Into Your Hands is a group of compassionate and passionate individuals who believe that making a difference lies in our hands.  We hope for nothing more than to help children: attend school, live in peace, enjoy the company of their family and friends, and become contributors to their community.

We believe that, while we entrust the lives of these children into the hands of God, the ability to change the future is through the work of our hands and the hands of those who wake up every morning faced with the never-ending challenge of how to provide for the needs of the children in their community that day.  Together with our Ugandan partners, our hands become the hands of mercy, the hands of hope, and the hands that work to provide the much-needed resources that empower our Ugandan friends to live lives of dignity. 

Our enterprise development programs  are designed to help our students, families, and schools become sustainable and self-sufficient.  Enterprise development, along with education, will help the poor break free from the cycle of poverty and dependence.

Into Your Hands’  relationship with the Makondo community started in 1998 when the children’s education department at Christ the King (CTK) Catholic Church in Evergreen, Colorado, kicked-off a fundraising project for St. Denis Senior Secondary School in Uganda.  Maria Camp, the Director of Religious Education at that time, had spent five years in Uganda as a teenager and had strong ties to the community. In 1998, the children raised over $3,000 for St. Denis.  This money was used to finish the examination hall, making it possible for St. Denis to become the first nationally accredited secondary school in the Makondo area. 

Since 1998, the Into Your Hands community has raised over $197,000 to fund the construction of a science lab and a library at St. Denis, and has provided funds for water collection tanks, teacher salaries, textbooks, desks, and school supplies.  With the support of friends in the Christ the King community, Into Your Hands became a reality on March 6, 2007.  Our long-term goals include attaining Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) status in Uganda and hiring local administrative staff to support our efforts.

We seek to build a strong, enduring foundation for Into Your Hands so that it can partner successfully with the global community in eradicating poverty and disease through education and enterprise development.  Into Your Hands has been granted 501 (c) 3 status and is a charitable organization under section 170 (b) (1) (A) (vi) of the Internal Revenue Code. Into Your Hands exists so that we can directly impact those who dream of a better tomorrow for the children of today.

 

Into Your Hands (IYH), is a 501 (c) 3 charitable organization based out of Evergreen, Colorado. IYH provides funds to local, community-based, and faith-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and schools in rural Uganda, East Africa, in order to positively impact the well-being of children and families ravaged by HIV/AIDS, disease, and poverty, through education and micro-enterprise development. Our philosophy is to improve the wellbeing of children by lifting the economic level of the whole community. Investing in the economic infrastructure of the entire community by supporting both school-based and family-based income-generating activities will strengthen the capacity of the individuals in the community to afford social services, including education, and will help to achieve our goal of defeating poverty and disease. Currently, we work with compassionate local and religious leaders who run community-initiated schools and children’s programs in the Makondo village area of the Masaka District in rural Uganda, East Africa.

To empower children and families living in rural Uganda to rise above the constraints of poverty and disease through education and enterprise development. We will ensure a future in which children and families ravaged by HIV/AIDS, disease, and poverty, are able to meet the challenges of life in rural Uganda by achieving economic and community self-sufficiency.

Into Your Hands serves the poorest of the poor in Makondo, in the Masaka District of rural Uganda. In Uganda, there are over 8 million orphaned and vulnerable children. 2.2 of these are orphaned and almost 1 million of these are HIV/AIDS orphans. The latest household survey, conducted by the Medical Missionaries of Mary of Makondo in 2004, records close to 9,000 orphans and 78 child-headed households in the Makondo area. Most of these children are cared for by a surviving parent, a grandparent, or a compassionate member of the community who opens up their home to take care of them.


Though the per capita income of Uganda is $270 (2005 World Development Report, World Bank), families in the Makondo area are subsistence farmers with an average household income of US$240 a year. Malaria and HIV/AIDS compound the daily struggle against poverty. Disease causes death among teachers, students, parents, and other community leaders, constantly causing the quality of life to erode. Those who are able to set a little aside to make their life better see it eaten away by either their own illness or the illness of family members. People struggle daily, weakened by disease or hunger, some only eating one meal a day. It is difficult for families to feed themselves and their children, let alone the extended families that fold into the household.

