Ahopa is a grassroots, charitable and compassionate 

  service organization focusing its efforts on the Pine

  Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.  We are governed 

  by a volunteer board and assisted by donors, program

  partners and volunteers both on and off the reservation.

  Ahopa will not be just another relief organization. Our

  vision is to see healthy and self-sufficient Lakota

  communities and we have come to believe that

  partnership, not paternalism is the key to recognizing

  that vision.

  We have found that Native American charities succeed  

  only to the extent that the people on the reservations  

  have a vested interest in the programs being offered.   

  Therefore Ahopa will pursue its objectives through

  partnership with volunteers on Pine Ridge who will 

  implement the programs at the local level.

  Our vision is to see healthy, strong and self-sufficient 

  Lakota communities and our programs will work towards

  that goal.  There are plenty of Lakota people who would

  love to see their communities develop a sense of shared 

  purpose and overcome the hardships that have plagued

  them for years.  The dreamers and the visionaries are

  already there.   What they lack are the resources and a

  hand getting started.

  Another key to the success of our programs will be the

  collaborative efforts of the donors, program partners and   volunteers.  Yes, an organization such as this will

  depend  on donations and the time and effort of

  volunteers to accomplish its goals.  But underneath all of

  that, your participation, whether as a donor, a program

  partner or a volunteer -  is a vote of confidence in the 

  Lakota people, a  belief that a determined few, along

  with some shared resources and collaborative effort, can

  make the communities of Pine Ridge a better place to

  raise the next generation.

  That vote of confidence and a shared dream in better

  tomorrows for the children of Pine Ridge means more

  to our Lakota friends than my pitiful skill as a writer is

  able to convey to you.