Hands To Hearts International

Gifts that Give Back

2009-12-09T13:32:00.000-08:00

It is that time of year again, the holiday season, a time of celebration, family and giving. Give your season meaning by choosing gifts that give back to others - a win-win!

Here are some ways you can support the women and children of HHI with your shopping:

Buy the "Where there is LOVE, there is LIFE" tee from Tiny Revolutionary, a socially conscious children's clothing label that uses messages of peace, love & equality in its designs. Every shirt sales contributes $20 to HHI. Baby, Child and Adult sizes!

Shop Global Sistergoods for Fair Trade, eco-friendly, handmade gifts from women artisans around the globe and your purchase can support HHI.

Indulge in Linda's hand-knit mitts or jewelry from one of HHI's biggest fans and 75% will be contributed to the women and children of HHI.

HHI's instructional Baby Massage DVD is the perfect gift for new parents. It teaches basic massage strokes, while supporting child health and building bonds of love. ALL proceeds go directly to HHI's projects.

And shop all your favorite stores - seriously ALL of them! - at Good Shop and a % of your purchase will be gifted to Hands to Hearts. Just choose Hands to Hearts International (in Portland, OR) as your charity of choice and then dive into the coupons/discounts and feel good!

Give from your heart and your gift will give back! And due to a matching grant, all your gifts will give back DOUBLE to HHI until Jan. 31st - making it a win-win-win!!!

HHI Welcomes the Support of the HOW Fund

2009-11-16T13:03:00.000-08:00

I am delighted to announce that HHI has found a powerful new ally in the HOW Fund! This new foundation is dedicated to promoting the strength, courage, and capacity of women and girls. The HOW Fund chose Hands to Hearts International as its first grantee, in honor of HHI's focus on empowerment and nurturing, and the powerful impact HHI has had to date in India.

The HOW Fund has put their generous support behind HHI's upcoming efforts to expand our efforts into Uganda. Hands to Hearts is honored and delighted by their contribution to bring our gift of empowering women and nurturing children to Africa.

Thank you!

HHI Publishes a Paper!

2009-11-13T11:32:00.000-08:00

Over the summer, intern Christy Hudson-Myers, compiled a massive amount of research and reports about the issues of early childhood development and created a comprehensive literature review which highlights the complex issues of early childhood and how Hands to Hearts International's work is in line with the world's best practices.

This report was published recently, read it for yourself and see how HHI is on target for making the biggest impact for vulnerable children.

Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood e-News Flash (September 2009, Issue 13), "Best Practices in ECD: A Review of the Literature" by Christy Hudson

The Myth of Orphans & Orphanages

2009-09-15T09:17:00.000-07:00

It seems that almost every week I receive an email or a call from someone interested in supporting an existent orphanage or who wants to establish new orphanages. While their desire to help needy children is heart-warming, I cringe at the thought of another orphanage. I tell people that orphanages are much like prisons, they are a "build them and they will come" scenario.

I ask people to pause for a moment and ask, where are all those "orphans" living now? The answer is typically that they are living with their family - yes, they do have families. Most children categorized as "orphaned" have one living parent, sometimes both parents are living. And even in cases where both parents are deceased, there are aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Here is a graph created by the Better Care Network Secretariat, which demonstrates the staggering percentage of children who reside in orphanages, while they have at least one living parent.

Country	Estimated percentage of children in orphanages with at least one parent alive
Afghanistan	85-90%
Belarus	87%
Bolivia	59%
Kyrgyzstan	80%
Sri Lanka	80%
Tajikistan	80%
Zimbabwe	39%

The driving force behind most children moving into orphanages is poverty. When as a parent you are barely surviving the day-to-day crush of profound poverty, and you can barely feed the children you already have, you may view the orphanage as a good option. Consider that the children there typically get regular meals, basic medical care and clothing and schooling - even more benefits if this orphanage is supported by Western funding. This can outwardly look like a great alternative to what little the parent can offer. But does a baby or child live on food, medicine, books and toys alone? Can an institution provide what a parent can? The answer to both questions is a vehement "No".

I have visited many orphanages and I have heard reports from many more. The reality is that they do exist and the reasons they do are complex and often involve multi-faceted -- family poverty, disease, a serious medical condition or disability, gender preferences, the stigma of unwed motherhood, etc... -- but an institution cannot provide what a family can. Orphanages are simplistic solutions that let parents, family, community, society and government all off the hook. If an orphanage building exists it will be filled with children, but dropping children off at these institutes is much easier than trying to reverse the tide 3, or 5, or 17 years later when it is time to reintegrate these children into the community.