Even though primary schools are supported by the Ugandan government, government funding is sporadic and minimal. Households with such limited resources, and so many to care for, have a hard time affording the $10 needed for school uniforms, the $0.50 needed for a pencil and a notebook, and the expected contribution of food to the school for school lunches or money for building funds. In order to send a child to primary school, families need to contribute an average of $45 a year to support government-run primary schools. Schools operate hand-to-mouth, just like the families they serve. Because of Universal Primary Education (UPE), 85% of children over the age of 6 are enrolled in primary school. The impact of this success means that classrooms are overcrowded, there are fewer trained teachers per pupil, and there is a lack of learning materials. The student to teacher ratio is 84:1. In rural schools, children do not have access to textbooks. Teaching is by lecture, and learning is by rote. This backward slide contributes to fewer than half of children enrolled in primary school advancing to secondary school.

Secondary schools, such as St. Denis SS, are not government funded and are built by the community on a “self-help” basis. They require a tuition payment of about $40 a term, or $120 for a full a year. Children who have the potential to continue their education might scrape enough to pay tuition for one term, but then drop out because the family can’t afford the next term’s tuition. For many children, whether orphaned or not, consistent and continued education is a dream, not a reality. Most secondary schools lack basic facilities and equipment such as textbooks and computers. School administrators and parents struggle to find the funds the school needs to build libraries, laboratories, classroom blocks, and latrines, or purchase textbooks and other materials needed to provide a quality education for the students. St. Denis, the only secondary school in the Makondo area, as well as the currently publicly funded primary schools, was initiated by the community and is supervised by the local Catholic parish. Though supervised by the Father in Charge of Schools of Makondo Parish, Fr. Kasoma, the school is nondenominational and benefits the whole community and students from a variety of religious backgrounds.

Children with disabilities are faced with even more heartbreak. These are the truly forgotten, the invisible ones. It is hard to know how many disabled children exist within the stark walls of the homes. By chance, some are discovered by a local community health worker or concerned adult. A sibling may tell of a brother or sister confined to a bedroom in their home. Without intervention, these neglected children are too often allowed to simply fade away because they will not contribute to the well being of the family in the future. They are an unwelcome burden. Take the Yiga family as an example. Found by a community health worker, the Yiga family’s four youngest children could not walk. Their parents had never encouraged them to walk. There was no furniture in the home; they lived in a thatch roof mud hut. Sr. Josephine of the Medical Missionaries of Mary was alerted and brought in specialists to help them. Now two of the four are walking and, thanks to donations made by Into Your Hands members, these two attended school for the first time in February of 2007.

According to the Uganda National Household Survey, a vulnerable child is one who lives in a child-headed household or is a child laborer, an orphan, a child not in school, an idle child (that is, one without work or school), a married child, a child living in a household headed by an elderly person, a non-orphaned child not living with his or her parents, or a child living with a disability. By this definition, 65 per cent of children in Uganda fall under the category of ‘orphans and other vulnerable children’. In real numbers, there are more than 2.2 million orphans and nearly 8 million vulnerable children in Uganda today. And nearly half of the country’s orphans have lost one or both parents to the AIDS pandemic.

Hands at Work Enterprise Development Program
• Funds school infrastructure, vocational training programs, and practical school businesses that give the students a quality education and the practical skills they need to run an enterprise and at the same time provide an income for the school. Families will benefit from community-based micro-enterprise development and healthy-living training programs.
Hands of Hope Scholarship Program
• Provides scholarships to secondary school students who are unable to pay tuition and school fees. Students are identified based on orphan status, economic need, and academic ability. Students are provided with tuition, school uniforms, and school supplies. The well-being of the family and the student is monitored through regular home visits by program administrators.
Hands of Mercy Orphaned and Vulnerable Children Program
• Helps orphaned, vulnerable, and disabled children have access to education by providing them with primary school fees, school uniforms, and school supplies. Those children that have lost both parents and fend for themselves are provided with a housekeeper, receive farming training, as well as access to education.

