HOPE International

As a young girl, Gisele spent countless hours in her mother’s tailor shop. Eager to imitate her mother’s skill, Gisele would cut up fabrics and design models of her own. With help from her father, Gisele later enrolled in sewing school and eventually opened a tailoring business in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo. Despite her beautifully elaborate designs, Gisele’s profits weren’t enough to support her family, and she often had to use her business capital for their expenses, jeopardizing her business and stymying progress.

Seeking to diversify her business, Gisele received and repaid seven loans from HOPE Congo over the course of five years to expand her tailoring business by purchasing fabrics, sewing materials, and an electric sewing machine. Ever the entrepreneur, Gisele also used loans to expand into a new business selling smoked fish; small cakes; and foufou, a cassava-based Congolese dish.

Now, she is able to provide for her family using only the profits of her businesses. Reflecting on the impact of her relationship with HOPE Congo, Gisele says:

HOPE is the one who came to give me wings so that I can fly.

In the seven years since Peter Greer and Phil Smith released The Poor Will Be Glad, HOPE has learned a lot about working with families in underserved communities to help them flourish. Peter and Phil have updated their book, retitled Created to Flourish, and we’d like to share these valuable learnings with you. Here’s an excerpt from Chapter 4 about the power of jobs in fighting poverty.

When we engage in employment-based solutions, the benefits of employment extend to future generations. Outside a small office in Trou-du-Nord, Haiti, I saw several boys with homemade kites. Using a plastic bag, some string, and a few sticks, these three boys constructed kites capable of expertly navigating tangled power lines and two-story buildings. I could see other kids watching and learning from their example. Other children saw what was possible, and there grew a prestige factor in who could get his kite the highest.

In the same way, I’ve seen community members improve their lives, motivating other community members to action through their hard work. If my neighbors can pull their families out of poverty, why can’t I? Essentially, they are pushing the limits of what is possible, and from very little they are making kites that can fly higher and higher.

Employment decreases the need for never-ending support. Continue Reading…

“I train lots of people, freely, without asking any money,” Moise said, proudly smiling. “What I have, I give.”

Sitting on white plastic chairs at Moise’s home in the Republic of Congo, I looked out at the fields of newly sprouted cabbages as I mulled over Moise’s words. The grey sky overhead mirrored the heaviness of the conversation as Moise described his considerable challenges—his wife’s deteriorating health, the immense cost of her treatment, losing his loan repayment when a fellow group member left it behind in a taxi. And after this string of hardships, he was still willing to give of his time to train farmers in his community?

On Tuesday, October 4, Hurricane Matthew slammed into the southwestern region of the country. According to the United Nations and CNN, the disaster has killed over 300 people and displaced some 350,000 people, leaving many Haitians to face the worst humanitarian crisis since the earthquake six years ago.

We praise God that our local staff are safe, but we know hundreds of thousands of Haitians will once again face the complete loss of their homes and livelihoods to a natural disaster. As Christ-followers, we want to be known for running to those who are hurting, vulnerable, and in need of help.

HOPE Haiti works with local church partners to serve over 6,000 active savings group members who benefit from training, fellowship, and discipleship that empowers them to provide for their families and communities. In this way, Haitian entrepreneurs not only access financial services like a safe place to save, they also build solidarity with one another and learn about God’s love.

We invite you to pray in the following ways:

Pray for southwest Haiti, including Miragoane, one of the areas where HOPE works. Pray for the relief efforts, particularly as the hurricane destroyed a bridge on the main road that goes West, cutting off access to aid for that area.
Pray for protection against outbreaks of diseases like cholera, which severely impacted the population after the 2010 earthquake.
Pray for the 200 savings group members who have been significantly affected. Pray for their safety and resilience in the face of any loss they may have experienced. Pray that the long-term development efforts of HOPE and other organizations would not be hampered.
Pray for the long-term recovery of the area. A major long-term concern is the complete loss of gardens in these areas, as food is already scarce.

We also invite you to consider how you can help bring immediate and much-needed assistance to Haitian families suffering in the wake of this hurricane. Two organizations with immediate disaster relief experience and a commitment to working with local churches are World Relief and Samaritan’s Purse.

Thank you for your prayers and support for the people of Haiti.

In the seven years since Peter Greer and Phil Smith released The Poor Will Be Glad, HOPE has learned a lot about working with families in underserved communities to help them flourish. Peter and Phil have updated their book, retitled Created to Flourish, and we’d like to share these valuable learnings with you. To celebrate, here’s a preview from the new edition.

Do you remember how you felt when you received your first paycheck? In middle school, I mowed elderly Mrs. Johnson’s lawn. She would inspect my work and acknowledge that I had cut close enough to her barn and not missed any sections under her apple trees. Then she would invite me into her house, offer me a cold Tang mixed with her special spices, and pay me for my work. I enjoyed a strong sense of satisfaction as she thanked me for a job well done.

Relying on charity might provide enough for a bare existence, but it will never be enough to help someone off their knees.

Charity will never allow an individual to flourish in the way God created humankind to be—productive in caring for the earth and using the strength and skills He gave. And besides, charity isn’t what those living in poverty want. Continue Reading…

by Willard Freedom Kaula

Every time people ask me what I do in life, I hesitate to respond. Not because I lack an answer—I have answered this question many times—but rather, I’m figuring out which response would best describe what I do. You see, I’m a field scientist by profession, an activist by passion, an artist by hobby, a Gospel worker by calling, and, most recently, a HOPE Malawi fellow by day. Of all the things I do with my time, it never occurred to me, not even once, that I would work with savings and credit associations (SCAs).

When I enrolled at the University of Malawi, I thought I would end up building a career in field sciences as an environmental expert. While in college, I served as chairperson for the Environmental Club and delighted in doing a good job there. However, it wasn’t until I joined the HOPE Malawi family as an SCA programs fellow that I began to realize the full potential I have in my God-given talents.

At first, I had a mixture of fear for the tasks ahead and also excitement for a new career opportunity. My fear was that my skills—accumulated in the domain of science—would not blend in with the work that HOPE and its partners do. But through prayer and mentorship, I’ve learned in my role that I can use all my talents to achieve the mission of investing in the dreams of families in the world’s underserved communities!

Through my involvement with HOPE, I have come to know that there are four relationships that must be maintained—with God, with myself, with others, and with God’s creation. Learning from Romans 1:20, we see the invisible qualities of God—His divine nature and eternal power—through things created by Him. I’m grateful that my studies in environmental sciences have improved my knowledge of God in this way. However, I would not appreciate the full ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:11-21) entrusted to me if God did not give me a chance to serve others around me. I was made for stewardship of valuable things, to care for nature, people, and the spiritual needs of myself and others around me.

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