As a child whose family had lived in Dakar, Senegal, for three years (pictured below), Katy Rogers had seen poverty. Later, as a college student volunteering in Rwanda, she believed she saw a viable part of the solution: Christ-centered microfinance. As she grew in her understanding of microfinance, Katy says, “It felt like, That’s my purpose in life. That’s what God has prepared me for.” Continue Reading…
Archives For Staff / Travels
HOPE Intl
Dec 20 2018
HOPE Intl
Staff / Travels
There’s an interview question I like to ask: Have you always known you had these skills? Ladis Ramirez’s answer surprised me.
In September, I traveled to Paraguay to interview clients of HOPE’s newest microfinance partner, Diaconía. Sitting outside of a community center in Cevallos Cuesta, Paraguay, I heard the hum of chatting and laughter inside. Working on colorful clothing and accessories, over 40 women were attending a vocational course—part of Diaconía’s holistic model of development. Across from me, Ladis showed off a creamy-white sweater and intricately-designed sandals. Both humble and enthusiastic, her eyes shone as she described how she made each item. Continue Reading…
HOPE Intl
Oct 26 2018
HOPE Intl
News Staff / Travels
By Maddie Conley, Social Media Intern
Each year, HOPE International receives hundreds of applicants for our summer internship program. Those accepted work alongside HOPE staff in a variety of departments doing work that has an impact across the globe. This past summer, 11 interns joined the HOPE team in Lancaster, PA. Some commuted no more than 30 minutes from home, while others left family and friends in other states. Continue Reading…
HOPE Intl
Sep 17 2018
HOPE Intl
News Staff / Travels
By Roger Morgan, Africa Regional Director
It was in September 2017 that I, along with HOPE’s senior management team, recommended to the board of directors that we close operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
As one of the world’s most difficult places to do business, HOPE DRC’s history had been fraught with challenges. Since launching in 2004, we had faced numerous environmental, political, and operational hurdles. With HOPE’s desire to serve underserved places, we remained committed to working in DRC, even when so many organizations could not. But after more than a decade of combating challenge after challenge, we recognized that the program had stagnated, unable to grow in the increasing tumultuous environment and creating ongoing risk for other HOPE-network programs.
We could not provide a plan for improvement; we made the difficult decision to close.
HOPE Intl
Aug 21 2018
HOPE Intl
Spiritual Integration Staff / Travels
By Dan Williams, Director of Spiritual Integration
A weekly series from HOPE’s director of spiritual integration
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8
As we continue to dive into God’s requirements of us in Micah 6:8, let’s look at what it means to love mercy.
Driving home late from work one night in Haiti, I had a terrible motorcycle accident … involving a cow. The most severe of my injuries were compound open fractures to my left forearm—meaning that a surgeon in Florida had to repair it with two plates, 13 screws, and remove something that “looked like cow fur” lodged in my wound. Continue Reading…
HOPE Intl
Aug 14 2018
HOPE Intl
Spiritual Integration Staff / Travels
By Dan Williams, Director of Spiritual Integration
A seven-week series from HOPE’s director of spiritual integration
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8
As we dive into God’s requirements of us in Micah 6:8, let’s start by looking at what it means to act justly.
My first job with HOPE was split living in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. As I regularly traveled across the island of Hispaniola, I got quite familiar with the border crossing between the two neighboring countries.
On one trip, I got stopped at the Dominican border because I had overstayed my tourist visa. I was pulled into a small room that had a single desk staffed by a lone Dominican officer, and a line of people, entirely Haitian, who had also overstayed their visas. I watched as each person negotiated the fine they would have to pay to exit the country, noting that each person paid different fines. Without any definitive scale, the reasons behind our varying fines were based on arbitrary reasons. One person paid more simply because the officer deemed his passport was too dirty. When I received my own fine, I realized that I paid less than every Haitian before me.
