Shelbyville-based Desana aids children worldwide

George and Kathy Houk of Desana Inc. gave out school uniforms, supplies and hygiene items to very grateful children in Pomatales, Peru. The Houks formed Desana Inc., a tax-exempt 501(c)3 charity, to help impoverished children in both the United States and in other areas of the world. For more information on Desana Inc., or to contribute, visit www.desanagiving.org .
(Submitted photo)

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While it was a difficult time in her life, she felt the need to travel as a result of watching the network's various shows and booked a trip to Peru that would ultimately change her life forever.

"I was still sick but I knew I wanted to go to Peru," said Houk. "I went to Celebration Travel and I said 'Lisa, I want to plan a trip to Peru.'"

As a result of that trip, and a lot of hard work and diligence on the part of Kathy and her husband, George Houk, and their friend, Sharon Winkler, Desana Inc. was born. And it's improving the lives of impoverished children world wide.

Desana is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 non-profit with a primary focus to "enrich the lives of extremely poor children through out the world. We accomplish this by targeting the specific needs [of children in need] through a local source who will work with us and become the local director. We are not limited to any one location or type of need," according to www.desanagiving.org.

During her vacation to Peru in 2006, which she took with her husband, Kathy said she fell in love with the children of Peru as she traveled throughout the remote areas of the country with a tour guide named Gary Sanchez.

Sanchez showed the Houks much more than a typical tour group would see because they were the only people on the tour. The Houks connected with Sanchez on the nine-day trip; Sanchez connected with the Houks, too, and expressed a vision he had about starting his own tour company with the proceeds benefiting school children in Peru.

Sanchez also expressed an interest in providing gifts to the children during Christmas.

"When Kathy saw the children and heard Gary's stories, she decided that she wanted to get involved," according to the web site. "She knew she would be able to help right away with Christmas gifts in 2006."

When she returned to Shelbyville, she and Sharon Winkler, an attorney in Murfreesboro, talked more about the possibilities of forming a charity. Steps were immediately taken to form a 501(c)3 non-profit group, which would allow donor contributions to be tax-deductible.

"With a lot of diligence, Sharon did everything, all the paperwork, necessary to make this happen," said Houk. In March of 2007, nine months after they started the paper work, Desana Inc. became a 501(c)3 charity.

Throughout the process of forming the charity, the Houks did help provide Christmas for children in Peru, with the help of Sanchez. They purchased toys and other necessities for 125 children that year, and followed up with the same project in 2007, this time through Desana Inc., which reached more than double the children.

Desana Inc. is organized and maintained by a group of five volunteers, including the Houks and Winkler, Troy Kramer and Craig Miller.

In 2007, Desana's first year up and running, they took on five projects, one in the United States, one in Russia, and three in Peru. All of these projects came about as a result of knowing a local person already involved with the projects in that particular area. Now, Desana is taking applicants (application forms are available on their web site) and will consider more projects.

In April of 2007, Desana provided $3,000 worth of school supplies, uniforms and teacher supplies to the Senor de los Milagros School of Pomatales, Peru.

From June through December, Desana raised $4,400 to provide for the Petrokamensk shelter in Russia. This money was used to pay bills, provide meals, provide school lunch money, and to purchase personal hygiene items.

"People are very willing to donate to the Russians," said Kathy, who will be traveling to Russia this year with her husband to visit that project, which has become an ongoing project. "People wonder, 'how can there be so many Russian orphans?'. We are hoping to expand our project in Russia because people have been so generous with this project."

In August 2007, Desana sent $700 to Bruce Peru, Agenda SOS Latin America, a project that Desana will be more involved with in 2008.

In November 2007, Desana teamed up with Mona Miyasato, a teacher at Pine Ridge High School, Pine Ridge Reservation, in South Dakota. Since November, Desana has raised more than $3,000 in funds that will go toward a book fair, to be held this month. Pine Ridge has a library, but it doesn't have a librarian, let alone books, said Kathy. The book fair will be for teachers, who will pick out books to be used in the classroom.

Goals have been set in 2008 to continue raising money for the projects undertaken in 2007, in addition to possibly picking up more projects through those who've applied for help. In order to do this, however, they need more volunteers.

All of Desana's work is 100 percent volunteer; volunteers are not reimbursed for anything, including travel, and 100 percent of all donations go toward the chosen projects.

Desana gives money to a local director who is in charge of determining exactly how the money is spent. George Sanchez is the local director in Peru, Mona Miyasato in South Dakota, and Elena Antropyanskaya researches how money is specifically spent in Russia.

Having a local person affiliated with the various programs is extremely helpful in that the children get what they need, as opposed to what donors think they need.

So far, information about Desana Inc. and how to make donations has been spread purely by word of mouth and by a couple of e-mail blasts.

Local businesses and organizations have been helpful in becoming involved with Desana's efforts, including Celebration Travel, Corner Cleaners, Puppy Palace, Daniel Neese Realty, and Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Shelbyville.

Contributions can be made to a specific project of one's choice or to a general fund at Desana Inc., in which case Desana will use the money where it's most needed.

More information about the Houks, Desana Inc, and how to contribute to the various projects is available at www.desanagiving.org .