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a generator outside a store

Originally posted on Peter Greer’s blog.

For 476 days, we’ve heard about the dire realities of war in Ukraine: Thriving cities abandoned. Loved ones missing. Lives and livelihoods plundered.

In June, farmers HOPE previously served in the Kherson region woke up to the reality of losing yet another harvest. With fields under water from enemy attacks on the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, their crops and profits have been wiped out.

While traveling to Ukraine to visit our HOPE colleagues recently, these scenes were at the forefront of my mind. The horror and destruction of war I’d read about was real. But as I spent more time with staff and entrepreneurs there, one thing became clear: Even as bombs weakened infrastructure and devastated neighborhoods, they most certainly did not crush the Ukrainian spirit.

Continue Reading…

Originally posted on Peter Greer’s blog.

It’s been more than a month since Russia laid siege to Ukraine. Their brutal and unrelenting attacks have crumbled historic buildings, laid waste to fertile ground, and devastated families, particularly in Ukraine’s eastern and southern regions. Seventy percent of the entrepreneurs HOPE Ukraine serves live and work in these regions. We’ve spent the last weeks checking in daily with staff members—doing all we can to ensure their safety—and connecting with the entrepreneurs we serve to learn how we can pray for and support them. These men and women have many reasons to despair, but once again, I am surprised and inspired by signs of resolute hope. Continue Reading…

This blog was originally posted on Peter Greer’s website in July. Since posting, southwestern Haiti has experienced a magnitude 7.2 earthquake on August 14 that killed over 1,200 and injured more than 5,700. Our staff members are safe, and we’re still assessing the impact on our church partners and savings groups. In the face of yet another natural disaster and ensuing humanitarian crisis, the main tenet of this post is as poignant as ever: Courageous Haitian leaders who have decided to stay in their country are bringing hope to communities where many might not see much cause for optimism.      

Haiti catapulted onto the international stage last month when its president, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated in his home by a group of gunmen wielding assault rifles. His wife, Haitian First Lady Martine Marie Étienne Moïse, was wounded in the attack. This latest tragedy plunges Haiti further into chaos with shootouts in the streets, widespread fear, escalating tensions, rising gang violence, and political turmoil.

Haiti doesn’t often make international headlines, and when it does, it’s rarely good news: a devastating earthquake … a deadly cholera outbreak … another violent coup. But underneath the chaos, there is another story that needs to make the headlines: the faithful men and women who choose to stay and serve. Continue Reading…

Friends,

As the world continues to navigate the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we are acutely aware of the significant health and economic challenges, as well as the opportunity that we have to courageously love our neighbors in a moment of fear and anxiety.

This brief post provides a high-level overview of how COVID-19 is impacting HOPE’s work and how our team is responding. As with every circumstance, we work knowing that God is sovereign and pray that our response will point others to Jesus. You can also watch my video update. Continue Reading…

Just two hundred years ago, almost the entire world’s population lived in extreme poverty. Today, less than 10 percent do. In the past 40 years alone, the percent of people living in extreme poverty has dropped by over 30 percentage points.

In my years of work in Christ-centered economic development, I have had the privilege of visiting places ranging from the small towns in Haiti to remote villages in northern Afghanistan. And I have come to realize that while poverty runs rampant in our world, the situation in so many communities is unquestionably getting better. The depth and complexities of poverty are not hopeless. The Church is on the move. Continue Reading…

by Peter Greer, President & CEO

’Tis the season for planning Christmas compassion projects. From filling shoeboxes to setting up angel trees, churches and organizations around the world are thinking about how to launch these elegantly simple ways of caring for others during the most wonderful time of the year.

There is so much that is right and beautiful about these annual giving traditions.

I love that they offer a way for whole families to practice generosity together. I love that they’re an invitation to think beyond our me-centered, consumeristic desires and recognize that there are significant material needs in the world. I love that they invite us to share some of what we’ve received. And most of all, I love how they provide a glimpse into sacrificial love and service, reminding us of the story of Jesus.

At the same time, there are shadow sides to many of these projects, particularly if they don’t extend beyond one-time charity distributions. 

For those of you who might be exploring what you should participate in this year, here are three questions to ask as your church and family seek to love and care for others well by getting involved this Christmas: Continue Reading…