HOPE recently released its first children’s book, Keza Paints a Bright Future, written by former field journalism fellow Kenny Burkey, who served with HOPE in Rwanda, and former staff member Jill Heisey, who recently co-authored Rooting for Rivals with HOPE’s president and CEO, Peter Greer, and vice president of development, Chris Horst.

Keza Paints a Bright Future follows a young Rwandan girl, Keza, who loves the brilliant colors she sees in hills and fields around her home. More than anything, Keza dreams of joining the other children at school to learn how to read and write. But she and her family are struggling to make ends meet. There’s simply just not enough money saved to buy the blue school uniform that Keza needs to attend school. Continue Reading…

Four years ago, I was a newly-minted HOPE staff member arriving at our annual Leadership Summit. Upon arrival, I was handed a schedule of the week’s events—and a quick glance told me that our Wednesday morning would be devoted to a two-and-a-half-hour poverty simulation. I will confess, in that moment, I made a mental note to skip it.

There were a number of reasons for my decision to skip, none of which I’m proud of. I wondered how a simulation could accurately portray a lifetime spent living in extreme poverty. How could a simulation be anything but a mocking caricature of the real thing? And beyond that, how could a simulation represent people living in poverty with dignity? Continue Reading…