60-80 meters.
In late 2022, the group applied to JHH for a $5,000 grant to construct water storage tanks, piping and electric pumps (powered by solar panels) to collect both the river bed water from rainfall and to connect the borehole sources as a backup. The collected water will be distributed to those farmers who elect to receive it, in return for a small maintenance fee to maintain the solar and other equipment.
Since receiving their grant in early 2023, the KASADA group has made good progress. The water tanks have been purchased and installed on concrete foundations. The process of laying the connecting piping is ongoing. The solar panels and electrical pumps have been sourced and will be purchased soon with JHH funds, and then installed. The group hopes to be pumping water by summertime 2023.
Nengo Deaf Initiative, Rwanda $4895
JHH recently made a grant to a group of five jobless deaf people from the NENGO village in Rwanda for a potato seed multiplication project. This area of Rwanda is well known as a production hub for Irish potatoes. Unfortunately, as a result of the prevalent potato diseases about five years ago, potato production volume dwindled which led to food insecurity in the NENGO Village and Rwanda at large. The goal of the project is to make the potato more affordable and available in NENGO Village in order to improve food insecurity within the community and beyond.
Using the grant from JHH, this group of five individuals will purchase highly disease resistant potato seeds and other agricultural inputs, plant and then multiply the seeds and then distribute the seeds to members of the NENGO community who in turn will grow the seeds during the next growing season. This process will be repeated for a 2.5-year period (5 agricultural seasons). The overall goal is to increase the availability of potatoes, reduce their price and ensure, to some extent, food security for NENGO Village and other nearby villages. The project is slated to begin in September of 2023.