HUMANITARIAN UNIVERSAL CONNEXIONS INC

Program: Hispanic Children and Families outreach

Program Description:

Humanitarian Universal Connexions (HUCO) serves the poor in three Hispanic countries (2010).  In 2011, we are expanding to Nicaragua.  HUCO provides resources to meet a variety of needs including: food, health care, materials for schools, lunch programs, school supplies, medicines, housing and shelter for the orphans, microenterprises loans, rehabilitation of disabled children, and emergency relief aid.  We implement these efforts through in-country local charitable organizations which have the know-how and expertise to execute all projects in the most cost-effective way.  Since HUCO’s inception, our administrative and fundraising costs have been minimal.  HUCO strives, through our local partners, to make individuals and neighborhoods self supporting.  We provide on our website our Annual Reports, so donors who contribute can have the opportunity to choose and fund a specific project (and follow progress) in the country of his/her choice.  For example, a donor can sponsor the acquisition of a prosthesis for a child or an adult, the construction of a little school in a poor neighborhood, support health care services, provide school supplies and lunch for a great number of children in Colombia, sponsor an orphan, support disabled children in El Salvador, or contribute funds for the rehabilitation of several youngsters in Ecuador, etc.  HUCO has been recognized by the Independent Charities of America (ICA) federation and has received the ICA Seal of Excellence.  Also, HUCO is a member of the Hispanic & Latino Charities of the U.S. and the Americas (HLCUSA) a federation group under the ICA umbrella federation.  We work in a spirit of collaboration and partnership with our in-country organizations to effectively achieve common objectives.

Program Long-Term Success:

HUCO’s goal is to make individuals and communities self-sufficient and many of our support programs are specifically designed with that objective in mind.  Our local partners, through the years, have developed a great capacity for service as a result of their expertise and the assistance we have offered them.

Program Short-Term Success:

For our short term projects, the successes are direct an immediate, like providing or fixing of a prosthesis, or health care of an individual.  Our annual reports list our projects for the year and provides information how HUCO’s support has made a difference.

Program Success Monitored by:

Members of our Board and volunteers periodically travel overseas to visit our major sponsored programs and monitor the use of funds.  Also there is continuous communication with the directors of the programs overseas and their accountants send a report to our accountant in USA showing in sufficient details how the money was spent.  Our financials are audited by a Certified Public Accountant registered in the State of Florida.

Program Success Examples:

Although a very small organization, we have provided enough funding to make a difference in the programs we support.  Since our partners are well established charitable organizations, the expenses are minimized and our success is very cost effective.  We have sent to Barranquilla, Colombia humanitarian cargo full of medical and hospital supplies, wheelchairs, etc, worth several thousand of dollars through the US Denton Program with the assistance of COSHARE, our partner in Florida.