In 2020, the HOPE network continued to serve men and women in the world’s underserved communities. And no part of HOPE’s work or operations was not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. But despite all these challenges, we still felt God’s faithful love and compassion toward us, our partners, and the families we serve.
In the last year, we’ve shared a few of these stories of challenge and resilience, along with insights into HOPE’s work and the communities where we serve. We hope that you’ve been encouraged, challenged, and inspired in your own life to grow in faith and service to the Kingdom.
In case you missed any of these insightful and inspirational stories, here are our five most-read posts from 2020:
Staff confession: I was wrong about savings groups
“I thought that the numbers were the most important things about these savings groups,” reflects Robert Gonza, who works as HOPE Rwanda’s quality assurance officer. But as he spent more time with groups, his understanding deepened. Read his reflection.
Collecting water shouldn’t be a full-time job.
Years ago, families in Chitipa, Malawi, each spent around 35 hours per week—the equivalent of a full-time job in the U.S.—collecting clean water. With a loan from her savings group, Leah Mshani has invested in a solution. Read more.
“My dad grew up in poverty”: why COVID-19’s impact is personal
When Jill Heisey, a writer at HOPE, heard that a whole generation of economic progress could be lost because of COVID-19, what might have been an abstract concept felt personal. Read her story.
Prayer alert: Taal volcano eruption in the Philippines
On January 12, 2020, the Taal volcano in the Philippines erupted. HOPE’s local partner, the Center for Community Transformation (CCT), asked us to pray for the more than 30,000 men and women partnering with CCT that had been affected. Learn more.
How the HOPE network is helping businesses reopen
Months into the pandemic, we asked several leaders from around the HOPE network to share how they are coming alongside the men and women we serve as they recovered losses and reopened their businesses. Watch their updates.
Featured image: A savings group in Zambia
![Before Eveness Mulungu joined the Walusungu (“mercy”) savings group through our church partner in Malawi, she faced days where she and her family ate animal feed because they couldn’t afford human food. But that changed when she joined the savings group. Eveness used her first group loan of about $1.70 (U.S.) to start a business selling doughnuts and beans.
“By the end of my first cycle I made $140 (U.S.),” Eveness shared. “My life is no longer the same now; [I] was regarded as no one in the community. ... This was the first time in my life that I ever touched and owned big money like this!”
Pictured: Eveness, with her husband in front of their piggery—a third successful business that she operates.](https://blog.hopeinternational.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)