Nicole Kinzonzi’s generosity ripples throughout her community in the Republic of Congo.
When a neighbor said she was going to a loan shark, Nicole referred her to HOPE Congo instead. When Nicole saw that another neighbor’s child had been out of school for a year, she paid the $15 needed to get the child back in school. When Nicole’s church couldn’t afford its water bill—$21 a month—she made the payments. Continue Reading…
HOPE’s mission is buoyed by so much more than our supporters’ financial generosity. We know that we can’t accomplish our work without the prayer, volunteer hours, and creative ideas of our supporters. Whether money is tight or you already support HOPE financially and want to do more, we’ve compiled a list of meaningful ways you can support HOPE, no donation required. Continue Reading…
Material poverty is a complicated reality, with many causes and perhaps just as many proposed solutions. According to the World Bank, just over 1 in 10 people lived in extreme poverty in 2013, categorized as living under $1.90 a day. While this number is falling, it still represents 767 million people.
Those living in material poverty face many challenges: lack of basic resources like food, shelter, and money; corrupt social systems; poor education; and limited access to health care.
But those who haven’t experienced poverty often overlook one of its most profound impacts: hopelessness and shame. Material poverty can compound the brokenness that exists in our relationships with each other, with God, with ourselves, and with the rest of creation. Material poverty says to those in its grasp: You are not worthy. Continue Reading…
Leya Mshani lives in Chitipa, a district in northern Malawi, with her husband and children.
A year ago, Leya and her nearby neighbors each spent around 35 hours per week—the equivalent of a full-time job in the U.S.—collecting water for their families.
When friends invited her to join Ungweru (“light”) savings group through their church (a HOPE partner), Leya started saving 500 kwacha (roughly 67¢ USD) at each group meeting.
As she paid her shares, she used her first loan from the group to take an intensive tailoring course in order to pursue her dream of becoming a seamstress. Over the next two years, Leya used funds from her savings, loans, and profits to start a sewing business, make home improvements, purchase livestock, support her husband in starting a taxi business, and teach other women how to sew to earn income. Continue Reading…
If given the opportunity, 50% of Moldovans would leave their country to work abroad.
And many have left. Moldova’s emigration rate is the eleventh highest worldwide. Since the 1990s, a shortage of stable jobs has led thousands to move abroad in search of work, and this trend continues today: Between 2000 and 2014, the number of people who traveled abroad to find work grew from 138,000 to 341,900—a 147% increase.
To keep Moldovan workers close to home, stable jobs are critical. And for a developing economy like Moldova’s, small-and-medium-enterprises (SMEs) fill this employment gap, with 63% of employable Moldovans working for an SME. As these businesses grow, the economy adds more local jobs—and fewer people must leave their families and communities.
Yet, credit barriers prevent many small businesses with the potential to provide much-needed jobs from expanding their businesses further. That’s why Invest Credit, HOPE’s microfinance partner in Moldova, equips entrepreneurs with larger loans to help them scale their operations and reach their potential. As these two stories demonstrate, entrepreneurs like Petrov and Sergiu are tackling the challenges of poverty in their communities. Continue Reading…
Update (1.31.2020)—This morning, the Center for Community Transformation (CCT), HOPE’s partner in the Philippines, shared an encouraging update on the situation involving the Taal volcano:
“Praise God that the Taal Volcano’s status has been lowered to Alert Level 3. … Indeed, the Lord hears our every prayer!”
![Before Eveness Mulungu joined the Walusungu (“mercy”) savings group through our church partner in Malawi, she faced days where she and her family ate animal feed because they couldn’t afford human food. But that changed when she joined the savings group. Eveness used her first group loan of about $1.70 (U.S.) to start a business selling doughnuts and beans.
“By the end of my first cycle I made $140 (U.S.),” Eveness shared. “My life is no longer the same now; [I] was regarded as no one in the community. ... This was the first time in my life that I ever touched and owned big money like this!”
Pictured: Eveness, with her husband in front of their piggery—a third successful business that she operates.](https://blog.hopeinternational.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)