HANDS OF HOPE’S GARDEN FAIR DELIGHTS ITS GUESTS AND BENEFITS ENTIRE VILLAGES ACROSS THE WORLD
I T WAS A DANCE OF UNBRIDLED JOY. Not the type of dancing we all imagine, like at weddings, parties, or special occasions, but rather a dance which ignited the spirit of an entire community. When the African villagers of Lutende, Tanzania, finally got fresh water from the new village well, they danced. They danced because water promised life. Can you imagine this joy?
What is amazing is that this event was due to a nonprofit organization in Barrington. Hands of Hope (HoH) is run by a local community of women who have been volunteering for more than 18 years to provide sustainable resources and renewed hope to the poorest and most remote villages of Africa. HoH has reached across the ocean to help women and children overcome destitution and pursue prosperous lives.
When HoH helped this village with a new well, it turned a deplorable and unthinkable living condition into a livable one. It also gave them assurance that fundamental resources necessary to sustain life are within reach—and that there is love in the world.
To date, HoH has installed 120 wells for access to fresh, clean water. It has purchased a brickmaking machine to make the bricks necessary to build medical clinics and schools. These clinics have been opened and villagers no longer have to make a hazardous 12-mile journey to seek help. Because of HoH, they now have a place to nurture the sick back to health and a safe facility for women to deliver babies. In Mawawa, Zambia, new schools have opened, and an agricultural project launched in 2009 has eradicated malnutrition in four years. From the agricultural efforts, Mawawa is on the cusp of a permanent self-sustainable future and their community is supplying the Western Province with fresh produce.
Even with all this success, there is still much more work to be done. The first school began as four small classrooms of children and experienced rapid expansion. It now serves 400 children in 10 classrooms, and in order to provide continuing education, HoH has built a new middle school. HoH is providing books, school supplies, and puppets for some entertainment.
HoH is grateful for the support that we have received from the Barrington community which enables us to continue to help even more struggling communities half a world away.
We look forward to hosting you and your friends at the Fair! Tickets can be purchased in advance, online at www.handsofhopeonline.org, or at Ambrosia Euro-American Patisserie, Egg Harbor, Ten, and Barrington Flower Shop. For more information, call 847-381-7367.
Article originally found in Quintessential Barrington.