Westerners want to help, but most do not understand the extremely complex dynamics that are at play, and building orphanages for "orphans" is about the most destructive possible action one can take. When a child is removed from his or her family and community and placed in an institution, it is often a one-way ticket, and they rarely leave. Institutionalization typically causes radical developmental delays, impairing physical, cognitive, language and social/emotional development. How can a child learn to love and be loved in an institution? And, when children do not build this basic human capacity, the lifetime consequences for the child and community can be devastating. This is exactly the concern that led HHI to begin our work in orphanages.

While HHI continues to support orphanages with care-giver training and consultations, we now work more within communities, with pre-school teachers, day care workers and directly with parents. We have found that these people are working every day to care for their children, or the children of their community, and every day they are faced with poverty, lack of food and resources, gender discrimination, etc., BUT they are eager to provide for their children and they are excited and honored to have an HHI Trainer teach them how they can best support their children’s health and development.

Since our launch in 2006, HHI has worked with just over 3,000 women, and they are in turn improving the well-being of almost 23,000 children! And, this has been done with less than $400,000, which is pretty amazing, considering the typical results are: children are healthier, gaining more weight, learning language earlier, have improved sleep and digestion and are easier to soothe; and women are more confident, take greater pride in their work, provide improved nutrition, practice better hygiene and sanitation, are more responsive to their children, and more at ease in their care-giving.

Sadly, a recent CNN article recently trumpeted the building of a new orphanage in Uganda. The article outlines that the cost of the construction was roughly $800,000. It will accommodate 180 orphans at capacity. At the opening of this institution, “Local dignitaries and the orphans' relatives, who couldn't afford to care for them, attended.... It was a rousing celebration of song and dance, ceremonial ribbon-cuttings and speeches…” REALLY? Exactly what was to be celebrated?

What if this concerted effort (which raised $800,000) was focused on helping the families of their children who “couldn’t afford to care for them”? What if they were given support with some extra food, school fees and health care? I doubt that would have cost almost a million dollars, and would be considerably less expensive than the monthly operating costs will be to care for all of these children in the orphanage.

FACT: In Eritrea, the average economic cost for one child in residential care averaged about $1,900; in Benin about $1,300. The corresponding cost of a child’s integration into a family in Eritrea was about $100. (World Bank, July 2004)

I think it’s time that we think more deeply, become more informed, and meet people where they are. Orphanages are not the solution, at best they can offer a temporary safety net. There are much better ways to help. Find ways to invest in options that keep children where they belong, in the community. This is healthier for the children, the families, communities and future global society.

Do It Anyway

2009-08-26T10:46:00.000-07:00

This quote inspires me and helps me focus on what I truly value. It was reportedly found written on the wall in Mother Teresa’s home for children in Calcutta:

1. People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

2. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

3. If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

4. If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

5. What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

6. If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

7. The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

8. Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

9. In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

The Women's Crusade

2009-08-20T14:45:00.000-07:00

The Women's Crusade
NY Times, By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF and SHERYL WuDUNN

"IN THE 19TH CENTURY, the paramount moral challenge was slavery. In the 20th century, it was totalitarianism. In this century, it is the brutality inflicted on so many women and girls around the globe: sex trafficking, acid attacks, bride burnings and mass rape." read the entire article
This article is an astonishing portrait of inspirational stories, horrifying and hopeful statistics and successes that can be created and recreated around the world. It underlies all the reasons why HHI was founded on the interwoven principles of Empowering Women ~ Nurturing Children. To support children, we must first support their caregivers.

"The world is awakening to a powerful truth: Women and girls aren’t the problem; they’re the solution."

Taking it to the street - literally!

2009-08-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

In the last few weeks Sujatha led a record number of HHI parenting classes, all of these were in small and very remote villages in southern India. However what made me these particular trainings amazing -- beyond the usual witnessing of young mothers discover their own power in building their baby's brain development, and all the loving-goodness -- was that these trainings were held in the middle of a street. Yes, a street.

When Sujatha arrived to lead the trainings, the local organizers led her to a small community room, which must have been really, really small, as she reported that the room would have held about 6-8 women. Gathering behind Sujatha, as she walked to and then viewed this tiny space were the mothers, lots of mothers! In total 28 mothers, all with babies and children in tow, were following her to make sure that they would have a space in the Hands to Hearts training, and it seemed they knew space was limited.

Seeing all of the women, and turning back to look at the training space, it was clear that this was not going to work. The women talked and quickly concluded that there was plenty of space outside the tiny room and the women all agreed that they would happily sit in the middle of the street as long as they could participate. The village leaders offered a shady street to be turned into HHI's classroom. The village vendors, pulling their carts would come upon the street only to see it filled with mothers and children conducting puppet shows, singing songs and dancing, and they would find another way to get to the market. Men, women, grandmas, grandpas and kids all walking, biking or driving through the village came upon the same scene, and often before they would go to find a way around this training, they would sit and become a part of the training themselves.

I have always claimed that HHI Trainings could really happen anywhere in the world, but I had never considered a street.Bravo to these women for not letting anything get in the way of their learning, and kudos to Sujatha for her endless creativity, flexibility and tenacity in giving!

Internship & Volunteer Opportunities

2009-08-17T08:56:00.000-07:00

We are seeking some extra support in our US office. HHI's team needs some smart and committed interns (or volunteers) to act as:

1) Program Assistant, with a heavy focus on research and evaluation.

2) Journalism Intern, to create new stories, copy, web content and potentially grant writing.

3) Curriculum Developer, to provide fine tuning on current HHI curriculum, modifying for low literacy populations and create distinct lesson plans.

4) Human Resources volunteer to update agency documents, create Board Manual, and Policy and Procedure Manual.

See the full descriptions of skills we are seeking at: http://www.handstohearts.org/internships.htm

UConn Magazine Spotlights HHI

2009-08-05T12:31:00.001-07:00

I graduated from University of Connecticut in 1993. This last winter, UConn Magazine called me to learn about the creation of Hands to Hearts, and then they wrote up a beautiful version of my story in their recent summer edition.

UConn Magazine, Summer 2009 - Promoting Healthy Children In Developing Nations

Thanks UConn!

A Brilliant Model - Not a Typical Orphanage

2009-06-25T08:46:00.000-07:00

So many people tell me that their dream to is to build an orphanage for children in Africa or some other place in desperate need. I understand that the person's intention is to do good, to rescue children, but I am exceptionally frustrated by this idea that creating yet another orphanage is mistaken as "good". I have now visited dozens of orphanages and I can tell you there is almost no such thing as a "good orphanage".

Orphanages do exist, but to create more of them is a BIG mistake in almost any situation. In most cultures it is the extended family and/or community that takes in orphans. It is the role of others in the community, local churches, government and other organizations to provide the vital support to make these informal adoptions work. But many countries have created and embedded the practice of creating institutional care to take in orphans. I liken this situation to prisons - it is a "build them and they will come" scenario. And, once these institutions are built and filled, this sadly becomes a long-term status quo - out of sight, out of mind. And then to try to de-institutionalize children, reintegrate them into families and communities after years of living in an institution where they did not develop bonding, full physical/cognitive/social or language development, these children do NOT transition smoothly back into a family/community or society that they have never been a part of.

HHI strives to offer orphanages training and support to improve the care they offer to the babies and children in them, though it is not our goal to just make "better orphanages". Our ultimate goal is to undermine why these institutions exist in the first place, reasons such as intractable poverty and women not having any knowledge or say about family planning.

I was excited to have jsut learned about a brilliant model that bridges the gaps for orphaned children and their extended families and communities. Check out this article in the New York Times, "Death in Birth: Fragile Tanzanian Orphans Get Help After Mothers Die." This is a creative solution that includes families and ensures a successful reintegration of children who are tragically orphaned.

HHI is “Blu” and you should be, too!

2009-07-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

We recently became a founding alliance member of BluMail, a nonprofit organization that, like us, is working to improve the lives of millions of people around the world. Please visit the BluMail Web site, sign-up for a free email account, and check out the very useful content and connect with others, and encourage everyone you know to do the same.

Launched in the fall of 2008 at the United Nations (U.N.), with initial support from U.N. organizations and Cisco Foundation, BluMail provides free email accounts and “make-a-difference” content to the millions of people, particularly youth, who are coming online in developing countries in the next five years.

The content on BluMail is so useful because it comes from alliance member organizations – other NGOs, nonprofits, foundations and socially responsible organizations - see them all – which produce thousands of Internet pages every year anyway. The BluMail Web site, which is instantly translatable into 10 languages (with more planned), aggregates a lot of this content into a one-stop resource with easy-to-understand information on just about every topic that matters to people in developing nations.

Visit BluMail to learn more about activism and volunteering, conflict resolution, global news from the world’s best sources, entrepreneurship, environmental issues, healthy lifestyles (e.g., AIDS and malaria prevention), human rights, religious understanding, women's empowerment, youth leadership development and empowerment, mental health, employment, story sharing, networking, mentoring and volunteering.

We believe and trust you will agree that this type of information is more valuable than the content on other sites that offer free email accounts (e.g., Yahoo! and Hotmail) -- the latest celebrity scandal, new ring tones for your cell phone, sports scores, etc. So sign-up today and also get your friends, coworkers and relatives using BluMail. Visit www.blumail.org.

PA Pulls Through ~ Golfing for Good!

2009-06-16T10:41:00.001-07:00

All our teams, ready to roll!

I must admit that after a very long winter of hearing that everyday our collective "sky is falling" further, I questioned whether we should even have our yearly golf benefit this year. But, I was heartened and inspired by the overwhelming and resounding encouragement - in words, actions and funding - that poured in from HHI's friends on the East Coast. Our Golf Committee gathered their forces, our friends and our families all rallied, and yesterday an amazing event was held! HHI's 4th Annual Golf Outing & Lunch was hosted at the beautiful Downingtown Country Club and 60 golfers joined us for a day on the links.

See all the great team pictures !

Fun was had by all, some great golf games were played and generous funds were raised! Our auction held items from Tiger Woods - see this! - as well as other golf greats Phil Mickelson and Sean O'Hair, and featured indulgent vacations, gourmet meals, tickets to the Eagles and Phillies, and so much more.

Tiger's glove!!!

Many, many thanks to all who came, from near and far, to make our day fun for everyone involved and the proceeds of which will now touch the lives of over 1,600 babies and children of Hands to Hearts in India!

Group hug for a game well played!

HHI at the Kitchen Table

2009-05-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

A visit I made to meet a potential donor last week was reported on in Tactical Philanthropy. See the post, Kitchen Table Philanthro py and see how the world of philanthropy is shifting to become more personal and informal.

Many thanks to both Sara and Sasha.

A Story from Calcutta

2009-05-20T16:55:00.000-07:00

I recently received this email which sadly, yet exquisitely illustrates why HHI's education is in such dire need.

Dear Hands to Hearts,

I am so impressed with your work. HOW important and wonderfully successful! Whoever thought this up is a genius and a saint. Several years ago, I visited Mother Teresa's orphanage in Calcutta. (She had passed away before I was there.) I was astonished at the total lack of eye contact, nurturing, and almost deliberate focus to avoid touch or interaction of any kind. I was in the toddler room and it was here
that I observed this. The toddlers were either craving attention as if their life depended on it or they would have nothing to do with us. Turned their faces away with total indifference. I was so shocked but now am starting to understand that the "natural" nurturing of infants is either not always natural and/or is impaired by no nurturing of the mother by her parents, tremendous fatigue from far too much work and malnutrition, as well, and who knows what other factors.

Unfortunately this story does not come as a great surprise to me. I have heard the same story from orphanages around the world. Working as an orphanage caregiver is very challenging, exhausting and under-valued job. It is emotionally overwhelming, and when caregivers do form bonds to the children in their care, it is heartbreaking for them when a child dies or is adopted and leaves. Often, caregivers are told to not form emotional attachments with the children and the consequences are tragic for the caregivers, and even more so for the children clinging to life and desperate to be loved.

I do not choose to believe that these caregivers are heartless, but rather that they shut-down a part of their own humanity to be able to function in a orphanage situation. They work in institutions where they are bombarded with dozens or even hundreds of babies/children who are thrown away, who are often ill or dying, and whose needs they feel incompetent to meet. They have mouths to feed and diapers to clean; water to carry and food to prepare (often after they go to market to buy it); hospital visits to make and medicines to give; noses to wipe, baths to give; toileting to teach and floors to mop; laundry to wash and bugs to shoe away... and the list goes on and on. Over and over and over again!

HHI has a piece of the solution. By empowering women with knowledge, acknowledging the value of their caregiving, teaching how their everyday actions build brain development for a lifetime... these women can and do rise to their best, and the children rise with them.

I look forward to the day when we reach Calcutta, and more to the day when we are not needed at all.

Over 20,000 Children Touched By HHI

2009-05-18T17:47:00.000-07:00

I just received the training reports from India from last month and I gasped when I did the math. HHI just reached an astonishing tipping point! That is that in just over three years, with minimal staffing and a very modest budget, HHI has led 173 Trainings for 2,495 women, who are working every day to better the health and development of 20,301 orphaned and vulnerable children!

WOW! Beyond that, all I can say is "Thank You" to all of you who stood with us to make this possible. Miracles happen in small bits every single day, and taken together they add up to make our world a more loving place for all of us.

In The Most Remote Corners of India

2009-05-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

Moorthynayakanpatti is an isolated village situated 85 kilometers away from the nearest city in the Theni District in South India. This area is so remote that it only has a few buses that come anywhere near it, which is significant, as this is not an area where people own their own cars. So, when travel is required, it begins with a 1k. walk to the main road, where the bus will pass... at some point in time.

So it has been no small feat for Sujatha, HHI’s Master Trainer, to reach this village to train 32 mothers how to nurture and best care for their babies. Over the last year Sujatha’s work with HHI has become well known throughout this far-flung region, where news travels via word of mouth from one person to the next. This was how a small local NGO, called “NEWS” came to learn of HHI and then tracked down Sujatha, inviting her to come to their village to support their women and children.

The mothers had never heard how critical the early years are for a lifetime of health, relationships and learning. When they learn that 80% of brain development happens by age 5, and that they can influence this with their everyday actions they become very excited. The women quickly embrace the concepts and begin to make eye contact more often, hold their babies more gently, sing to them more, give them massage, and feed them a broader array of nutrients.

The women enjoy Sujatha and the lessons of HHI are simple and make sense to them. They are now building stronger bonds with their babies and children and building their health with love and nurturing. Another success story from the front lines of HHI, and one that is surely being talked about from mother to mother, friend to friend, from village to village… and the goodness grows on in South India!

Thanks to our fundraising friends in PA!

2009-04-29T13:41:00.000-07:00

Last night a group of HHI's fans, who gathered to celebrate two of their favorite things - beautiful clothing and Hands to Hearts! It was a win-win, with the trunk show donating 25% of their proceeds to benefit the women and children of HHI.

Sending our appreciation and admiration to the fashionable fans of HHI in Pennsylvania!

Announcing the Launch of ChangeXchange!

2009-04-14T14:41:00.000-07:00

HHI is proud to be a part of ChangeXchange - check this out!

ChangeXchange, Springboard Innovation’s new online initiative, introduces emerging and proven social ventures to community members and funding organizations alike to allow them to help fill the biggest gap of innovation—seed funding. It also provides a pathway for citizens who want to make a difference. By exploring project profiles, users then “invest” in their chosen project. Their return? Social profit.

Sustaining the good: ChangeXchange unites the core values of Springboard Innovation– sustainability, innovation, and community – and provides a true springboard for launchers of social innovation. The idea is to provide seed funding only to nonprofit organizations that have integrated sustaining strategies into their business plans, building a new kind of change organization that won’t have to spend its time writing grants to make a difference. It can stay focused on mission.

Micro-philanthropy: ChangeXchange allows anyone, regardless of financial or social background, to become an investor in positive social change. This means that you can be a key part of the most cutting edge and innovative solutions to problems in your own community! Micro-philanthropy is now king.

HHI is the first organization to be featured for our sustaining strategy. I ask you to take a few minutes to read about our sustaining plan on ChangeXchange and then invest in HHI. Your investment will make you an investor who is committed to seeing HHI move beyond fund raising and towards greater financial independence. This allows HHI to focus our efforts on serving more women and children in need.

Become a Fan of HHI on Facebook!

2009-04-06T11:32:00.001-07:00

Hands to Hearts now has a spiffy new Facebook page where we are posting photos, updates and all sorts of other news items and we'd love to have you join us as a Fan. Please go to HHI's Facebook page and sign up to be a Fan.

We look forward to seeing you there soon!

Many thanks for all that you do to continue to make HHI such a powerful tool for social change.

Laura Peterson, Founder/Director

HHI Infant Massage DVD Now Available at Black Wagon!

2009-03-31T12:12:00.000-07:00

Hands to Hearts International is proud to announce that local & unique children's store, Black Wagon is now carrying our Instructional Infant Massage DVD in their store and online. We are very excited about this partnership and hope to educate even more local families with this amazing opportunity. Thank You to Black Wagon who is helping HHI nurture needy children around the world!

Please visit their website @ www.blackwagon.com

Reflecting

2009-03-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

This expresses my wishes so eloquently...

"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do it whatever way I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. i rejoice in life for it's own sake. Life is no brief candle to me; it is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations." - George Bernard Shaw

Images of India

2009-03-11T12:09:00.000-07:00

See the slideshow of all the amazing pictures from my recent trip to visit Hands to Hearts in India.

