The John Hanna Foundation
Mission Statement - The John Hanna Foundation exists to provide critical financial assistance and life-affirming support to individuals in crisis, including those affected by addiction, homelessness, and poverty. We are committed to uplifting single mothers, orphans, and underserved families toward stability and lasting hope.
“The Lord watches over the sojourners; He upholds the widow and the fatherless.”
— Psalm 146:9 (ESV)
Our School in Uganda: A Place of Rescue, Healing, and Hope
Through the John Hanna Foundation, we are honored to support a life-giving school and home in Uganda that serves more than 250 vulnerable children—many of whom are orphans whose parents struggled with addiction, poverty, and instability.
Before coming to us, many of these children faced unimaginable risks, including abandonment, exploitation, and human trafficking. Some were living on the streets. Others were being targeted by traffickers who prey on children without protection, education, or family support.
By God’s grace and through faithful partnerships on the ground, these children were rescued from dangerous circumstances and brought into a place of safety, dignity, and belonging.
Today, this school is more than a classroom—it is their home.
Here, children receive:
Safe housing and daily meals
Quality education
Medical care and emotional support
Spiritual guidance and mentoring
Loving supervision and community
Vision Statement - We envision a world where every person facing hardship is met with compassion, restored with dignity, and empowered to rebuild their life through hope, faith, and community.
The John K. Hanna School of Knowledge in Uganda
“Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
— Psalm 82:4 (ESV)
Here, children also receive:
Love
Peace
Joy
Patience
Kindness
They are no longer defined by their past trauma, loss, or circumstances. Instead, they are known, valued, and nurtured as children created in God’s image with purpose and promise.
Within these walls, healing takes place. Confidence is restored. Dreams are reborn.
This school stands as a refuge from exploitation and despair, and as a pathway toward independence, leadership, and lifelong faith. It is a place where children learn not only how to read and write, but how to hope again.
Through ongoing support, prayer, and generosity, we are helping raise a generation that will break cycles of addiction, poverty, and abuse—becoming future leaders, caregivers, and light-bearers in their communities.
Every child here has a story of rescue.
Every child here has a future.
And every life reminds us why this mission matters.
The Story Behind the John Hanna Foundation
John Kamal Hanna: June 15, 1971 - January 22, 2005
The John Hanna Foundation was born from the life, faith, and redemption story of John Hanna—our beloved son, brother, and servant of God. He was my younger brother.
In 1988, our family was shaken by a sudden tragedy when our father passed away unexpectedly. John was a senior in high school, and the loss deeply wounded his heart. Though he was raised in a Christian home where Scripture was read daily and faith was modeled with sincerity, the pain of losing his father became a burden he did not know how to carry.
Unable to process his grief, John turned to drugs in search of relief.
For nearly ten years, he battled addiction in all its forms. His life was marked by instability, broken relationships, and repeated cycles of relapse. He was in and out of jail. He tried to change. He wanted healing. But nothing seemed to reach the depths of his wounded soul.
No program, no discipline, no self-effort was enough.
What trauma had broken, only Christ could restore.
John’s turning point came when he entered a Christian rehabilitation program where he was reintroduced—not just to religion—but to the living Word of God. There, surrounded by prayer, biblical teaching, and godly mentors, he encountered the healing power of Scripture in a personal and transformative way.
The Bible did not simply inform him.
It reformed him.
It revived him.
It saved his life.
As God’s Word renewed his mind and restored his heart, John began to walk in freedom. He committed himself fully to Christ. He returned to school. He pursued theological training. And he answered God’s call into ministry.
John became a pastor with a heart for the broken—because he had once been broken.
For three years, he faithfully served individuals struggling with addiction, homelessness, and despair. He walked alongside those whom society had forgotten. He listened without judgment. He prayed without ceasing. He loved without condition.
He offered others the same hope that had rescued him.
In God’s perfect and mysterious timing, John’s earthly life was later cut short in a tragic car accident. His passing was another deep loss for our family and community. Yet his story did not end there.
His legacy lives on.
Today, the John Hanna Foundation continues the work he began—extending compassion, offering practical support, and pointing hurting lives back to Christ, the true Healer.
Every person we serve carries echoes of John’s story.
Every life restored reflects God’s redeeming power.
Every act of mercy honors the mission he lived.
We exist because he believed that no one is beyond hope.
And because Scripture saved his life, we now dedicate our lives to sharing that same hope with others.
The Beginning Starts at the End - John Hanna’s Story
In The Beginning Starts at the End, John Hanna shares his powerful testimony of loss, addiction, redemption, and restoration through Jesus Christ.
Written from the depths of lived experience, this book traces John’s journey from early heartbreak after the sudden loss of his father, through years of substance abuse, incarceration, and despair, to the life-changing encounter that led him back to God’s Word and lasting freedom.
John honestly reflects on how pain left unresolved can quietly shape destructive choices—and how no amount of human effort, counseling, or discipline could heal what only Christ could restore. It was through Scripture, prayer, and Christian community that he discovered true healing and purpose.
This book is not simply about recovery.
It is about rebirth.
With humility and faith, John reveals how surrendering his brokenness to God became the beginning of a new life. He shares how Christ rebuilt his identity, restored his hope, and called him into ministry to serve others walking the same difficult road.
The Beginning Starts at the End reminds readers that no story is ever too far gone, no failure too final, and no wound too deep for God’s grace.
It is a message of hope for:
Those struggling with addiction
Families carrying generational pain
Anyone burdened by grief or regret
Believers seeking renewal and purpose
Through John’s story, readers are invited to believe that endings can become beginnings—and that in Christ, redemption is always possible.