NITDA Partnership with Enugu State Government
Caring Hands for Africa was part of the NITDA and Enugu State Training Programme for the physically challenged in Enugu. 50 laptops, wifi, etc were given to the participants.
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The founders of Caring Hands For Africa are Ken and Karen. They came together, to accomplish
a work, this charity, they believe was divinely directed and inspired.
Ken is from Nigeria and Karen is from America. How they came together is another story. As
Karen says, “Wait for the book,” but her dear friend in North Carolina said, “I’ll wait for
the movie!”
“I love Nigeria!” Ken says and when asked Why, he said the people are courageous and have a
perseverance to survive; they work very hard. He finds them intelligent, however their
ability to educate themselves is difficult. “Going to school takes money and when you are
hungry, food is the priority. Ken knows this all too well for as a child he was hungry. He
started doing small jobs, such as sweeping a shop floor for food money and to buy books. He
wanted to get the pictorial Bible that was in color. Earning his own money excited him as he
realized he could affect his life with this independence. Sometimes, because of peer
pressure, he would buy the sneakers that some of his wealthy schoolmates would be wearing
and occasionally he would buy used clothing.
From Ken’s firsthand knowledge of how challenging daily life can be, he decided to help
people discover themselves and help them to support their dreams. Desiring to give his
fellow Nigerians the tools necessary, not only to survive, but thrive, thus the thought of a
charity for Uplifting People came to mind.
Caring Hands For Africa (CHFA) became an actuality when Ken and Karen’s paths crossed. Karen
was feeling as if something in her life was missing, unfulfilled. When Ken said to Karen, “I
want to help the widows and motherless children,” this spoke to her heart and their passion
to Uplift People together was born.
In retrospect, Karen feels as if her life was being prepared for this moment in time.
Several years prior, her older brother encouraged her to join him in Guatemala where he had
been doing charity work. This experience in Guatemala was overwhelming and the tears began
to flow. While personally witnessing the poorness, her thoughts drifted to commercials on TV
depicting such poverty around the world, but never did she imagine the severity. Those
experiences were a preparation for God’s Will in her life. She was drawn to
Nigeria.
The poverty in Nigeria is beyond description and comprehension. Many Nigerians don’t realize
there is more to living and if they do understand, they have no ability to rise above their
situation and so their life goes on, working hard to feed themselves and their families,
just surviving. Ken and Karen, together with the help from many generous people around the
world, hope and pray to have a positive impact with this charity. While the task at hand
seems unsurmountable, their mantra is Uplifting People…One Life at a Time.
If you haven’t done so yet, please, visit the other areas of this charity website to see,
mostly just the many simpleneeds of the Nigerian people. Helen Walton has said, “It’s not
what you gather but what you scatter…That tells what kind of life you have lived.” If your
heart is touched, please scatter.
For further information, contact Ken and Karen at admin@CaringHandsForAfrica.org