HOME

ABOUT US

WHAT WE DO

GET INVOLVED

CONTACT

HOME

EVENTS

Hand Up's Charity Bonspiel is taking place in March. More Details to come soon.

NEWS

2011-11-20 Giving With Style, organized by Hand Up, in support of Hand Up and the Youth Emergency Shelter took place last night and was very successful. In addition to a lot of money being raised, eight people/families/companies committed to sponsoring a young person to go through the Leadership Development Program. Thank you to everyone who attended and made the event such a huge success!08/05 Hand Up is pleased to announce the Giving WIth Style Holiday Fundraising event, taking place on November 19, 2011. Proceeds from the event will be split between Hand Up and the Youth Emergency Shelter Society. See the events section on this page for more details. 08/01 Hand Up has a new proposed slate of board members (to be ratified later in the month). Check them out at the Board of Director's page in About Us. 07/25 Hand Up has re-registered as a non-profit association with the Province of Alberta.

Empowering young people in developing countries to create positive, lasting change.

"The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already."

-John Buchan

ABOUT US

slide 1

Mission

Hand Up Relief and Development Foundation exists to empower young people in developing countries to bring positive, lasting change to their communities.

Vision

A world in which the challenges faced by developing countries are adequately addressed and the opportunities fully realized by a new generation of locally-trained leaders.

slide 2

Core Values

INTEGRITY Hand Up gets results, creates and maintains trust with all people and organizations it deals with.SUSTAINABILITYIn every community it works in, Hand Up strives to work itself out of being needed by being a short-term catalyst for long-term change.EXCELLENCE Hand Up does not settle for good; we demand great. CREATIVITY Hand Up is committed to doing things in a way that is thoughtful and innovative to address challenges and opportunity in a new and fresh way. COLLABORATIONHand Up focuses on areas of strength and seeks partnerships to work in areas where others have expertise that it can draw on. Hand Up will not enter into a partnership unless it can create win (Hand Up) – win (Partner) – win (stakeholders) situations.TRANSPARENCYHand Up is an open organization. Therefore, all members, stakeholders and clients must have access to all pertinent information about the organization.

slide 3

History

Hand Up began in December 2007. Hand Up's founder, Jordan Reiniger, went on a short-term humanitarian mission to the Philippines. Through conversations with many local people, he discovered that there were many young people who had completed their secondary education (the Philippines now has universal primary and secondary education), but were unable to find a job or afford post-secondary (university and college) education. As a result, most people in lower-income areas remained stuck in the cycle of poverty that has persisted in their families for generations. Hand Up (originally called the Opportunity Scholarship Fund) partnered with the Jesus Christ Church in the Valley (JCCV) to provide these young people post-secondary scholarships so that they could obtain gainful employment and end the cycle of poverty. Through many conversations and much research, the Hand Up team began to realize that a much larger problem could be solved through these scholarship programs: a lack of locally-trained leaders. Since this realization, the Opportunity Scholarship Fund has evolved into the Hand Up Relief and Development Foundation, and operates as an organization committed to partnering with local organizations to develop locally-trained leaders. In November 2009, Hand Up began discussions with Youth For Christ in Burundi to develop a similar program. The Burundi project began in January 2010. As HandUp continues to grow, we hope that the number of people influenced by our programs will grow at an exponential rate. The impact of true leadership can be felt well beyond those who are directly involved in our projects.

slide 4

Board of Directors

Alex Dimitrof, Vice-PresidentPeter Jerrard, TreasurerIda KamarizaJackie Preece, SecretaryJordan Reiniger, PresidentTed ReinigerAndrea Seitz

Mission and Vision

Core Values

History

Board of Directors

"Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better."

