Wa'na Wanhi- Lakota Youth Project, Building Hope One Project at a Time

We are totally committed to helping an area that struggles economically and has very little financial resources. We at Wa'na Wanhi Lakota Youth Program are made up of adult and youth volunteers living on and around the Pine Ridge Reservation. There are 50,000 tribal members living on a reservation that only has three stores and six gas stations that spans over 2.1 million acres. The reservation has an 80% unemployment rate, and is listed as the second most impoverished area in the United States. Unfortunately, most tribal members do not have access to transportation needed to reach these businesses that are necessary for survival on the reservation. It's imperative to teach self-motivation and self-reliance. It is equally imperative to bring resources that aren't locally available. Being based in an isolated area, accessing even basic fundamental items locally is a challenge. The items in the storage we are trasporting will meet a variety of needs such as educational, arts, household, and furniture. 

The Wa'na Wanhi Lakota Youth Program is raising money to pick up two truck loads of much needed donations in California to be transported to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. We will be paying for the current storage unit costs in California. A dear friend has volunteered to bring the donations to South Dakota using her personal vehicle. We are going to purchase a tow dolly for her truck and provide her the meals, travel and lodging for her trip. Once the donations make it to South Dakota we will disperse the donations to the community. Whatever is left we will put in storage.

The donations given to our program is a much needed blessing. We will be dispersing the donations to the families in the community, as well as utiliizing some for future projects. Our Community Action program is made up of Native youth volunteers ages 7-25 years. We put on youth events as well as workshops and mentoring projects, all of which are rooted in traditional Lakota teachings. We believe that we can empower our Native Youth and instill self motivation by making resources easily accessable. Self motiviation is a serious struggle on our reservation due to lack of hope for a stable future. We believe each small project created will build upon our community's willingness to heal and grow in self reliance, and in turn bring hope.