The Hands Up Project

Name

The Hands Up Project

Legal name

The Hands Up Project

Website

https://handsupproject.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Hands Up Project is a UK charity trust that connects children worldwide with young Palestinians via online drama, poetry, and storytelling sessions, operating educational programmes in Gaza, Cairo, and the UK through a global volunteer network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Education Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710), Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Virtual/Hybrid International Short-Term Academic Programs (EDAIAIAL)

Keywords

• Charitable education programs
• Remote theatre education
• English language teaching
• Intercultural learning programs
• Youth creative writing

Headquarters

HQ city

Totnes

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Primary revenue stream through donations from individuals, crowdfunding campaigns, and grants. The organization raises funds for educational spaces in Cairo, teacher salaries, and project activities like the Art from the Rubble initiative.
2. Book and Resource Sales: Sale of published books including poetry anthologies (Moon tell me truth, From dust we rise), theatre collections (Welcome to Gaza, Doing Remote Theatre, Stories Reborn), and educational resources through the online shop.
3. Grant Funding: Support from institutional funders including National Education Union grants, UK Research and Innovation funding through SOAS, and support from organizations like HEAL Palestine for teacher equipment and salaries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Hands Up Project runs online link-up programmes that connect Palestinian children in Gaza and Cairo with classrooms worldwide via Zoom, using drama, poetry, and storytelling to teach English and provide psychosocial support. It publishes and sells poetry anthologies, theatre compilations, and language-learning resources, and operates a physical Cairo educational space offering around 24 weekly classes for Palestinian refugee children using the Palestinian curriculum.

Product overview

The Hands Up Project is a charity trust that connects children around the world with young people in Palestine through online interaction, drama, and storytelling activities. The organization operates as a unified educational service rather than a software platform. Its core offerings include: (1) Remote theatre and link-up programs via Zoom connecting Palestinian children with volunteers worldwide, (2) Published resources including poetry collections ('Moon tell me truth', 'Oh big blue', 'From dust we rise'), theatre compilations ('Welcome to Gaza', 'Special theatre collection'), and story resources (Stories Alive series with titles like 'Lion & The Mouse', 'Juha', 'Crow & The Jackal'), (3) Art programs such as 'Art from the Rubble' transforming destruction into creative resilience, (4) Educational services including the Cairo Educational Space for Palestinian refugee children, and (5) Annual programs like the Poetry Competition. The organization does not offer a software product with integrations or API capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Stories Alive A British Council Palestine educational publication providing materials for teaching English through storytelling and controlled, memorable language learning activities; used in classrooms by teachers supporting Palestinian and refugee learners.
• Moon tell me truth A bilingual poetry anthology containing 60 handwritten poems written by Palestinian children in 2023, with poems inspired by paintings from Palestinian artists, sold through the Hands Up Project shop.
• Special Poetry Collection A bundle of the three Hands Up Project poetry anthologies — Moon tell me truth, Oh big blue, and From dust we rise — sold together as a single collection with UK postage included at £35.
• From dust we rise A 2025 anthology of longer poems by young Palestinians, produced via a mentorship scheme with international writers supported by SOAS, University of London and UK Research and Innovation.
• Welcome to Gaza A compilation of 19 short plays written and originally performed by Palestinian children between 2017 and 2020, also available as a filmed stage production with QR codes linking to original performances.
• Special Theatre Collection A bundle including Welcome to Gaza, Doing remote theatre (with a remote theatre guide), and Stories Reborn (10 theatre scripts based on traditional Palestinian stories written in 2025).
• Stories Reborn A 2025 set of 10 theatre scripts, picture stories, and chants based on traditional Palestinian stories, used in classrooms with Stories Alive methodology.
• Lion & The Mouse A story with script and images resource for classroom use, forming part of the Stories Alive collection.
• Juha A story and script resource for teaching language through traditional Palestinian narratives.
• Crow & The Jackal A story presentation resource for classroom activities and language learning.
• Cairo Educational Space An in-person educational service in Cairo delivering around 24 classes per week of English instruction, drama, poetry, and storytelling activities using the Palestinian curriculum for Palestinian refugee children.
• Remote Theatre Link-up Sessions Weekly online link-up sessions run over Zoom where young Palestinians present plays, stories, and poems to other young people in classrooms around the world in real time.
• Art from the Rubble An art programme in Gaza in which teachers, artists, and children transform the debris of war into creative outputs through painting, drawing, sculptural work, storytelling, and theatrical activities, providing psychosocial support alongside the English-language curriculum.
• Oh big blue A 2024 collection of 60 handwritten poems by Palestinian children, also presented as a touring exhibition at international schools.

