HOPE staff member, Katie Straight, reflects on meeting HOPE’s clients in Haiti.
One year ago today, the struggling nation of Haiti was devastated by an earthquake that killed over 200,000 and left 1.5 million homeless. In the aftermath, stories of broken-down ports and backlogged airports began to cast doubt on the effectiveness of relief efforts—and the effectiveness of the billions of dollars in aid that had been poured into Haiti in the previous decades.
Even as some were predicting that Haiti was beyond hope, we* saw persuasive evidence to the contrary. HOPE has always believed that Haiti’s strength lies in its people. Resilient, determined, and hopeful, their spirits were not crushed. Those who had little began sharing with those who had less. Some of HOPE’s clients, who lived in northern Haiti and were not directly impacted by the quake, took others who were forced to flee the devastation of Port-au-Prince into their homes. We saw, and have continued to see, God at work in their generosity. 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).
