2020 has been a year of bad news: coronavirus … dust storms … wildfires … financial shocks … the list goes on.
And yet, despite the real hardships many are facing, we are confident that God is still moving, He is still in control, and He alone deserves our praise. As David exhorts, “Sing praises to the Lord! … Tell among the peoples his deeds!” (Psalm 9:11 ESV).
Today we’re singing God’s praise as we celebrate glimpses of His goodness in the HOPE network throughout 2020. Continue Reading…
by Jenn Tarbell and Lance Wood
I (Jenn) worked in development for several years, raising money for a Christ-centered microfinance organization. Because the target demographic for these programs is typically adults who take out loans or join savings groups, people often asked me, “But what about the kids?” Continue Reading…
Going to prison marked the beginning of Emmanuel Chamango’s openness to God’s transforming power.
Emmanual describes his former self as someone who avoided hard work, choosing to steal or rely on others to provide for his family. Emmanuel’s imprisonment humbled him. “What led me to come here?” he pondered. “Is it the person who reported me to the police [for illegally farming land he didn’t own], or was it God?” A visiting pastor preached on forgiveness, and Emmanuel took the message to heart. He remembers praying as he never had before. “Slowly I started changing, and that’s when I started loving God.”
In recent months, COVID-19 has severely disrupted economies and markets. In this climate, we’re seeing executives from huge corporations—like Spotify, Whole Foods, Panera, and United Airlines—lead their companies to pivot, adapting their business model in ways that ensure short-term survival and create new avenues for future development.
At HOPE, we’re seeing the same business savvy shown by execs of multi-million-dollar corporations carried out by the entrepreneurs and savings groups we serve around the world—but with fewer resources and more challenging circumstances. Here are a few stories of women and men in the HOPE network demonstrating their resilience, tenacity, and entrepreneurial innovation, as they pivot their businesses to adapt to the new economic landscape shaped by the coronavirus:
A self-described “serial entrepreneur,” Anthony Barton has always had a keen eye for unmet needs. As a child, he trudged up and down sandy beaches in Malibu selling ice cream to hungry surfers. In college, he noticed the mess generated by fraternity parties on campus and started a business cleaning up the trash left behind. After graduation, he noticed that a lot of bars and restaurants could also use a good cleaning. Knowing he had the experience to do something about it, Anthony launched his first wildly successful cleaning business—the A Specialist.
Several years ago, Anthony and his wife, Yolanda, sold the A Specialist and together launched a new cleaning business called SAFE Kitchens, with the goal of “creating a culture within commercial kitchens that is as risk and worry-free as humanly possible.”
Then COVID-19 struck, and 95% of their business evaporated as their clients in food services, aviation, and film shut their doors. Continue Reading…
We asked several leaders from around the HOPE network—Rwanda, the Dominican Republic, and Paraguay—to share how they are coming alongside the men and women we serve as they recover losses related to COVID-19 lockdowns and reopen their businesses.
Hear from Diane Uwamahoro and Isaie Ndayizeye, co-directors of the HOPE Rwanda savings group program.
