Bosco Nsabimana, a father of eight children and the owner of a wholesale crop business in Rwanda, had big dreams.
He dreamed of expanding his business while empowering his community financially, spiritually, and emotionally, but there was a problem. The only microfinance institutions he was familiar with didn’t align with his ambitions.
In 2023, HOPE International expanded to start a new savings group program in Benin! Last November, Yvette Missainhoun (pictured above) joined us as HOPE Benin’s country director. Since then, she’s formed a team of skilled, dedicated staff and built relationships with local church leaders. On June 22, we celebrated HOPE Benin’s launch with two new church partners!
Yvette holds bachelor’s degrees in accounting and theology and has taken various practical training courses in France, South Africa, and the U.S. She carries a wealth of experience in leadership and management with various Christian organizations in Benin. We’re deeply grateful for her commitment to bringing Christ’s love and economic revival to underserved communities. Yvette lives with her husband and their three sons in the southern region of Benin.
Recently, Yvette sat down with us to share about why we’re launching savings groups in Benin, who our church partners are, and how we can pray for her team.
In 2019, Mery realized the time had finally come: She and her son had to leave their home in Venezuela. The political and economic crisis in her country had become so severe that even finding food was difficult.
“Sometimes I would stand in line [at the store] for three [or] four hours, and when I arrived the products had already run out—like rice, sugar, flour,” Mery says. She and her son, Daniel, had lived alone for some time. The job shortage had already forced her husband and brothers to move to Peru years ago, and they sent any money they could back to Mery. But as inflation soared in Venezuela, Mery could no longer afford to buy basic necessities, including critical medication for her ongoing health condition. “The situation was quite sad,” she shares.
Mery and Daniel packed up their belongings and set out for Comas, Peru. Beyond seeing her husband again, Mery had no idea what lay ahead.
Sandrine working in her tailoring shop
Sandrine Niwemuraza had every reason to stay away from church. “[My] mother used to encourage me to go to church, but I did not want to because I didn’t feel welcomed.”
While still in high school in rural Rwanda, Sandrine became pregnant, and she and her mother—also a single parent—felt despair about their situation. They now faced the reality of even deeper generational poverty. Rejected by their extended family, church, and neighbors, they felt alone.
By Bethany Hammond, Project Management Associate
I’m going to have a hard time reconciling this trip. I’ve traveled to over 30 countries in my 39 years. But this one was different.
In early April, I traveled to an isolated, rural community in northern Zimbabwe to visit a people group called the Doma. My assignment was to listen to community members share about the challenges they face in their daily lives. While my co-workers at HOPE Zimbabwe had given me good context, I was in many ways unprepared to witness the poverty and physical danger that the Doma people endure each day.
Bethany (right) with a savings group member named Jimmy and his family
The Doma people have lived for years on the margins of Zimbabwean society. Their area near the Zambezi River is so remote that they weren’t affected by the COVID-19 pandemic! They live off of the land, between what they can grow, forage, and sometimes hunt—though they aren’t allowed to hunt any animals from the nearby conservation area.
They come into daily contact with wildlife that destroy their crops and cause them physical harm or, sometimes, death. I’ve never visited a community that faces such stark challenges. Continue Reading…
Serving those at the very margins of society has always been one of our core motivations. We believe no one should have to make the impossible decisions that come with poverty—or live without the hope of Christ’s love.
Roughly 41% of people worldwide have not heard the Gospel. At the same time, almost 700 million people—nearly 1 in 10 globally—live on less than $2.15 a day. Even more people—1.7 billion worldwide—lack access to financial services.
At HOPE International, we believe God is calling us to move faster toward families on the margins. But over 27 years of operation, we’ve learned that reaching marginalized groups requires an intentional focus on those who have been socially, systemically, or spiritually overlooked.
That’s why we set a goal to reach 20 new frontier communities with Christ-centered financial services by the end of 2025. (And we’re ahead of schedule!)
