About us
The Helping Hands team
Helping Hands was founded in January 2016 by Daniélla Rodrigues and Yvonne Helland. In Tanzania, we provide support that can make an important difference in everyday life and give people a better opportunity to support themselves.
The projects are led by Gladness Andrew Massawe. She follows up with the families and our work on a day-to-day basis.
Our history
When Daniélla travelled to Tanzania to volunteer at an orphanage, she met several people in very difficult life situations. She started raising money from friends and family back home, but soon saw that the needs were greater than what she could manage alone.
She wanted to make the work more structured and long-term, and reached out to Yvonne. Together, they started Helping Hands, only 20 years old and still students.
From the left: Daniélla, Gladness and Yvonne
Gladness - the heart of the organization
None of this would have been possible without Gladness. She knows the local community, the people and the language, and she knows where help is needed most. With the funds Daniélla and Yvonne raised in Norway, Gladness was able to find families in her local area who needed an extra hand along the way. Today, she leads our work in Tanzania.
Gladness is an incredibly capable woman, with a big heart for people and her local community. She follows up with the children and families who receive support through Helping Hands. She sees how things are going at home and at school, and follows up if someone becomes ill, needs help or is missing something important.
She has also chosen to take vulnerable children into her own home, in addition to her own three children. Where there is room in the heart, there is room in the home, she believes. And Gladness has more room in her heart than most.
Gladness is the heart of Helping Hands. We would not be anywhere without her.