The One Heart Model

A sustainable village model that empowers whole communities

It starts with education and a loving home

If knowledge is power, One Heart, by providing schools will empower every student to reach their potential and open opportunities.

Support, care, shelter, security, and most importantly love, are fundamental for the healthy development of young children. One Heart gives vulnerable and orphaned children a place to belong.

Supporting the community and giving back

In addition to providing quality education in areas where children do not have schooling options or would need to travel significant distances to obtain it, our skills training centres allow young people to learn a trade or how to start a business. Our financial model sees fee paying students help subsidies the costs of providing many One Heart scholarships.

How do children come to One Heart?

We work with registered rescue shelters and government children's services, who we know exhaust all possible avenues to find a family member before placing children into our foster care homes. One Heart also provides scholarships to disadvantaged children to attend school who are still able to remain living with their parents.

Who do we partner with?

Through both our One Heart Villages in Kenya and Uganda we have partnered with organisations to help achieve our visions.

We partner with charities locally and in Australia and New Zealand who support us through the development of homes and skills training as well as income-generating activities such as orchards and poultry farms.
View our Partners
Who is involved in each village?

One Heart Foundation empowers local leaders to make a difference in their community.

Each village is run and managed by a local champion with a team of local employees including teachers, social workers, house parents, cleaning and maintenance staff, kitchen staff and farmhands.

We also have local boards in each country to oversee our work, as well as an Australian board to drive the bigger vision of One Heart.
View Our Team
What is our sustainability model?

Each village community will become financially self-sustainable, free from long term reliance on international aid.

Each community looks to reduce its impact on the environment by generating its own energy, collect its own water, produce its own food, and build using local materials with simple passive design principles.

Socially we are committed to connecting our children with any remaining relatives, their original community and their culture.

A healthy village is a happy village

Once our village is established and children have access to a safe shelter, caring house parents, food and education, we introduce community health care to support the village and the local area.

Sowing the seeds of self-sufficiency

Locally grown produce provides the main form of sustenance for the children and team at the One Heart Village. But our farms and various social enterprises also provide opportunities for local employment and income to fund further scholarships. By partnering with local and international organisations, One Heart can create opportunities for greater, self sustaining revenue streams.

Empowering women

A key step to help stop the cycle of poverty, is to focus on the education and empowerment of women. Providing training in income generation, vocational studies, maternity care, we aim to equip vulnerable girls and women with the key skills and knowledge that will enable them to earn an income to support their families. . We also look to provide healthcare services, youth empowerment programs and early childhood development initiatives to equip and empower girls and women to thrive.

Making it sustainable to ensure a long term impact

One Heart has a unique model of financial, environmental and social sustainability. We are creating a holistic community development model that can be replicated throughout Africa and beyond to see a long term impact and reduce poverty.

It takes a village to raise a child

One Heart runs a variety of programs and initiatives to generate awareness, funds and other support for its villages. These programs are designed to create two-way benefits. See how you can get involved!

Get Involved