Hands for an African Child Inc

What it reported doing in 2024

Our Children Hands for an African Child (HFAAC) has 10 sets of parents who are raising 116 orphans. These children have lost both their mother and father with no remaining family member that can afford to feed, clothe and educate them. Our foster families provide the loving family home that every child needs. These God-centered homes are led by both a mother and father who work many hours providing the care that we all feel these orphans need, raising them to be self reliant adults. Widows Care ProgramWe currently assist over 20 elderly widows in our district. HFAAC provides regular food assistance of rice, beans, maize flour, and eggs to help maintain sufficient calories and nutrition.Teacher Housing CompletedConstruction was completed on 6 duplex buildings (12 housing units) to provide stable, safe accommodations for teachers and their families.Nuri Preschool and Nursery Construction began on a new 4-classroom kindergarten and preschool building to accommodate growth. We now serve 196 students. These include orphaned children in our care, children of our foster parents, 13 other vulnerable orphaned children from nearby villages (most living with elderly grandmothers), and children of our full-time employees.20% of primary-age children in Uganda do not attend school because their families cannot afford school fees. Many children reach us with educational gaps. Nationally, 68% of students are not in age-appropriate grade placement (UNICEF / Uganda Bureau of Statistics). Our education program is specifically structured to bridge these gaps.Annie Van Sickle Health Clinic ConstructionConstruction of the Annie Van Sickle Health Clinic continued during 2024. Completion is anticipated in Q2 of 2025. Upon opening, our on-site nurse will expand medical care beyond our own community and school. A donor-funded social worker continues to provide counseling and support services for the children in our care.Employment & Economic ImpactIn addition to our management team and school staff, HFAAC employed between 40 and 110 local workers this year in agriculture and construction. Approximately 40% of these workers are women. Each worker receives a breakfast porridge and a substantial lunch at work, providing consistent food security for their households.Books & Literacy OutreachIn 2024 we received 40,000 books from Books to Africa, a UK-based nonprofit. Beyond strengthening literacy at the Nuri Primary School (now the largest school library in the entire district), thousands of books were delivered to 20+ neighboring schools as community outreach, including schools as far away as Gulu, Uganda and into South Sudan.Farm OperationsUganda has two main growing seasons. In the second rainy season we planted 114 acres: 82 acres corn, 12 acres soybeans, 15 acres rice, and 5 acres bananas. Because of favorable rains and timely farming practices, corn yields will be two to three times higher than last season. Farm revenue helps offset operational expenses. We also maintain 20 pigs and 918 chickens. Many of our foster fathers are employed full-time on our farm.Clean Water ProgramTwo new reverse osmosis water purification systems were installed on our property to improve purity, taste, and safety of drinking water.We also continued community water education outreach to surrounding schools and churches, demonstrating how adding a single chlorine tablet to a 5-gallon jerrycan kills E. coli and other common pathogens such as dysentery and cholera. We arranged for these chlorine tablets (imported from Kenya) to be sold locally at an affordable price so households can continue clean water practices independently.Special appreciation to the Bright Water Foundation in El Dorado County, California for their assistance and training with this effort.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 61%; rating input score 61
• Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
• Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
  • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
  • Requires narrative reports: Fail
  • Conducts field audits: Fail
  • May suspend future funding: Fail
  • Requires financial reports: Fail
  • Conducts site visits: Fail
  • Requires grant agreements: Fail
  • May require repayment: Fail
• Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
  • Whistleblower policy: Fail
  • Document-retention policy: Fail
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 39.7%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.66; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 32.1% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 33.3% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 39.7% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings