Objectives

We work to provide short-term relief to communities in need and we make long-term capital commitments that will improve the community's overall quality of life.

We fulfill these objectives by providing BASIC humanitarian services:

• Basic short- and long-term medical care
• Assistance in developing educational and literacy programs
• Sanitation and water purification systems
• Instruction and partnership in micro-enterprise
• Collaborative training in leadership development.

The exploratory phase of a Adopt-a-Village International project identifies a community in need. In most cases individuals want to improve conditions in their community but lack the material resources to realize their goals.

In the short term, we network with community leaders to assess local needs and requests. Together we define the immediate needs of the community and devise a long-term plan for executing more comprehensive projects. Our long-term goals are to provide ongoing, self-supporting solutions with a strong emphasis on education, sustainable construction techniques and local materials.

In every project, Adopt-a-Village International operates on the core values of:

• Integrity. We are committed to the highest integrity at all times and in all interactions, with donors, program recipients, staff and volunteers.
• Effectiveness. We will achieve maximum effectiveness through excellence, quality projects, communication and a dynamic work environment.
• Sustainability. We work to create sustainable and long-lasting change in partnership with local communities and organizations.
• Stewardship. We will maintain financial strength and practice impeccable stewardship of all our resources.
• Inclusiveness. We are a nonsectarian, humanitarian organization and therefore practice inclusiveness of all faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds. We value diversity at all levels of our organization.

History

In its first two years of existence, Hope Alliance shipped $8 million in medical supplies and humanitarian aid internationally. In the late 1990s, John Hanrahan, a family practice doctor and Joe Mitchell, a local minister from Park City, Utah, organized and led a series of humanitarian relief projects with volunteers from their community. They witnessed people drawing drinking water from the same source used for trash and human waste disposal, cooking, and cleaning their clothes and bodies.

They saw young children break their limbs during soccer games from simply kicking a ball or falling to the ground due to malnutrition.  

Concerned about the long-term impact of the aid that was provided to villages and communities living in extreme poverty conditions, Mitchell and Hanrahan began to study cases of those treated by humanitarian groups and organizations to see if there was improvement in the quality of life amongst its members. 

What they realized was, more often than not, the well-meaning groups were providing a “patch” or a “band aid” to the community; however, little lengthy impact or improvement was evident. This issue weighed heavy on their hearts. Therefore, Mitchell and Hanrahan decided to start a non-profit with the belief and trust that those more fortunate could rally together and make a true, long-lasting difference in extreme poverty villages and communities with the ultimate goal of ending the cycle of poverty.

The overwhelming success of these projects convinced Hanrahan and Mitchell to formalize their partnership and expand their efforts. Hope Alliance was born in December 1999. Since then staff and volunteers have donated more than 20,000 hours of service, providing care for tens of thousands of patients in medical, vision and dental clinics.

Hope Alliance Expands
Hope Alliance International is an outgrowth of a wheelchair fundraiser. When Joe Mitchell, co-founder of Hope Alliance, moved from the Utah headquarters, he brought the vision of humanitarian aid with him to Colorado. Long time Rotarian; Mitchell and a few key players enlisted the help of their Rotary club and 25 other clubs across Colorado to unite during a fundraiser to send wheelchairs to Peru. At the end of the fundraiser, more than $40 thousand had been raised to purchase hundreds of wheelchairs for Peru’s destitute.

Twenty-seven people traveled to Peru to help outfit Peruvians with wheelchairs. Many came back desiring to get involved with Hope Alliance International. One trip participant explained, “Everyone goes through a certain moment when the situation really hits you, and you realize that you want to do something more to help.”

After the wheelchair fundraiser, a few members of the Rotary club, along with other outstanding Colorado citizens, offered their resources and knowledge to give birth to Hope Alliance International.

Started in 2003 and incorporated by the State of Colorado as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization under the name of Hope Alliance International in 2005, Adopt a Village International (AaVI) has focused its humanitarian efforts in South America, specifically in Peru and Ecuador, with future goals of expanding to other areas in need. We have recently changed our name to better reflect what we do.

With a motto of “providing a hand up, not a hand out” to extremely poverty-stricken villages, Adopt-a-Village International has been successful in assessing and addressing the needs of communities by working in partnership with various groups and entities to not only provide the communities with basic need assistance but also empower the community through education, job-training, and micro-business development so the community can eventually support themselves with an enhanced quality of life without the dependency of others.

Adopt-a-Village International has provided medical clinics, trained health workers, provided medical supplies for existing hospitals and clinics, and performed much needed construction in villages.