Timeline
In 1998, a first mission trip to Uganda
The vision of HOW101 began after a group of 12 women, from different backgrounds and churches, traveled to Uganda on a mission trip to work with Youth for Christ Uganda. Not knowing what to expect, the team experienced firsthand the immense poverty and problems mixed with the intense joy and resiliency of the people. We painted an orphanage for abandoned babies, met with the first lady of Uganda, Janet Museveni, and met with several women’s and children’s groups.
A seed was planted…
In 2002, the Starfish Program starts
A team at Colorado Christian Church (CCC) finds sponsors for single mums at Mirembe House Pregnancy Center so they can receive education and/or job training to be able to support themselves and their children. Once the babies reached school age, additional sponsors were found for the children.
In 2007, the Taraja Project starts in Kenya
In 2007, CCC/HOW101 was asked to create a sponsorship program for the boys. Due to political turmoil, the new program with Youth for Christ Kenya, “the Taraja Project”, did not officially begin until 2008.
In 2009, HOW101 becomes a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
In 2009, the demands of both the Starfish program in Uganda and the Taraja Project in Kenya outgrew CCC’s ability to manage, and it was decided that HOW101 would become an independent non-profit entity. Youth for Christ International (YFCI) was the fiscal agent that CCC had used to process the sponsors donations and wire them to Africa. When HOW101 first started we maintained this fiscal relationship with YFCI.
In 2010, first Starfish Camp is held in Uganda
In 2010,
In 2017, HOW101 takes on fiscal agent role
In 2017, with inflation causing prices to rise, it was decided that HOW101 would take over the fiscal agent role so that 100% of sponsor funds could be sent for the children’s welfare in Uganda and Kenya. HOW101 does not take an administrative fee but fundraises separately to cover its costs to manage the program.