HOPE staff member, Katie Straight, reflects on meeting HOPE’s clients in Haiti.
This morning we hopped in the truck bed of a tap-tap, the “taxi” of rural Haiti, to ride to the weekly market in neighboring Miragoane. What an incredible sight to see thousands of local vendors selling every imaginable item: fruit, rice, freshly butchered meats, fabric, livestock, sunglasses, and jeans. We had the opportunity to see a number of HOPE’s Savings and Credit Association (SCA) clients in the midst of their commerce, busily selling meat from livestock they raised or homemade bread or candies. They stopped to tell us about how they had used their savings to invest in their businesses and care for their families. Without exception they said that they were glad to be a part of the savings program because it has enabled them to have access to money at critical times when they would not have had it before. Continue Reading…
Over the past several years, I have had the immense privilege of traveling with each of my children to visit HOPE’s work in person, giving them the opportunity to witness firsthand the transformation that takes place when the poor receive the capital they need to invest in their businesses. This past summer, my youngest daughter, Leah, and I traveled to Rwanda, Burundi, and Ukraine: three countries where we witnessed God at work in amazing ways.
Most of the women in Brazzaville wear beautiful dresses or skirts made of pagne, a brightly colored fabric that comes in bold, interesting patterns. Women buy the relatively inexpensive fabric in the pagne sections of the market and then take their selections to one of hundreds of local tailors. These tailors can create customized and detailed dresses, shirts, and suits at impressive speeds. Mikhal (HOPE Congo’s Finance Manager and my amazing hostess!) helped me buy fabric and commission a few skirts from a tailor named Bienvenu. 
When European powers sat down to divide Central Africa amongst themselves in the nineteenth century, today’s Republic of Congo became a colony of France. Although Congo gained independence in 1960 and you might not be able to tell at first glance, ties between the two countries are still strong. For better or worse, France has left an indelible impression on Congo’s culture, government, and economy. The official language of business and academia is French (the Congolese are way ahead of Americans with fluency in multiple languages), and many Western expats and major business owners are French. One of the happier results: you don’t have to look too far to get a good croissant, or as I was happy to find, a mil feuille (I’ve also heard it called a napoleon).