Quantifiable outcome

• Research shows link-up sessions improved student enjoyment of English classes for nearly all participants
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, significant and minor.

• UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint recipients of the ELTons 2021 Local Innovation Award. UNRWA teachers and centres in Gaza were initial partners for English language education programmes. The collaboration enabled link-ups between UNRWA school students and international volunteers.
• British Council PalestinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-developed the 'Stories Alive' language learning materials published by British Council Palestine. These materials are now used in schools across Palestine and in makeshift schools in Gaza.
• SOAS, University of LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported the 'From dust we rise' poetry anthology through mentorship scheme. International writers from SOAS mentored young Palestinian poets in 2025. Supported by UK Research and Innovation Talent and Research Stabilisation Fund.
• National Education Union (UK)significantGTM or Marketing PartnerProvided grant to run the 2025 poetry competition and produce the forthcoming book. NEU conference presence for promoting Hands Up Project to UK educators.
• Remembering SrebenicaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK charity committed to learning lessons from the Bosnian genocide. Proceeds from the 2025 poetry competition book will be shared between Hands Up Project and Remembering Srebenica, with focus on poetry from Palestine and Bosnia.
• aNews (Turkish News Channel)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerTurkish news channel that has reported on the Hands Up Project, providing media coverage and visibility for the organisation's work.
• Inspired Kids and Inspired CPD (Taiwan)significantStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to bring Hands Up Project methodologies to schools in Taiwan. Provides intercultural learning opportunities and creative English education for students.
• Palestine Writers WorkshopcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on the 2025 mentorship scheme for young Palestinian poets. International poets including Rim Aoude, Liam Horan, Zaffar Kunial, Peter Oswald, Alice Oswald and Batool abu Akleen mentored participants.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Right To Play: Global organization using play, sport, and creative activities to educate and protect children in disadvantaged and conflict-affected communities. Highly comparable methodology (creative/performance-based learning for trauma-affected children) and international footprint.
• War Child UK: UK-based charity focused on supporting children affected by conflict through education, protection, and advocacy. Directly comparable in mission, UK charity structure, education-delivered-in-conflict model, and donor base sympathetic to affected-child causes.
• Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF): US-headquartered non-profit providing free medical and humanitarian care to Palestinian children. Comparable in donor-driven funding model targeting Palestinian child welfare and education; differs by medical rather than arts-education focus.
• HEAL Palestine: Non-profit providing medical and educational support to Palestinian children in Gaza and the West Bank. Listed as a core Hands Up partner supporting teacher salaries and equipment; serves the same beneficiary population through overlapping programmes.
• UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees): UN agency providing education, health, and social services to Palestinian refugees. Joint ELTons 2021 winner with Hands Up; collaboratively delivers English language learning to the same Gaza student population.

Broad incumbents

• Save the Children UK: Major UK-based international NGO delivering education, health, and protection programmes to children globally, including in conflict zones. Overlapping educational programme delivery and UK donor market; vastly larger scale.
• British Council: UK international organization for cultural relations and English language teaching, including the ELTons awards programme. Co-developed Stories Alive with Hands Up; directly comparable in ELT methodology and content development.
• UNICEF UK: Global children's rights and education organization with extensive programming in conflict-affected regions. Comparable in child-welfare mission and education-in-crisis focus, though at vastly larger scale and broader scope.

Others

• ASSITEJ (International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People): Global network promoting performing arts for young audiences, including in conflict-affected regions. Comparable as an enabler/ecosystem organization for the remote theatre methodology Hands Up has developed.

Regional players

• Interpal: UK-based charity providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Occupied Territories and refugee camps. Similar UK-headquartered, Palestine-focused charity with overlapping donor network and beneficiary base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-hands-up-project

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Hands Up Project