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…

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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This summer, HOPE was blessed to have over 20 interns join our team, both in our Lancaster, PA office and internationally. The following is an excerpt from a blog kept by intern Tara Woodward about her time in Moldova with HOPE’s partner Invest-Credit.

Success happens when a client finds hope again. Before Victor and his wife started a chicken business, Victor was an alcoholic. Then, after Victor and his wife started attending a church near their village, they became Christians, and Victor stopped drinking. For a while, everything was good, until they found out that his wife had cancer. After many prayers for her healing, God miraculously took the cancer away, and everything was fine again. A year later, the cancer came back and his wife only lived a short time later. Victor’s original 300 chickens were dwindling to 45 because of the medical expenses. After the death of his wife, Victor Rotaru was left with seven children to care for, a dwindling business, and an ache in his heart. Life was hard, but Victor knew that God is still faithful and has a plan despite tough seasons. Continue Reading…