San Antonio ADDY Award for Incredible African Ministry
Villages of Hope Africa (VOHA) is a ministry based in San Antonio and Founders David and Dana Mann have been friends of the studio for years. Their passion to serve the Lord led them halfway around the world to Northern Uganda, and Acholi Sub Region, the site of a disastrous civil war between the government of Uganda and The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The war started in 1986 and lasted for more than 20 years.
During the war, tens of thousands of children were forced to commute every night to town centers like Gulu to escape possible LRA abductions from their home villages or IDP (Internally Displaced Peoples) camps. Their nightly journey was documented in the video “Invisible Children” in 2003. In addition to the impact on the children, thousands of families were also displaced from their villages and forced to move to IDP camps for safety.
With the onset of relative peace brought on by the Juba Peace Talks in 2008, the government began encouraging people to move back to their rightful land and homes. But after 20 years, most of their villages were uninhabitable. David and Dana saw firsthand the tremendous need in Gulu Town, the IDP Camps and in the countryside for assisting this transition back to the Achioli villages.
The Mann’s created VOHA to help the people resettle in their homes and villages. VOHA assists the resettlements by drilling deep bore holes for permanent water supplies and providing seed “investments” to help the Acholi people begin growing food for sustenance and commerce. The funds for this initiative are raised by the Mann’s from individual and church donations.
We were thrilled to assist the ministry and design the VOHA website to communicate their message. Since launching the site in 2010, it’s been an effective tool to help the Mann’s share the stories and the needs for the Acholi people and encourage others to support their cause.
In February, the VOHA website was recognized by the San Antonio Advertising Federation with a Bronze ADDY award for website design. We’re excited about the award, but more excited that this will bring greater attention to this incredible ministry, the needs of the Acholi’s and how people can help.
Follow the link to learn more about Villages of Hope Africa.
http://www.villagesofhopeafrica.org/