Working with the poor Archives | Page 9 of 12

Day 1: Traveling Light

January 10, 2012, 7:44 a.m., Dulles Airport – Washington, D.C.

Follow the daily blog of our VP of Operations

Greetings friends of HOPE! My name is Dave Wasik, and I serve as the VP of Operations at HOPE International. My job is to oversee our programs around the world. I joined HOPE in July of 2011 after many years working in banking.

As background, HOPE has two types of programs: microfinance institutions (MFIs), where HOPE provides small loans ($80-$2000) to local entrepreneurs, and savings and credit association programs (SCAs), where we provide operational funding and technical support to catalyze savings groups. In both MFI and SCA programs, we also share the Word of God with our clients and provide them with biblically based business training.

I think I was 11 the first time my family went on a mission trip. We went deep into the hills of Appalachia: to parts of this country that it’s hard to believe exist. I tagged along with a group that included professional contractors and talented electricians and plumbers, helping out where I could to work alongside a family in making significant repairs to their home. They lived in a pop-up camper with several additions made with great necessity but limited skill. Sewage flowed directly underneath their home, and the family’s living conditions were shocking to a kid who thought most people lived a lot like she did.

One of my clearest memories from this trip is of our group facilitator telling us matter-of -factly before we arrived that this family had a swimming pool. To brace us for the dissonance, he explained that the family lived on extremely limited income and hadn’t been able to give their children much, but this pool was something they had saved to afford. We might have seen it as an odd or even irresponsible use of limited funds, but psychologically, this pool—and being able to afford it—meant a lot to the family. The facilitator didn’t phrase it this way, but I think his underlying message was, “Try not to judge what you can’t understand.” Continue Reading…

Delivering Opportunity on the Streets of Manila

Traffic

I landed here in Manila on the 22^nd 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…

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…

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!

Redeeming the Church

During the Rwandan genocide, some estimate that more people were killed in churches than anywhere else. Seventeen years later, HOPE’s savings groups are helping families who lost faith in the Church rediscover faith in God.

Archives For Working with the poor

David Wasik

By David Wasik

Day 1: Traveling Light

Jill Heisey

By Jill Heisey

My Uncharitable Judgments

HOPE Intl

By HOPE Intl

Delivering Opportunity on the Streets of Manila

HOPE Intl

By HOPE Intl

An Abundant Harvest

HOPE Intl

By HOPE Intl

A Thanksgiving Message

Jill Heisey

By Jill Heisey

Redeeming the Church

About HOPE

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