Early in 2019 Area Presidencies in the Africa West Area and the Africa Southeast Area decided to jointly designate August 17, 2019 “All-Africa Helping Hands Day”. Helping Hands Projects are encouraged to be conducted throughout the year, but August 17 was to be a special Helping Hands Day.
In a letter dated March 1, 2019, addressed to all Stake, District, and Mission Presidents, Bishops and Branch Presidents, the Africa Southeast Area Presidency encouraged leaders to work with local governments to identify needs of communities and provide a flagship Helping Hands service event on August 17, using the theme “Lifting One Another’s Burdens”. Congregations in the twenty- three countries of the Area where the Church has a presence, began to make plans for a special Helping Hands project on that Day.
On August 17 hundreds of Helping Hands projects blessed communities in countries throughout the Area. Following are a few examples of the variety of projects.
Zambia: Painted the exterior of a local hospital. Cleaned a neighborhood police station. Partnered with the "Empower Foundation" donating beds to a medical clinic.
Kenya: Contributed stones, cement and sand to help build a classroom at a secondary school. Provided food and clothing to a home for children.
Tanzania: One hundred and fifty volunteers cleaned and trimmed landscaping in a local cemetery.
South Africa: Two hundred twenty volunteers worked with “Rise Against Hunger” to help package fifty-five thousand meals for hungry children. Others repaired and refinished desks at a local school. While others provided sanitary products to schoolgirls who could not afford to purchase them.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Seventy-five volunteers cleaned an orphanage. Others painted the building of the National Police.
Cameroon: Held a car wash. Cleaned city streets.
Congo: Donated blood at the local hospital. Helped clean community streets.
Uganda: Cleaned a local health center and planted new grass. Visited and cheered patients.
Namibia: Donated food and toiletries to an orphanage.
Angola: Sponsored an awareness campaign on the importance of keeping the environment clean. Donated blood at a local hospital.
Mozambique: Helped distribute hearing aids in partnership with the "Nzwan Adatia Foundation".
Zimbabwe: Cleaned-up illegal dump sites in the community in partnership with the local governmental council.
All-Africa Helping Hands Day projects over the past few years, have generated thousands of expressions of gratitude and blessed the lives of thousands of people. They have also helped build a feeling of unity and partnership with members of the communities where projects have been conducted.
In Luanda Angola the administrator of the hospital where a Helping Hands project donating blood was conducted, the hospital administrator called and arranged for a bus to transport volunteers to the event. Public Affairs Director, Josemar Domingos, said, “ This is the first time they have offered to provide transportation. They have come to feel like our partners in the project. In fact, our Helping Hands Day has become known throughout the city. We have a number of people from the community wanting to join with us.”