About Us
All For Humanity is a registered Canadian charity
and registered NGO in Ghana, Africa. We are a small group of
friends who came together a few years ago with a genuine passion to
truly make a difference. We have full time jobs; we are mothers and
small business owners, committed to fostering change, focusing on
the small by helping one child at a time. We have challenged every
comfort level possible while carrying out our work, in both Ghana
and Colombia.
At AFH we envision a world where the family unit is supported. Where
individual differences are cherished and each gender is worthy.
Where children live in a safe environment, can develop through play
and have access to opportunity, education, safe drinking water and
enough to eat. Our approach is entirely grass roots and hands on as
this approach allows us the benefit of seeing firsthand the impact
of our actions, as well as ensuring that the money we raise goes
directly to the children we are helping. Before moving forward on
any project, a significant portion of our discovery is confirming
the validity of a situation, and being able to navigate and truly
distinguish the reality of the need. We feel this strategy fosters
genuine change.
The underlying current in every situation and project we take on in
both Ghana and Colombia is water. Just because of where these
children and their families live in the world they do not have
access to safe, clean, drinking water; and by all accounts this
issue for them is only going to get worse. For the many children and
families they must walk for hours to what is nothing more than a
filthy pond to retrieve their drinking water. Causing these children
to become sick with bellies full of worms and parasites that can
lead to blindness and death. Through CAWST we are working to make
clean, safe drinking water a priority everywhere we work in these
countries.
In most cases our assistance comes in the form of basic resources
such as food and water filters, improved shelter, clothing,
educational supplies and medical support. We are firm believers that
a child's chances in life shouldn't depend so starkly on where they
are born. We believe that all children should have the opportunity
to fulfill their potential; to develop their talents, to work
towards their goals, to have ambitions and a means to achieve them.
We feel that we can always do more, if only by aiding one child at a
time. The poverty these children face is more than just lack of
money, it is a lack of opportunity. A child who does not have access
to clean water, learning, family support, or the basic necessities
of life is disadvantaged from the start.
AFH supports the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child, an
agreement under international law, that is the backdrop for civil,
political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children
world wide. The agreement expressly recognizes that parents have the
most important role bringing up children. Historical evidence shows
that institutionalizing children has not solved the problems of poor
families in the past, and it will not do so today. One of our aims
is to eliminate the misconceptions that have made orphanages the
automatic response for caring for vulnerable children. No family, no
mother wants to give up their child. However, when faced with
absolute poverty, illness and lack of opportunity, these families
and parents are faced with extreme circumstances, that require
extreme choices. We try to work with the understanding that the
separation from parents, combined with the poor quality of care,
violence, abuse and exploitation found in most care institutions is
extreme and has a lasting profound effect on children and society.
This is a message we carry with us as we work through the villages
and communities.
We feel that our dedication to the children we help must be measured
by more than just the money we provide our projects. We feel the
true signature of success is not whether we are just a source of aid
that helps people simply exist - it is whether we are partners in
creating sustainable positive change, that enhances the potential of
those we are helping. Through our work in these countries we have
also had the opportunity to meet amazing individuals doing great
things for their communities.
We understand that change takes time and requires much patience. We
certainly do not profess to have all the answers whatsoever. But
this change needs to begin somewhere and with groups like ours
filling in the gaps with community based collaborative efforts - we
are helping those who may not otherwise be helped. If we can begin
by slowly impacting one child at a time, the potential is so
promising, with the ripple effect far-reaching - we have seen it!
And like many, many others, this is our small way of doing what we
can so that these children are not forgotten.