Humanity for Relief and Development, Inc.

We seek to empower and support individuals by supporting projects centered around food security and livelihood development. When a community in a conflict zone receives access to free food and individuals obtain financial assistance, it can rekindle hope and change everything as one of their basic life needs are met and focus can go to things like education to rebuild the country. At the moment, we are mostly centered in helping those affected by the war in Yemen through a range of sustainable projects, providing tangible results with a positive impact. However, we seek to expand our services to other countries around the world. We are currently working to set up food services in the United States, Canada, and Turkey. In fact, we envision food carts that provide warm meals to people experiencing homelessness and hunger in countries typically more developed. We understand that ending hunger and conflict will not happen overnight, but believe that helping individuals and families when we can will instill hope and allow them to have more chances of enhancing their life situation.

At HRD, careful evaluation of cultural norms of discretion and beneficiary privacy are considered to dissolve any fear of judgement a potential service recipient may feel if others know they are receiving services. We have created a delivery system to assist the disabled, elderly and beneficiaries who wish to remain anonymous for safety reasons. If families stop coming for food, HRD staff and volunteers go to their homes to check up on them and see if they wish to continue with our services. As around 90% of Yemen’s food supply is imported, local procurement of goods is prioritized with the intent to support the economy. Community involvement is at the core of all our projects as we see it as the way to build projects with longevity. Through an emphasis on beneficiary groups in which internally displaced persons, heads of households (HHs) without a head (widow, headed-by-a-child, headed-by-a-disable, etc..), HHs without a source of income are a focus in determining which individuals to assist. Determination of a suitable location site are also determined by need and accessibility.

We approach all our initiatives with a family helping family philosophy as we see everything we do as making an impact on the life of a family member. Our staff is made up of staff and volunteers who are passionate about development and fostering change, particularly locals of the communities where we work.

All of our services are provided free of charge to beneficiaries thanks to generous donations. At times, we collaborate with other nonprofits to ensure that the needs of beneficiaries are met. We are currently getting involved with the working UN Group in Yemen to connect with other key actors in addressing the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. We always strive to work with local actors to ensure that needs assessments are conducted and jobs are provided to local members of the communities we serve. We are serving the Yemeni population in the cities of Sana’a, Hodida, Rada’a, Ibb, and Taiz. There are nine running HRD projects in Yemen: Mercy Bakery & Mercy Kitchen, Project Food Cart, Project Water Tank, Project Orphans, Project Food Baskets, Project Smile of a Child, Project Uplift, Ramadan Breaking Fast, and Project Medical Relief.

Here at HRD, we believe no family should be forced to make a choice between healthcare and food. By working with local governments and residents, we procure supplies from inside the country to distribute them to those facing adversity like women, children, and families.
Mercy Bakery & Mercy Kitchen is the largest and most well-known HRD project, which provides nutritious food to families in need. Through our 4 Mercy Bakery locations across Yemen, we have been able to safely deliver and provide over 14,400 loaves of warm, fresh bread to thousands of families every day. That’s ~446,400 pieces of bread every month. And a total of 5,256,000 pieces of bread fed to Yemeni families in a year! With an additional 4 bakeries and kitchens under construction. As around 90% of Yemen’s food supply is imported, local procurement of goods is prioritized with the intent to support the economy. Bakeries and kitchens are open seven days a week and guarantee food security to those in the community for one year through a needs-based voucher program. HRD staff, largely women, conduct home visits of potential aid recipients to catalogue income, family size, and employment status. Recipients are not charged for food, instead a card punch system that can be renewed every 30 days is in place.

Project Food Cart was created to help breadwinners who were out of work, and not able to provide a basic means of living for their family. By working with a welding company to build a cart that can hold cooking material and gas tanks to keep food war, beneficiaries are chosen to run the cart to run for a continuous source of income. Project Uplift is an upgraded version of this project, where instead of one food cart beneficiaries receive full financial support. Beneficiaries receive a new start as we provide them with a year of free rent, furniture, and home renovation support. Any required job trainings or initial business start-up finances are covered to ensure individuals can proudly earn their own living. To sponsor a family, it costs approximately $3,500 year, which is a lot of lives improved when a typical household in Yemen is made up of 7 people.

There are four running bakeries in total and two kitchens are running. Five bakeries are currently being built that will each have a kitchen next to them that will be done before Ramadan in Yemen. To date, we have been able to help four families of households of six individuals and upwards through Project Uplift. Whereby, full financial support has allowed for these families to begin to improve their lives impacted by the war in Yemen. In a 2018-2019 initiative, Project Water Tank was formed with the goal to install a water tank in underprivileged neighborhoods where it is hard for families to gain access to clean water on a daily basis. By filling the water tank on a constant basis, families are able to take large bottles to be filled from the tank for their daily chores. Project Orphans was enacted in 2018-2019, designed to improve the living conditions of one of the oldest orphanage homes in the city of Sana’a, located on 45 street. The orphanage home funding was cut by the government, and living conditions there started to deteriorate as the war kept progressing. We renovated the halls, refitted their sleeping areas with new bedding and flooring, renovated the bathroom, the eating area, the playground area and the guard’s area as well. HRD stresses community diversity, which is why orphans from all backgrounds including those with disabilities were given proportional representation.

During Ramadan, Project Ramadan Breaking Fast focuses on helping people find a meal to break their fast within the holy month of Ramadan. Food baskets are provided to families in need the entire month as well as water-well restoration. We provided simple meals for about 200-300 people every night in 2019. Eid sacrifices are also made to provide families with fresh food in the cities of Sana’a, Rada’a, and Ibb. Clothing has also been given out to provide individuals with winter assistance as well as Eid clothing.

Project Medical Relief seeks to alleviate the financial burden of receiving medical assistance for Yemeni people in need. We reach out and help those who do not have the financial means to pay for medical services. When someone needs an operation or some other form of medical care, we pay for those expenses. By paying for someone’s medical care, we hope to make the Yemeni population healthier and stronger. To date, HRD has helped in three cases of medical assistance in the city of Sana’a. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, HRD has also created a temporary Corona Project that provides medical assistance to those affected by the virus.