AFRICA HEARTWOOD PROJECT

We aim to accomplish the following in the respective target programs:
1. Provide financial support to women who are voluntarily raising children who have been orphaned within their extended families due to Ebola - we provide a monthly grant, annual scholarship, and annual gift, for each child. We call it our SPOCK program (Support Program for Orphans in Care of Kin).
2. Provide clean water to as many rural communities as funds will allow, including training on village-level economic cooperation and self-reliance, and improvement in hygiene and sanitation practices. As of 2019 we have done over 75 Village Water Projects in West Africa.
3. Provide support to Cultural Artisans in their chosen livelihoods, including facilitation of favorable terms on international purchasing contracts that will sustain fair trade income levels.

Africa Heartwood Project relies on volunteer services at the administrative level, and provides employment for local African staff members who administer our programs with full transparency and best practice. We keep our projects small and manageable, with full control over budgets, spending, and results. We rely heavily on local knowledge and technology to ensure all projects are participatory and sustainable, with the individual development and personal freedom of our beneficiaries as our primary criterion for success.

Andy Jones, founder and director, has an BA in International Development with a focus on African Studies, and an MA in International Development and Education. Academic study has been applied to 20+ years of field work. Africa Heartwood Project is committed to making a lasting difference for good in the lives of each individual we reach out to bless. Because we are not paid for our time, our intentions are kept pure, and our methods are efficient and effective. As a small organization we maintain total flexibility in adapting our understanding and program delivery to best meet the real needs and challenges we discover on the ground. We work closely with local partners in country as Project Managers, Contractors, and Monitors, to make sure we are getting the work done the right way, with local knowledge, cultural sensitivity, and efficiency.

We continue to improve our programs, but we don't want to expand; small is beautiful! Experience, and feedback from those we serve and work with, is the best teacher. Our programs have all been successful by measurable outcomes, and we hope to reach more individuals through increasing our partnerships and donor base. We are limited in the good we can accomplish only by the resources we have access to. So far we have opened and operated an orphange in Liberia from 2008-2017, and now sponsor over 150 Ebola orphans in Liberia each month through our SPOCK program. We have completed over 75 village water projects in Ghana and Liberia from 2009-2019. We have put over $1,000,000 in the hands of the working poor to make traditional percussion instruments to support their families since 2001, and help them sell their stuff any way we can.