April 10-Back To School Night at Evergreen Lake House

Maria Rosa Camp, Executive Director- Maria lived in Kampala, Uganda from 1974-1979 while her father was the Deputy Resident Representative of the UNDP. Her special love for the people of Uganda has led her to begin a Masters in Non-Profit Management program at Regis University in Denver, Colorado. Previous to her involvement with Into Your Hands, Maria worked as the Director of Religious Education at Christ the King Catholic Church in Evergreen, Colorado where her relationship with Uganda was renewed through a children’s outreach program to St. Denis Senior Secondary School in Makondo, Uganda. Maria lives in Evergreen, Colorado with her husband, Al, and her three boys, Robert, Christopher, and Luke.

Maria Rosa Camp, Executive Director- Maria lived in Kampala, Uganda from 1974-1979 while her father was the Deputy Resident Representative of the UNDP. Her special love for the people of Uganda has led her to begin a Masters in Non-Profit Management program at Regis University in Denver, Colorado. Previous to her involvement with Into Your Hands, Maria worked as the Director of Religious Education at Christ the King Catholic Church in Evergreen, Colorado where her relationship with Uganda was renewed through a children’s outreach program to St. Denis Senior Secondary School in Makondo, Uganda. Maria lives in Evergreen, Colorado with her husband, Al, and her three boys, Robert, Christopher, and Luke.

Lorene Lilliard-Joos, Board President- Lorene was raised in Colorado and received her Juris Doctorate from Southwestern University. She practiced law in California before moving back to Colorado to raise her family. Settling in Evergreen she became involved in community events. She helped to create the Mountain Youth Festival and later served on the board of Community Pride, a community youth advocacy group. Lorene also served on the founding board of Rocky Mountain Academy of Evergreen. In 1996 she joined the board of the Evergreen Arts Council and later was asked to serve as its Executive Director where she was instrumental in the creation of the Center for the Arts Evergreen. Since retiring in 2007 she has served on several boards and committees in the Evergreen area including the Executive Committee for the construction Buchanan Park, a mountain area family recreation complex.

Kristine M. Vallin, Treasurer- Kris lives in Evergreen, Colorado where she is currently a full time mother, chauffeur, housekeeper, bookkeeper and volunteer for her family of three children ages 12, 10 and 5. Kris became a Certified Public Accountant in 1991 after graduating from the University of Colorado/Boulder with a Masters of Science in Accounting and Information Systems. Prior to that, she also received a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing: Recreation & Tourism, in 1988, also from the University of Colorado/Boulder. After completing her education, Kris worked for Arthur Anderson for a number of years, working as an auditor and then later as a fraud and litigation support specialist, where she specialized in analyzing fraud claims and defining and calculating damages related to legal claims in both civil and criminal matters. Her attention to detail helps Into Your Hands keep our books straight!

Julie King, Secretary- Julie has lived in Evergreen Colorado for 12 years. Since 2001, she has been a full time chauffer, chef and travel agent for her active family. She also manages several small privately held companies with oil and natural gas interests. Prior to 2001, Julie worked for Coors Brewing Company as the manager of a research group. Julie has a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering from Colorado School of Mines and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Denver. She enjoys horseback riding, reading for her book clubs, and international travel when she isn’t serving as board secretary for Into Your Hands.

David A. Ellerbroek- Dave is a graduate of the University of Colorado where he received a BA Geophysics in 1985. He then went to receive a MS in Environmental Science from the Colorado School of Mines in 1989. Dave finished his academic career with a PhD. in Environmental Engineering from the Colorado State University in 1993. He is the Vice-President MWH Global, Denver, where he is responsible for managing and conducting hydrologic and environmental investigations in support of engineering projects. His background includes 22 years experience in multidisciplinary environmental projects. Areas of technical expertise include mine land reclamation, groundwater hydrology, geochemistry and environmental impact assessment. Through his work, Dave has traveled extensively in Australia, China, Peru and the United States. International project experience includes Australia, Bulgaria, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, Peru, Romania and the United Kingdom. He is looking forward to bringing his expertise to serve the people of Uganda. He lives in Evergreen, Colorado with his two children, Mark and Kristi.

