International

18-year-old Mirela hesitated as she peered around the clinic’s waiting room.

Women twice her age crowded the space. As the only teenager in the room, would they judge her for turning up for contraceptive counseling? She had so many questions about how she could prevent an unplanned pregnancy, but with judgment abound, she had no trusted source to ask. What if her family – or worse yet – her community knew she was here?

And what if the provider turned her away?

Helping Hand for Relief and Development’s (HHRD) Education Support Program (ESP) improves access to education for students, particularly those who live in poor and geographically remote areas of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. HHRD strengthens the education system through upgradation and renovation of educational institutions, providing supplies for educational institutions, and provision of scholarships from primary to higher education. In all these projects, ESP provides equal opportunities to enhance male and female education.

An estimated 773 million people are illiterate worldwide. The lack of an education poses insurmountable obstacles throughout their lives. Education serves as a lifeline for children and youth in crises and emergencies. It is more than the right to learn; in fact, a proper education can benefit the community at large.

Helping Hand for Relief and Development’s (HHRD) School of Excellence in in Mogadishu was established in 2014 with the aim of bridging inequality gaps in Somalia’s education system. The institution offers free primary education to 300 orphans and vulnerable children from those internally displaced and host communities in Mogadishu to supplement government initiatives in building a quality and sustainable education system in the country. The students range from kindergarten to 8th grade.

Since its inception in 2006, the Haitian Sports Foundation (HSF) has a track record of improving the lives of children in the communities of Anse-à-Veau, South of Haiti where the recent 7.2 earthquake occurred. Our objective is to use sports and education to prevent juvenile delinquency and reduce social dysfunctional behavior. Through involvement in structured martial arts programs and interschool basketball competitions in the communities, we have been able to instill leadership, self-discipline, and team-building abilities.