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Panelists at the forum in Harlem, USA, on 19 October 2019 discussing the Ebola outbreak in North Kivu, DRC in 2018-2019

September 22nd, 2020

Panelists at the forum in Harlem, USA on 19 October 2019 discussing the Ebola outbreak in the North Kivu region of the DRC in 2018-2019. The Panel was organized by Gordon Tapper and IAAP Representative Judy Kuriansky with key support from the Friends of the Congo’s Representative, Bibi Ndala.

The panelists, from right to left are are Gordon Tapper, Bibi Ndala, Friends of the Congo, Dr Tamar Tchelidze, ADvisor at the Mission of Georgia to the United Nations, Dr. Judy Kuriansky, Main Representative of the IAAP at the United Nations, Ms Fatima Khan, WHO Represenatative, Ms Lys Alcayna -Stevens, Harvard University, and Ms. Mary Choi of the CDC.

GTAH, UAC, IAAP and Black Star News host Webinars on ‘The Coronavirus in Africa’

August 9th, 2020

Give Them a Hand Foundation and Partners Remain Committed to Improving the Medical Infrastructure of African Countries

The Give Them a Hand Foundation (GTAH) and its partners, United African Congress (UAC), International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP) and Black Star News, have always had as their main focus the development of Africa and its 54 countries, and facilitating the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This includes an emphasis on socio-economic development, gender equality, education for youth, and healthcare services for all, with special attention to remote rural, underserved communities.

In 2014, we were among the organizations first to sound the alarm about the impending Ebola outbreak in West Africa and its potential to become a worldwide pandemic. As a result, we hosted the first forum held at the United Nations on the subject, bringing together the Ambassadors of the three most-affected countries – Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea – with representatives from civil society, WHO, the UN, and the medical profession. An impressive outcome was that expatriate organizations mobilized to send over a million-dollars-worth of medical equipment and supplies to those affected countries. We followed that forum with a major awareness-raising event in the UN General Assembly Hall featuring speeches by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power and the Ambassador of the AU Observer Mission.

In 2019, GTAH, UAC and IAAP joined the fight against the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that was claiming thousands of lives. We partnered with Friends of the Congo here in the USA and held a forum in New York City with panelists from CDC, WHO, Harvard University, and other organizations. We also reached an agreement with the University of Butembo in North Kivu to provide training for students in psychology, communications and pastoral studies, community leaders, and faculty members on risk communication, psychosocial support, and community engagement, including a community service element. The project will be revived when the COVID-19 pandemic ends.

However, our partnership to help the people of the DRC continued, to date, with our partners on the ground in South Kivu. The current project combats COVID-19 in the region through the elements of entrepreneurship (hiring local women to sew masks distributed free to the community), and health and psychosocial skills education, about mask-wearing, hand-washing and psychosocial activities. We provide handwashing stations in key locations and infographics to inform the community on good sanitation and building psychological resilience. Success of the project is anecdotally reported, and data is being evaluated.

As with Ebola, we were the first to raise the alarm about the COVID-19 threat to Africa at the UN. In response, we have been hosting webinars on the overarching theme “The Coronavirus in Africa.” All have included experts from various disciplines, as well as drawn large numbers of registrants and garnered positive feedback from an audience of a wide cross-section of the diplomatic community, government ministers, NGOs, health professionals, advocates, media, and others.

The first webinar, on 9 April, addressed the topic “Coronavirus in Africa: Stopping the Spread and the Panic”. Speakers included the Ambassador of Sierra Leone to the United States, the Ambassador of Ethiopia to the United Nations and the Chargé d’Affaires of the African Union Mission in Washington, DC.

The second webinar on 30 April was entitled, “Coronavirus in Africa: Racism, Discrimination, Xenophobia and Violations of Human Rights in the Era of the Covid-19 Pandemic”. Speakers included the former AU Ambassador in Washington, DC, Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quao, UNHCR Deputy Director Richard Towle, Ms. Yaqui Wang from Human Rights Watch, and human rights activist and professor at Emory University, Isabella Alexander-Nathani.

For our third webinar, on “The Impact of the Lockdown from Reporters on the Ground”, leading journalists from South Africa, Lesotho, Nigeria, and Ghana reported on the current state of the crisis in their respective countries.

The fourth webinar, held on 4 June, focused on “The Impact of the Lockdown on Food Security” and featured as the main speaker H.E. Dr. Owuso Afriyie Akoto, the Minister of Food and Agriculture for Ghana.

Our fifth webinar focused on “The Economic Impact of Covid-19 on Africa: Building a Sustainable Future”. Speakers included Mr. Mamo Mehritu, Chief Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Mr. Abiy Ahmed, and Professor Jeffrey Sachs of the Sustainable Development Institute at Columbia University.

The 6th webinar addressed “Innovations and Technology in Health Care in Africa” and the 7th webinar focused on “Gender Disparities: Its Impact on Women and Girls”.

The format usually involves three speakers, presenting for 10-12-minutes, followed by a 20-minute Q&A session with our resident panel of experts, and another 20-minute Q and A with attendees.

