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by Jess Bauer, California Development Intern

Last summer, I spent three months in Haiti learning about poverty in a hands-on and often heart-wrenching way. I listened to the stories of new friends and experienced the heartbreaking reality of material poverty.

One afternoon, I met an elderly man in Leveque, a village where families resettled after their homes were destroyed by the 2010 earthquake. A relief agency had distributed blue tarps to Leveque after the earthquake to be used as a temporary shelter. The tarps were designed for only a few months of inhabitance—any longer and the extreme heat could cause eye damage. After living in his tarp home for five years, this man was completely blind.

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At HOPE International, we appreciate everything that each member of our team does to invest in the dreams of families living in poverty. This summer, we’re excited to have 17 interns and fellows—from the crew in Lancaster, PA, to individuals around the country—joining us through our GROW program, and we want to introduce them to you! To learn more about them, we asked them a few questions:

Why did you choose to intern at HOPE?

IMG_7078Claire Griffin, Recruitment and Retention Intern: “I was drawn to HOPE’s genuine focus on Christ-centeredness. It gives me joy to know my work is bigger than my peers, this organization, and myself.”

 

 

IMG_7304-webJimmy Larkin, Homes for Hope Executive Intern: “I applied because I’m interested in economic development and how it can create opportunities to present the Gospel.”

 

 

 

IMG_7103-webJess Bauer, California Development Intern: “Reading When Helping Hurts by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett strengthened my convictions about how, in our attempts to help those living in poverty, we must be careful not to inadvertently harm them. I researched HOPE and saw that it seemed to be an organization that honored both God and the dignity of families living in poverty.”

 

IMG_7208-webBill Smith, Information Technology Fellow: “I was looking for an opportunity to learn about microfinance firsthand by going to the field and meeting with the institutions and their clients. I was also looking for a position where I could provide some value to the organization with my background.”


What does a typical week at HOPE look like for you?

IMG_7296-webLibby Tewalt, Executive Writing Intern: “Most of my work is self-directed. My mornings involve finishing up projects from the day before. After that, I make my to-do list and work on those items for the rest of the day. A couple days a week, I’ll have a meeting in between lunch and staff devotions. I reside in Intern Row, where there’s always something fun going on.”

 

IMG_7080-webEmily Barry, Writing and Research Intern: “I attend writing team meetings, join the entire staff for prayer or devotions, and work on projects. Projects might include working on a proposal for a grant, writing client stories, or collecting prayer requests for an e-update. There have been lots of opportunities to try different things and develop new skills.”

 

IMG_7317-webArna McArtney, Listening, Monitoring, and Evaluation Fellow: “It’s been a combination of meetings at the organizational, departmental, and team level, and a crash course in data scrubbing and analysis.”

 

 

IMG_7191-webCarly Weaver, North Carolina Development Intern: “Working remotely in Durham, NC, I spend the day working on projects at our co-working space or one of my favorite coffee shops. Recently, I’ve been compiling a booklet full of information and stories about the 16 countries where we serve.”

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by Annie Rose Ansley, HOPE Trips Liaison

In the last few years, more and more information has been shared about the harm that can come from short-term mission trips, or, as they have been dubbed, “voluntourism.” We’ve heard the negatives: $2 billion spent annually, paternalistic attitudes reinforced, cycles of dependency created, construction work “invented” for visitors, and dignity stripped.

But I believe short-term trips can be done well. Here in the Dominican Republic, I work with groups who come from the U.S. to witness what God is doing through the microfinance work of HOPE International’s local partner, Esperanza International. We visit loan repayment meetings, spend time in clients’ businesses and communities, study the Word together, and share meals with local staff members. Distinct from what many of us think of as the typical mission trip, the focus isn’t what the visitors do but what they learn.

I’ve seen these trips be positive, powerful experiences—both for the visitors and for those we visit. And so, based on my limited experience, I’d like to humbly make a few recommendations: Continue Reading…

By Lydia Koehn, Field Communications Fellow

While HOPE International works in a variety of locations around the world, many groups follow a similar 5W’s meeting structure. Adopted from HOPE’s partner in the Philippines, The Center for Community Transformation (CCT), this simple structure ensures consistency, while also creating space for flexibility. Traveling with CCT savings group facilitators for the past four months, I’ve enjoyed experiencing the unique heart that Filipinos bring to their own culture of savings communities.

2:15 p.m. – After unsticking ourselves from the small motorcycle, the three of us—savings program regional coordinator, volunteer facilitator, and me—begin gingerly descending the sharp rocks, down to the edge of the sea. We pick our way through the narrow path of the fishing village, dodging crowing roosters and scampering children.

2:30 p.m. – We arrive just as the savings group’s treasurer squats down beside a rusty, peg-legged wooden table. I gratefully slip into a sliver of shade and look around at the houses perched precariously on wooden stilts that buckle on the rocks below. Tucked into the shadows beneath their homes, several savings group members sit, smiling back at me while waiting patiently for the meeting to start. Continue Reading…

by Lauren Sheard, HOPE Burundi Program Manager

Last month, a new report hit the proverbial newsstands, ranking the countries of the world in order of happiness. My native United States ranked 13th, but my new adoptive home of Burundi came in dead last. Or, for the glass-half-full people, first in sadness.

How could Burundi be the saddest country in the world? Even lower than war-torn Syria? I have only lived here a couple of years, but my image of Burundi is not one particularly marked by downcast faces or depression. Continue Reading…

by Lydia Koehn, Field Communications Fellow

Last week, I traveled to the Philippine island of Mindoro to join a training of savings group facilitators with the Center for Community Transformation (CCT), HOPE International’s local partner in the Philippines.

download (7)More than half of the 46 trainees were pastors from the Mangyan Tribal Churches Association, a group of indigenous churches using savings groups to address both the material and spiritual needs of their communities. Over the course of three days, I was delighted and encouraged by the expertise and faith of Ate Goldie and Ate Luvin, Ate meaning sister in Filipino, who are the leaders of CCT’s savings and credit association program. As I embraced the warmth of the Filipino culture, I discovered a few steps to inspiring the facilitators of future savings groups for the transformation of their communities.

The following are what I found to be the keys to a successful training:

1. Flexibility

When we arrived for the first day of training at 8 a.m., there was no one to be found at the open-air concrete building of the Mangyan Tribal Churches Association. We soon learned that the representatives of the Mangyan churches from the surrounding areas had understood the first day as an optional arrival and the official start to be the next day. So we transitioned into plans for beginning the next day, using the extra time to get to know the pastors from the nearby neighborhoods. Continue Reading…