Teresa Lyn Blackstock (Racette)- Terry is originally from in Pasadena, California. She graduated from the University of Southern California in 1977 where she received B.S. in
Education and a was a member of Delta, Delta, Delta National Sorority. Her desire to help children and promote education comes from her dedication to her four children-Hayley Katherine-21 years, Jay Roberts-19 years, Charles Justin-17 years, Victoria Justine-16 years. Prior to her role as a mother, Terry worked as a Manager/Assistant Buyer for the Executive Buyer/Management Program for Federated Department Stores from 1978-1980. She worked as a Regional Sales Rep. for American Home Products and Harris-Lanier International from 1980-1990. After her move to Evergreen in 1992, she has been involved in various educational and social causes: she was the PTA and Booster Club President for various sports since 1992, taught Religious Education at Christ the King, worked with Children's Hospital Fundraising Committees (1993-1996), and helped start and fund the Boys and Girls Lacrosse Teams at Evergreen High School in 2005. Terry is a member of the Denver Ballet Guild since 2003 and is actively involved in Le Bal de Ballet of Denver since 2003

Mari A. Akers- Mari is currently the First Vice President of Human Resources for ProLogis, the largest industrial Real Estate Investment Trust in the world. She is responsible for the Human Resources functions for North America including talent acquisition, organizational development, strategic planning, Human Resources administration, employee health and welfare, compensation and retirement benefits. Prior to joining ProLogis, Mari served as the SVP of Human Resources for AIMCO, a residential Real Estate Investment Trust, where she managed all aspects of Human Resources and supervised both the Corporate and Operations Human Resources teams. Mari began her Human Resources career in Phoenix, Arizona in the hospitality industry as the Vice President of Personnel and Training for a national restaurant chain. Mari earned a BS in Psychology and a Masters of Arts in Education and Counseling from Arizona State University. She is very involved in education as a tutor at Sable Elementary School and participates in Junior Achievement on both the high school and elementary school levels. Mari is on the advisory board of Ball State University’s Property Management Program (undergraduate and graduate) and is a dedicated volunteer for the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Mari resides in Evergreen, Colorado with her husband, Stan, and children Emily and Brad.

We are a member of the Teach a Man to Fish Network. This is a network of organizations and schools working together to build self-sufficiency through micro-enterprise development. Visit them at www.teachamantofish.org.uk

Into Your Hands works directly with our Ugandan friends and partners. As a volunteer organization, most of our funds go directly to impact the needs of the Makondo community through our programs. IYH stresses the need to build self-sufficiency and sustainability in all our programs so we are not only impacting the present, but creating the means to impact the future as well. Key components of all IYH programs are local capacity building, leadership development, and community empowerment.

Goals and Objectives for 2008:
-Provide 81 scholarships for secondary school students
-Assist 45 orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC)
-Implement the Colorado School of Mines St. Denis Water System Project
-Implement an internet and computer center at St. Denis which will generate income for the school.
-Begin construction on the Tailoring and Cutting Department which will give students a practical income generating skill and will help the school generate income.
-Pilot the "Send a Piglet Home" Program which will teach students how to care for a piglet and raise it for reproduction and income generation.

2007 Accomplishments:
-provided over 60 scholarships to orphaned and vulnerable children in the Makondo area.
-provided assistance to 34 orphaned and vulnerable children by providing them with school fees and uniforms, a replacement mama, and farming training.
-finished the construction of the library and computer center at St. Denis Senior Secondary School, Makondo.
-provided 20 double decker bunk beds for the girls' dormitories so the girls do not have to sleep on the floor and doubled the capacity of the girls' boarding section.
-provided 20 insecticide treated bed nets for the girls' dormitories to mitigate malaria infection.
-partnered successfully with the Colorado School of Mines Humanitarian Engineering Department to develop a water system for St. Denis SS.