-Harry S. Truman

WHAT WE DO No Frame

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

-Nelson Mandela

Developing Leaders

Burundi

Philippines

slide 2

Leadership Development Program

Developing leaders to deal with the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities present in their country is Hand Up's primary goal. To make this happen, Hand Up partners with local agencies, which carry out the program on Hand Up's behalf. The partner provides Hand Up with a prospective young leaders, including family case studies and completed application forms, which Hand Up uses to determine which young people are best suited for the program. Once enrolled, these young leaders are provided with a post-secondary scholarship that includes everything they need to be successful: tuition, books, transportation and, in some cases, food. Each situation is unique. But school is not enough. Each young leader is also mentored by a local leader and given opportunities to engage in community service projects to better understand the value of giving back. Young leaders sign a contract agreeing to maintain good grades and continue with the program, and to give back to the scholarship fund between five and 10 percent of their income after graduation for the same number of years they received the scholarship. This fosters a sense of independence without burdening students with debt that they may not be able to repay.The vision is to equip locally-trained leaders who can come up with locally-relevant solutions to their nation's problems. Imagine what could happen in a developing country with 10, 50, 100 or even 1000 leaders equipped to help face with challenges and embrace the opportunities of their nation!The program is specifically designed to build leaders who are equipped to deal with the challenges and opportunities that their country faces in a way that is community-minded and not dependant on outsiders. Imagine what could happen in a developing country with 10, 50, 100 or even 1000 leaders equipped to help face with challenges and embrace the opportunities of their nation!We at Hand Up firmly believe that this short-term investment will provide long-lasting, positive change! For details on specific countries, click on the Burundi or Philippine tab above.

slide 3

Leadership Development In Burundi

About Burundi

Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only 100 days in office, triggering widespread ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions. More than 200,000 Burundians perished during the conflict that spanned almost a dozen years. Hundreds of thousands of Burundians were internally displaced or became refugees in neighboring countries. An internationally brokered power-sharing agreement between the Tutsi-dominated government and the Hutu rebels in 2003 paved the way for a transition process that led to an integrated defense force, established a new constitution in 2005, and elected a majority Hutu government in 2005. The new government, led by President Pierre NKURUNZIZA, signed a South African brokered ceasefire with the country's last rebel group in September of 2006 but still faces many challenges.Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world. Only one in two children go to school, and approximately one in 15 adults has HIV/AIDS. Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short supply. Less than 2% of the population has electricity in its homes. Burundi's GDP grew around 4% annually in 2006-10. Political stability and the end of the civil war have improved aid flows and economic activity has increased, but underlying weaknesses - a high poverty rate, poor education rates, a weak legal system, a poor transportation network, overburdened utilities, and low administrative capacity - risk undermining planned economic reforms. The purchasing power of most Burundians has decreased as wage increases have not kept up with inflationBurundi will continue to remain heavily dependent on aid from bilateral and multilateral donors; the delay of funds after a corruption scandal cut off bilateral aid in 2007 reduced government's revenues and its ability to pay salaries. Burundi joined the East African Community, which should boost Burundi's regional trade ties, and received $700 million in debt relief in 2009. Government corruption is also hindering the development of a healthy private sector as companies seek to navigate an environment with ever-changing rules.Imagine the difference community-minded leaders could make in this country.
Hand Up has partnered with YFC Burundi -- a local NGO that has schools, medical facilities and community development projects underway. They have done projects for major donors, including the Government of Japan. YFC Burundi is led by Freddy Tuyizere. He is an exceptional local leader, and Hand Up is fortunate to be working with him and his team in Burundi. The Young Leaders in Burundi are mentored by Freddy and do their community outreach work through various YFC Burundi programs. Young leaders will usually attend one of two universities in a variety of subjects.

