Aheads

AFRICAN HEALTH, EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
(AHEADS)

What is AHEADS?

AHEADS was founded on the basis of a number of diaspora led initiatives and
is aimed at working in partnership with local people in health, education,
human rights and skills development. It is a not for profit social enterprise and
charitable organisation which is intended to help and support people and
communities encountering hardship as a result of lack of basic services
including education and health. Our main focus is to help and support Somali
people who are in need of basic services for health, education and life skills.

Our aims and objectives

AHEAD’S mission is to empower people through education by providing
individuals and communities with opportunities to learn and develop skills, as
well as raising awareness about the issues that affect their lives. Our aim is to
improve the social, economic and educational status of people in the Horn of
Africa. We strive to make a contribution to the wider common strategy of
tackling poverty and illiteracy to enable people to understand and protect their
human rights, and to improve their lives and break the cycle of poverty that so
often persists across the generations in Africa.

Our practical objectives include:

1. Capacity building to develop both human resources and contributing
   facilities or aspects of infrastructure.
   How:
    Increasing the availability and the skills of local work force through
   provision of training and personal development.
    Mobilising diaspora members’ knowledge, experience, and skills as
   well as their understanding of local issues.
    Improving access to and geographical distribution of health and
   educational facilities.
    Identifying and filling in gaps in existing development activities whether
   provided by local institutions or foreign aid organisations.
2. Generation and provision of resources
   How:
    Fund raising
    Delivery of services directly or through support of and collaboration
   with statutory, international and local NGOs.
    Provision of the necessary consultancy, information and research
   resources.

 Contribution of professionally skilled manpower on a temporary basis
as required.

3. Community empowerment and publication of educational and
   information materials
   How:
    Provision of opportunities and facilities for community engagement in
   identifying priorities, in the planning and implementation of actions to
   meet these priorities.
    Raising of public awareness of issues affecting lives, particularly in the
   sphere of health, education and human rights.
    Understanding the impact of people’s beliefs, views and cultural
   preferences relating to health, to the education of their children and
   families, and to general development issues. This would be supported
   by carrying out or collaborating with others in relevant studies and
   research.