Agape Heart International Organization (AHIO)

Raising the needy up from poverty to a flourishing standard of living

Location: Pittsburgh, PA and Koboko, Uganda

Sponsors: Ann McStay and Kermit Eck

Agape Heart International Website

Agape Heart International Organization: A first-time grantee in 2023

Agape Heart International Organization (AHIO) is a small non-governmental, non-partisan, humanitarian, ecumenical organization headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with a field office in Koboko, Uganda, near the Bidi-Bidi refugee resettlement camp. AHIO exists to raise the needy up from poverty to a flourishing standard of living.

AHIO offers a wide range of services in Uganda to: 

  • refugees from and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in war-torn countries;
  • poor, low-income communities; 
  • people living with HIV/AIDS; and 
  • homeless youth, especially orphaned or unaccompanied refugee children and vulnerable girls.  

AHIO’s current programs include:

  • Supporting young refugees with scholarships for school and vocational training
  • Empowering communities to achieve lifelong health, focusing on hygiene, disease prevention (especially HIV/AIDS), essential nutrition, and food sourcing through sustainable agriculture methods
  • Strengthening families by teaching best practices for raising children in non-violent, supportive, egalitarian ways; for creating harmonious family relationships; and for resolving conflicts between tribes and ethnic groups
  • Teaching adolescents psychosocial and interpersonal skills 
  • Preparing youth and adults for assimilation into their host community and into Uganda’s culture and economy 

Within the Bidi-Bidi refugee camp in northern Uganda near the South Sudanese border, AHIO serves Zone 4, comprised of newly-arriving families and unaccompanied minors fleeing the civil strife in South Sudan. To address these refugees’ great need for income-generating opportunities, AHIO is focused on two of PRW’s mission components—both formal academic education and practical job training programs designed in particular for at-risk youth, especially vulnerable girls.

For more information, see: http://agapeinternationalorg.com

GRANT SUMMARY AND PURPOSE

2022-23: A $12,000 grant will fund: 

1) A continuation of AHIO’s proven life skills training and mentoring to raise awareness about gender-based abuse and discrimination, to discourage child marriages and early pregnancy, and to encourage women’s empowerment; and   

2) Personal financial management coaching and income-generating programs—specifically, training and equipment for two skill sets:  a) IT and computer office applications, and b) sewing/tailoring, which are both in demand by employers and the retail market. Refugees gaining these skills will reduce their dependence on NGOs and the UNHCR for food and basic living needs.

In addition, a grant of $2,883 in unrestricted funding has been awarded to support this mission.

IMPACT

This project will result in the employment of its graduates and reduce their need for relief aid.  Based on monitoring the project for 1) progress made, 2) challenges encountered, 3) best practices implemented, and 4) lessons learned, AHIO will expand the program to reach additional at-risk youth.  AHIO will continue to identify gaps in community services and resources and to develop additional strategies for its community-service model.