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HOPE Intl

Dec 9 2011

By HOPE Intl

 Staff / Travels Stories we love Working with the poor

Delivering Opportunity on the Streets of Manila

Traffic

I landed here in Manila on the 22nd of October, and two things leaped out at me as soon as I left the airport. The first was people. In 2006, Forbes magazine ranked Manila as the single most densely populated city in the world, with 112,000 people per square mile. Compare this with New York City’s 27,500 people per square mile (or Beijing’s 80,000 people per square mile), and you can begin to get a feel for the number of people crammed into this place. The second thing was poverty. This was expected to a large degree, but I still found myself startled by many of the sights inside a country where 45 percent of the population lives on less that $2 per day. Continue Reading…

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HOPE Intl

Dec 5 2011

By HOPE Intl

 Stories we love Working with the poor

An Abundant Harvest


When her loan officer asks for volunteers to share the impact of Urwego Opportunity Bank, HOPE’s partner in Rwanda, on their lives, Francoise Ingabire is the first to her feet. In front of an audience of over 40 community bank members, a few Urwego leaders, two foreign visitors, and a couple of wandering chickens, she shares the basic premise of her story. And as though she just can’t help herself, she takes advantage of the opportunity to preach: “I encourage you to pray for your businesses,” she instructs the Christian and Muslim members of her community bank alike. “When you invite God in, He makes ways for you to succeed in business.”

Francoise invites us to see her business, a 25-minute drive from Urwego’s office, she says. “It will be at least double that,” our interpreter warns of the Rwandan concept of time. We pile four deep into the backseat of a white pickup truck. Over a bumpy red-dirt road, Francoise’s story spills out in increasing detail over the next 50 minutes. Continue Reading…

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HOPE Intl

Dec 1 2011

By HOPE Intl

 Stories we love

In Recognition of World AIDS Day

…we are reposting Henri’s* story, which we first shared in 2008. An HIV-positive Haitian living in the Dominican Republic, Henri turned several loans from Esperanza, HOPE’s partner in the D.R., into new opportunities for himself and his family.

Batey

Statistics suggest that 1 in every 100 Dominicans is HIV-positive. In the largely Haitian-occupied sugarcane plantations, or bateys, that are common to the island, the percentage grows increasingly dismal, with estimates ranging from 5 to 12 of every 100 residents. What statistics cannot capture is the despair and fear that come with the diagnosis and spread like an epidemic to family members and friends of infected individuals. When Henri, who lives in a batey community on the Dominican Republic’s northern coast, first learned that he had contracted the virus 10 years ago, he grew increasingly alone. His neighbors rejected him, he and his wife eventually separated, and the couple’s three children stayed with their mother.

Continue Reading…

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HOPE Intl

Nov 24 2011

By HOPE Intl

 Stories we love Working with the poor

A Thanksgiving Message

Happy Thanksgiving! We are so grateful for all those who support HOPE—through advocacy, prayer, or finances. This Thanksgiving, please accept our thanks on behalf of clients like Marie Jeanne (whose story is included below) who have experienced significant transformation because of your support. Through savings programs, small business loans, basic business training, and the hope of the Gospel, HOPE is reaching nearly 350,000 clients in 16 countries around the world. We thank God and thank you for giving us the privilege of working with these inspiring individuals to bring change to their families, communities, and countries!

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Jill Heisey

Oct 25 2011

By Jill Heisey

 Staff / Travels Stories we love

God Has Given Us a Story


I’ve worked with HOPE over five years now, and one of my favorite parts of my job has always been writing clients’ stories. Hearing of school fees paid, families fed, and hearts transformed by Jesus’ love never gets old for me. In reading and writing these stories, I feel connected to HOPE’s clients … but this past week I had the immense privilege of traveling to Rwanda for the first time to connect with our clients face to face.

On my second day of client meetings, I sat in a simple brick church with one of HOPE’s saving circles, marveling at God’s goodness as one woman after another rose to recount her testimony. As each shared, the others clapped or interjected “Praise the Lord!” or “Amen!” As an afternoon storm blew in, I feared our time would be cut short, but the women raised their voices to be heard over the deafening rain. They refused to be drowned out, as they praised God for setting them free from adultery, alcoholism, and unforgiveness. Continue Reading…

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Walter Suckau

Oct 20 2011

By Walter Suckau

 Staff / Travels Stories we love

The Resilience of Hope

Walter with DRC and RC staff

I’m on my way back from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was my first time here; sitting now in the airplane, my time here seems almost like a dream. The world here seems so different and foreign.

I had the opportunity to meet many clients, talk to them, hear their stories, meet the leaders of HOPE here, and plan for the future. Images race through my head, and it seems as if I have not processed all my experiences yet. Continue Reading…

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