Orissa Shines!

2009-03-10T13:01:00.000-07:00

Our Orissa partners, Viswa Yuva Kendra (VYK), have been working with HHI for almost 2 years and they have not only been enthusiastic in leading HHI's training throughout their state, but they have been busy! Since July of 2007, they have led 46 trainings, for ICDS workers (similar to the US's Head Start teachers), creche center workers, village mothers and orphanage caregivers. In total, they have trained 582 women!

And, they are only gaining momentum, having just trained in a new HHI Trainer, Bharati, who comes to HHI with years of experience in leading public health trainings in the community.

This group clearly is enjoying Bharati and the fun of learning about how children learn.

My gratitude goes out to Manoj Mohapatra for his leadership and advocacy, Tapaswini Panda for her excellence in training and to Bharati, our newest team member.

HHI's Village Mommies

2009-03-09T09:18:00.000-07:00

Since last June, Sujatha, HHI's Master Trainer in South India, has been leading HHI trainings for village mothers. In only 9 months, she has now served 32 villages, training mothers and grandmothers and in some places fathers and grandfathers who are welcomed to participate. The results are now rippling through this rural area of South India, where most families live off of agriculture or micro-businesses, but remain in the grips of poverty.

I have been sharing beautiful stories and pictures from these trainings since they began, but it wasn't until a week ago that I was able to visit this area myself. It is a whole different experience first hand, much deeper, richer, and more multi-faceted. My first visit was to a tribal group, who had only just moved out of living in a small set of caves a few years ago. I described some of that experience in the blog entry before this one.
Then I was able to visit an amazing program called Reaching the Unreached, where HHI has provided training to foster mothers who parent orphaned children, many that are HIV+, but living healthy and full lives due to the love of their new families. When I entered the preschool classrooms at RTU, my heart beat in my throat when all of the children jumped to their feet at the sight of Sujatha and immediately began singing and dancing to one of the songs she taught them last summer. See the joy:

I also was able to visit 4 rural villages where I met dozens of mommies, their babies and children, all of whom had attended an HHI training. They gathered together to talk to me, to share their stories about the impact of what they learned from HHI and the difference it has made for their children and in their communities. Again and again, I heard reports that the women had changed their hygiene practices; boiling feeding bottles, covering food from flies, bathing the children more often and using soap, and that they kept themselves cleaner, especially in preparation for breastfeeding and before they prepared food.

They told of feeding their children a wider variety of foods to provide more nutrients. Women were also practicing baby massage, on their babies and by request for their older children. Many of the mommies also reported that they spent more time interacting with their children, talking and singing to them more often. They noted that their infants were learning language faster than their older children had. Best of all, in 3 of the 4 villages, the women reported that they were so happy with the lessons they learned from HHI, that they were teaching their friends and family members so they could better provide for their children. One of the HHI trainees was an Assisting Nursing Midwife. She works with pregnant mothers around the district and she eagerly told me that she now teaches her expectant and new mothers about the importance of hygiene, nutrition and early childhood brain development.
The seeds of knowledge that HHI has planted are taking root in the fertile soil of capable women who may have been deprived of a formal education, but are intelligent and want to provide the best life possible for their children. Knowledge is a gift that keeps on giving, creating a ripple effect that is now showing up in the health, weight, and language development of the youngest generations of 32 villages (just in the last 9 months in Tamil Nadu alone). HHI will continue to promote health, emphasizing the daily actions any parent can take to pave the way for a better tomorrow.

Palak models her Tiny Revolutionary Tee!

2009-03-09T15:52:00.001-07:00

Palak was our baby star in HHI's Baby Massage DVD and she is growing up happy, healthy, smart, and beautiful, and she LOVES the camera! Also, she just got her Tiny Revolutionary tee that shows Gandhi carrying a baby, and it reads "Where there is LOVE, there is LIFE". Palak is the daughter of Tapaswini, an HHI Certified Trainer in Orissa, India - so, she knows all about the power of love!

Every "Where there is LOVE, there is LIFE" designer tee sold by Tiny Revolutionary, provides $20 to the work of HHI in India. If you haven't bought yours yet - for a baby, child or yourself - check them out and buy one today!

Also, see Palak starring in HHI's instructional Baby Massage DVD by buying a copy for yourself, or as the perfect baby shower gift, buy on our website, with 100% of proceeds benefitting HHI's operations.