In His Loving Hand is a non-profit organization based in the U.S.A., with an international
vision to provide educational, social, and humanitarian aid among the poorest of the poor.
Our mission statement is:
In His Loving Hand will extend
a loving hand to Africa's poor through evangelization,
education, and humanitarian aid.
Our programs are currently functioning in various areas of Abidjan,
Ivory Coast, West Africa, giving hope for a better future
to many children, young people, and families in difficulty.
How We Started
The story began in 1994 when Barbara Lane
was working as an office manager in California and found she was very bored with
her life. She thought, “There must be more to life than this!” She
spent lots of time playing golf but never breaking 100. She found her
life empty even though all her closets were full of clothes. It was on
the golf course one day that she realized that she had to seek deeper meaning for her life
even if it meant some life-changing
decisions would have to be made.
A "Call" to the Needy
One day she asked a hard question, “God, what do you want me to do with
the rest of my life?” She sensed a most surprising answer:
“Now's the time to get involved with the needs of the desperately poor.”
Barbara had earned a B.A. degree from Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio,
and a master's degree in Spanish from the
University of Arizona, plus a California teaching certificate. Since
Barbara was fluent in Spanish, she was happy to have participated in some
mission trips to Mexico and had chosen to work
with a Spanish-speaking group in California. But she had never dreamed of
going to Africa! In fact, she had even said, "I'll go anywhere except Africa!" So of course
she ended up in a French-speaking country of Africa!
After a few months of preparation in Switzerland, Togo and Mali, Barbara went to Ivory Coast in early 1998,
where she began to survey the needs of the poor areas of Abidjan.
First Projects in Abidjan
Building a literacy and training center was the first
project devoted to the area's poor children. Called Noah's
Ark (pictured right), it is located in Gobelé, the largest
shantytown of Abidjan.
Soon after starting the project at Gobelé, an additional learning
center was started in another poor area called Biabou, on the
outskirts of Abidjan. The work there includes a sewing school,
adult literacy classes, and the second Noah's Ark school, which
offers first through fifth grade classes for children.
To find out more about activities at Gobelé and Biabou, open
the "What We Do" page.
Our Objectives
Our objectives include evangelization, education, social integration, values building, and humanitarian aid.
Evangelism: Most of the children and adults with whom we work have had little exposure to a relevant presentation of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our primary objective is to provide a clear and uncompromised evangelistic message.
Education: Most have little or no instruction or experience that
that would prepare them to join the main stream culture of Ivory Coast. The values of living on the streets or in
enclaves of abject poverty, and the low level of education, are too often at odds with the skills needed
to become fully functioning citizens.
Vocational Skills: In addition to primary-level education and adult
literacy, we work to provide useful job skills.
Social Values: We work to train and inspire at-risk youth in spiritual, cultural, and societal
values, helping them to integrate
into a stable society and enjoy a better future.
As part of that
effort we organized and support a soccer team consisting of
disadvantaged
teenagers.
Humanitarian Aid: Our objectives concerning humanitarian aid are to provide food, offer
medical assistance, student aid, and to educate children and parents
concerning proper hygiene, HIV/AIDS, and malaria and other illnesses.