Our resident panel of experts comprises Dr. Judy Kuriansky, the main representative of the IAAP at the United Nations and Professor of Clinical Psychology at Columbia University Teachers College; Dr. Mohammed Nurhussein, Professor Emeritus of Medicine from SUNY Downstate Medical Center; Mr. Milton Allimadi, Professor of African History at John Jay College; and Ms. Stephanie Evans, Director of Medical Imaging at Harlem Hospital.

Stephanie Evans, Executive Director, Give Them a Hand Foundation

Gordon Tapper, Founder, Give Them a Hand Foundation

Following see the invitation flyers for the webinars

WEBINAR #1 – 9 April 2020: “Stopping the Spread and the Panic”

WEBINAR #2 – 30 April 2020: “Racism, Discrimination, Xenophobia and Violations of Human Rights in the Era of the Covid-19 Pandemic”

WEBINAR #3 – 14 May 2020: “Impact of the Lockdown from Reporters on the Ground”

WEBINAR #4 – 4 June 2020: “Impact of the Lockdown on Food Security”

WEBINAR #5 – 18 June 2020: “Economic Impact of Covid-19: Building a Sustainable Future”

WEBINAR #6 – 9 July 2020: “Technology and Innovation in Healthcare in Africa”

WEBINAR #7 – 23 July 2020: “Gender Disparities: Its Impact on Women and Girls”

Give Them A Hand Foundation Joins With Over 100,000 People In Taiwan To Celebrate Buddha’s Birthday

June 13th, 2013

Give Them a Hand Foundation’s (GTAH) founder and chairman, Gordon Tapper was a special guest of the Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) to the Fo Guang Shan celebration of Buddha’s birthday in Taipei, in May, 2013. Fo Guang Shan is one of the largest Buddhist orders throughout the world and is the largest in Taiwan. BLIA is the international arm of Fo Guang Shan.

The celebratory event took place Sunday, 12 May, 2013 in front of the Presidential office. The celebration was attended by more than 100,000 persons who participated enthusiastically, in spite of more than two (2) hours of torrential in the program which included speeches and entertainment.

Taiwan President Ma Jing-jeou, Venerable Master Hsing Yun, Founder of the Fo Guang Shan Monastery, the Mayor of Taipei, Honorary Chairman of the Kuomanting Political Party, Mr. Wu-Po hsiung and Gordon Tapper, founder of GTAH, all addressed the gathering, including Ambassadors of several countries.

President Ma, in his speech, expressed the desire for people to find peace in their hearts through the power of religion. He added that BLIA urged people “…to think good thoughts, speak kind words and to do good”, habits he found effective in finding peace in one’s heart.

Mr. Tapper spoke of the collaboration of GTAH and BLIA along with partnering organization, United African Congress, in hosting an Interfaith Harmony event at the United Nations in 2012 and 2013 and in doing relief work in communities in New York and New Jersey that were devastated by Hurricane Sandy in November 2012. He added that he looked forward to further collaborative programs in the coming years.

Mr. Tapper, who worships in the Christian tradition, spent a week with his hosts, visiting and touring the Fo Guang Shan Monastery at its Headquarters in Kaohsiung, located in the south of the island as well as the newly opened Buddha Memorial Center.

The Monastery sits on a massive campus and has over 1000 rooms for guests. The Buddha Memorial Center is an impressive religious, cultural and educational complex set on 100 hectares. It has a number of Temples for worship, several museums and several restaurants, all vegetarian. In just over two years after opening, the center has become one of the most visited sites in the world for both Buddhists and non-Buddhists.

One highlight of his visit was a one hour audience with the Venerable Master Hsing Yun in which he spoke of the United Nations being the last real hope for world peace. He offered the support of Fo Guang Shan for any future humanitarian projects that will be undertaken jointly by GTAH and BLIA.

A visit to the three-day Taipei International Vegetarian Expo, organized by BLIA, also provided the GTAH chairman with remarkable insights. This event was held in the Taipei Trade Center which housed more than 500 booths, representing several countries and displaying fruits, vegetables and vegetarian food products and meals of the widest variety.

According to Mr. Tapper, “the discipline of the attendees of the Birthday celebrations as they sat through the driving rain for two and a half hours without any demonstration of displeasure and of the dancers, the singers and the children who performed on stage as if they were in bright sunshine, left a lasting impression.”

Photos courtesy of Pi Lai.

GIVE THEM A HAND FOUNDATION (GTAH) AND UNITED AFRICAN CONGRESS (UAC) LEAD DIVERSE GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS INTO COMMUNITIES RAVAGED BY HURRICANE SANDY

November 12th, 2012

Red Hook, Brooklyn, 12 November, 2012

GTAH, with its traditional coalition partner, The United African Congress, brought together more than 120 volunteers anxious to have an opportunity to bring a measure of relief to the people of Red Hook, Brooklyn who are suffering the ill effects of Super Storm, Sandy.