slide 4

About the Philippines

Leadership Development In the Philippines

Hand Up has partnered with and organization called JCCV in the Valley Golf - a town just outside of Manila in the Philippines. The coordinator for the Leadership development program is Delores, who used to work for World Vision in the Philippines. The young leaders in the Philippines attend different post-secondary institutions taking subjects are varied as hospitality and tourism and electrical engineering. The young leaders are paired with mentors from their community, and engage in projects in the Valley Golf where they live.
The Philippines is emerging as a middle-income country, though it has a long way to go. There is still very high unemployment, particularly amoung the under-educated and corruption is a major problem.The Philippine Islands became a Spanish colony during the 16th century; they were ceded to the US in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. In 1935 the Philippines became a self-governing commonwealth. Manuel QUEZON was elected president and was tasked with preparing the country for independence after a 10-year transition. In 1942 the islands fell under Japanese occupation during World War II, and US forces and Filipinos fought together during 1944-45 to regain control. On 4 July 1946 the Republic of the Philippines attained its independence. A 20-year rule by Ferdinand MARCOS ended in 1986, when a "people power" movement in Manila ("EDSA 1") forced him into exile and installed Corazon AQUINO as president. Her presidency was hampered by several coup attempts that prevented a return to full political stability and economic development. Fidel RAMOS was elected president in 1992. His administration was marked by increased stability and by progress on economic reforms. In 1992, the US closed its last military bases on the islands. Joseph ESTRADA was elected president in 1998. He was succeeded by his vice-president, Gloria MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, in January 2001 after ESTRADA's stormy impeachment trial on corruption charges broke down and another "people power" movement ("EDSA 2") demanded his resignation. MACAPAGAL-ARROYO was elected to a six-year term as president in May 2004. Her presidency was marred by several corruption allegations but the Philippine economy was one of the few to avoid contraction following the 2008 global financial crisis, expanding each year of her administration. Benigno AQUINO III was elected to a six-year term as president in May 2010. The Philippine Government faces threats from several groups on the US Government's Foreign Terrorist Organization list. Manila has waged a decades-long struggle against ethnic Moro insurgencies in the southern Philippines, which has led to a peace accord with the Moro National Liberation Front and on-again/off-again peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The decades-long Maoist-inspired New People's Army insurgency also operates through much of the country.Philippine GDP grew 7.3% in 2010, spurred by consumer demand, a rebound in exports and investments, and election-related spending. The economy weathered the 2008-09 global recession better than its regional peers due to minimal exposure to troubled international securities, lower dependence on exports, relatively resilient domestic consumption, large remittances from four- to five-million overseas Filipino workers, and a growing business process outsourcing industry. Economic growth in the Philippines averaged 4.5% during the MACAPAGAL-ARROYO administration. Despite this growth, poverty worsened, because of a high population growth rate and inequitable distribution of income. The AQUINO administration is working to reduce the government deficit from 3.9% of GDP, when it took office, to 2% of GDP by 2013. The government has had little difficulty issuing debt both locally and internationally to finance the deficits. AQUINO's first budget emphasizes education, health, conditional cash transfers for the poor, and other social spending programs, relying on the private sector to finance important infrastructure projects. Weak tax collection, exacerbated by new tax breaks and incentives, has limited the government's ability to address major challenges. The AQUINO administration has vowed to focus on improving tax collection efficiency - rather than imposing new taxes - as a part of its good governance platform

Philippines

GET INVOLVED

No Frame

"Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that's the price we'll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal."

-Vince Lombardi

Donate

Pledge Form 2011.pdf

99 percent of everything you donate goes directly to the young leaders and their Leaderhip Development Program. To develop leaders takes hard work and money, but not as much as you might think! The cost to have one young leader enrolled in our Leadership Development Program is only $1000 per year. For $4000, a young leader can be equipped with education, mentored for four years and have participated in numerous community projects -- a small investment to have such a leader making a difference in his or her country! At Hand Up, we place a high value on using the money you generously donate wisely. Everyone associated with Hand Up, from people working here in Canada to our partners in Burundi and the Philippines, volunteers their time. We also work out of our homes and pay our own expenses, so administrative costs are kept to a minimum. To donate, please complete the attached pledge form and mail it to:Hand Up Relief and Development Foundation#501, 9825 103 StreetEdmonton, AB T5K 2M3Or email a scanned copy of the completed form to info_handup.ca. Thank you for considering a donation to this cause. Together we can make a lasting difference!

Pledge Form:

Volunteer

Hand Up is always looking for dedicated people who are passionate about making a difference. If you have a particular expertise that you would like to invest in the cause, we would love to hear from you. You can be part of a committee or work on a special project. Whatever your skill, we will put your talents to good use! For more information about volunteering, please contact Jordan at jreiniger_gmail.com or 780-860-8335.

CONTACT

"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of would suffice to solve most of the worlds problems."

-Gandhi

Name:

Email:

Phone:

Comments:

#501, 9825 103 Street

Edmonton, AB T5K 3M3

Phone: 780-860-8335

Email: info_handup.ca

Hand Up Relief and Development Foundation | Phone: 780-860-8335 | Email: info_handup.ca