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Vadym, a determined entrepreneur from Ukraine, is no stranger to challenge. He grew up in a low-income community where job opportunities were scarce, and his parents struggled to provide for him and his sister.

When Vadym had the opportunity to move to a large city in eastern Ukraine, he took a courageous leap of faith to start his own business selling mobile phones and accessories.  

Vadym began searching for opportunities to expand his business, and learned about HOPE Ukraine from a friend. In 2014 he took out a loan of $830 to purchase more inventory. His shop did well, just as Vadym had hoped. But his life also began to change in ways he couldn’t have imagined.    Continue Reading…

For years, Tafadzwa and Jocelyne Gutu and their two daughters lived in a half-built house in Harare, Zimbabwe. Tafadzwa, a skilled carpenter, was constructing their home—but he couldn’t get enough business to afford the materials he needed to complete the project.

Both Tafadzwa and his wife are deaf, so his clientele was limited to those who knew sign language. The couple struggled to cover food costs, medical bills, and school fees for their family. Finishing their home seemed like a far-off dream.

In 2023, a local church invited Tafadzwa and other neighbors with speech or hearing disabilities to join a savings group called Miracle.

As they prayed, read Scripture, and saved together, God did wonders in Tafadzwa’s life.

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While attending his church in Rusizi, Rwanda, Bahati Jean Felix noticed two men deep in prayer and he felt compelled to learn more about them. When he discovered they worked for Urwego Finance, HOPE International’s microfinance institution in Rwanda, it struck a chord.

“I was surprised to learn that Urwego was actually a financial institution built on Christian values,” Felix recalls. “Knowing that I shared the same faith and beliefs, I felt a strong conviction to join.”

At the time, Felix was running a small restaurant, but the business was barely surviving. Profits were thin, and his ability to support his wife, children, and other family members felt increasingly difficult.

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When Vilda Fretel Asencios, a single mom of four, joined Inspiradas por Cristo (“inspired by Christ”) savings group a few years ago, she saw the new opportunities that it would open to her. Supported by Comas CMA Church, HOPE International’s partner in Peru, the group brought together neighbors in Vilda’s community to pray, worship, receive training, and save money together.

As Vilda and the other group members have grown closer to Christ and each other, they’ve shared their dreams for the future, along with their fears. Both often centered around those they care about most: their children.

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Families in Bowe village in Malawi used to have only one option for accessing capital: loan sharks. 

These loans came with high interest rates that were nearly impossible to repay, trapping many unsuspecting people in a cycle of poverty. When borrowers couldn’t make their payments, they’d have to turn over land, a significant asset, to cover their debt. Sadly, this kind of predatory lending is common in communities where banks are too far away or people don’t qualify for traditional loans or savings accounts.

After years of seeing neighbors fall into debt, the community ached for a better way.

“I used to struggle with financial difficulties with my husband. This resulted in us always being stressed, worried, and uncertain about the future,” says one community member named Dorica.

So, she and several brave women (pictured above) took a step of faith.

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There’s so much we’re grateful for as we reflect on 2024. From bringing more hearts to saving faith to empowering Ukrainian IDPs and members of Zimbabwe’s isolated Doma community, God has done incredible things across the HOPE International network.

Of the stories we shared last year, the HOPE community loved these five the most. May these top five stories of 2024 encourage you today—and prompt you to praise God for all He’s done!

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