Volunteers included two dozen United Nations Staff Members, twenty five members of the International Buddhist Progress Society, led by the Venerable Chueh Chen, thirty members of the Mosque led by Imam Shamsi Ali, members of several African Community and Diaspora groups as well as GTAH and UAC members. Not only was this group a reflection of the wonderful melting pot of cultures and nationalities that New York City is, but also a demonstration of Interfaith Harmony in action.

Red Hook was one of the Brooklyn communities that lost power for more than two weeks, with hundreds of residents virtually shut in their quarters in high rise apartment buildings with no lights, no heat, and no elevator service – and in many instances with no food. A secluded waterfront community, with no subway service linking it to the rest of the City, Red Hook is low-lying and when the storm surge hit, large swathes of the community became flooded.

Prior to bringing in our volunteers, the leadership of GTAH and UAC met with key organizers in the community including members of the Red Hook Initiative (RHI), Assemblyman Carlos Ortiz initiative and representatives from OCCUPY. Special mention must be made of the outstanding young lady, Gillian Kaye, who three weeks ago wandered into the ravaged Red Hook to see how she could help and then rapidly morphed into the visible director of the OCCUPY effort in the area, coordinating the delivery of services and assigning hundreds of volunteers to locations where they were needed on a daily basis. Her energy and organizational skills are boundless, bringing to mind the Shakespearian quote, “some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them”. In Gillian’s case, she combines all three possibilities.

Our team of volunteers began their activities in Red Hook on Monday morning. Electricity had been returned to the community, making redundant the plans for our team to deliver pre-packed bags of blankets, flashlights, batteries and other items. Similarly plans to deliver meals to those shut-ins in the high rises were no longer a priority as many could now get out themselves.

In co-ordination with OCCUPY, our team changed tack and joined in the process of cleaning out flooded buildings and throwing out tons of debris. Another group manned food lines in Coffey Park distributing cooked meals, fruit and water to hundreds of people lined up to get sustenance.

Our volunteers made meaningful contributions to the community. It was a drop in the bucket when put against the massive task that lies ahead and which will continue for months, if not years. However, community efforts like these, along with the help from government agencies, private sector and concerned individuals, will bring about the rehabilitation of Red Hook.

HONORING THE LIFE OF MELES ZENAWI, PRIME MINISTER OF ETHIOPIA

November 8th, 2012

May 1955 — August 2012
The Abyssinian Baptist Church
27 October 2012

GTAH co-sponsored the Memorial for Meles Zenawi, along with the United African Congress and the Permanent Mission of Ethiopia to the United Nations. GTAH’s participation was in recognition of the outstanding accomplishments of the Zenawi Government in advancing the development of Ethiopia in almost every aspect of life. Zenawi was recognised by most world leaders, financial institutions and world economists as the most successful and inspirational Head of State in Africa in many years. In fact, for several years during the last decade, Ethiopia and China enjoyed the highest rate of economic growth of any country in the world. In the area of education, Zenawi’s Government built as many as thirty new universities throughout the country.

During the 1990’s and early 2000’s Ethiopia was frequently devasted by drought and famine requiring international aid to feed millions of its people. That situation has changed and in recent years Ethiopia has found itself sending food aid to other countries in Africa that were experiencing drought and famine. Zenawi supported green policies and espoused ideas to address climate change and global warming. No other country in Africa has made as much progress as Ethiopia in achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals.

Ethiopia is a country of many ethnic groups which had fought each other for hundreds of years. Zenawi instituted a Federal System of Government which granted autonomy to the various regions and this has proven to be successful and has brought about relative peace and new-found prosperity in the country.

The high regard in which Zenawi was held by world leaders is reflected in the calibre of the dignitaries who attended the memorial service and who spoke in glowing terms about him. The list included the Secretary-General of the United Nations – Ban Ki-moon, US Ambassador to the United Nations – Ms Susan Rice, Senior Director at the National Security Council and Special Assistant to the President of the United States – Ms. Gayle Smith, former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in the Bush Administration – Ambassador Jendaye Frazer, former US Ambassador to Ethiopia under the Bush Administration – Ambassador Tibor Nagy and Ambassador of Benin to the United Nations and Representative of the Chairman of the African Union – Jean Francis-Zinsou. Also, from Academia, Professor Jeffery Sachs of The Earth Institute, Professor Akbar Noman, Columbia University, and Professor Awash Teklehaimanot of the Mailman School of Public Health. Prominent New York Pan Africanist and President of the United African Congress – Sidique Wai also spoke.

The Reverend Calvin Butts officiated over the secular event which included beautiful renditions of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song and Michael Jackson’s Heal the World performed by saxophonist Jerry Johnson, as well as musical numbers by the Abyssinian Baptist Church Cathedral Choir and its soloist. A 17-year old young lady Ferda Fuad representing the youth of Ethiopia performed a poem she wrote in honor of Meles Zenawi.
The event was hosted by Ethiopia’s Ambassador to the UN , H.E. Tekeda Alemu, co-ordinated by Dr. Mohamed Nurhussein and produced by Gordon Tapper.

The Permanent Represen-

tative of Ethiopia to the

United Nations delivering

his remarks

The Secretary General Of UN, H.E. Ban Ki Moon making his speech at the memorial.