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HOPE’s president and CEO Peter Greer shares what inspired him to co-author his latest book, Lead with Prayer.

Originally posted on Peter Greer’s blog.

I first recognized that I had a prayer problem, ironically, on one of HOPE International’s quarterly days of prayer. When a facilitator invited our team to pray silently, I ventured outside for a prayer walk—but spent my “prayer time” ruminating over operational and staffing challenges HOPE was facing. My internal RPMs were revving, and I couldn’t seem to quiet my mind or heart.

By the end of the day, I had set a new fitness record as I paced the grounds but spent precious few moments in prayer. I strategized, planned, and toiled—focusing on what I needed to do with a sprinkling of prayer pixie dust. I concluded the day with neither peace nor clear direction, but I did have growing clarity and conviction that there was a disconnect in my prayer life: I would have described prayer as a first priority, but the way I invested my time suggested it was a last resort.

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By Charlotte Sprecher (pictured left), 2023 HOPE LM&E fellow

Can listening to a person’s situation help alleviate poverty?

As a fellow on the listening, monitoring, and evaluation (LM&E) team at HOPE International, I have come to believe that it is where we must start.

At HOPE, the LM&E team conducts surveys to learn how to improve our programs, close the feedback loop, and honor the stories we hear. Although we listen to evaluate our ministry, we also believe that listening is part of the ministry itself! Asking someone for feedback plays an important part in how we build a relationship with them and affirm their God-given value. Continue Reading…

All three of our expansion announcements—Kenya, Benin, and Dominican Republic—were among our most-read stories of 2023! 

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HOPE International charity fights poverty through training farmers

Coupled with Christ-centered financial services and community, underserved men and women experience restored dignity and spiritual, personal, social, and material transformation   

Did you know that farming is one of the most effective jobs for fighting poverty? According to The World Bank, growth in agriculture is two to four times more effective in raising the incomes of families living in poverty, compared to other sectors.

At HOPE International, we believe that equipping farmers in underserved areas around the world is an integral part of the solution to many of the world’s most pressing needs surrounding poverty:

  • Hunger—800 million people go to bed hungry every night*
  • Malnutrition—45% of deaths in children under 5 are related to malnutrition*
  • Financial services—1.7 billion people don’t have access to financial services that could help them invest in their businesses, save for the future, and provide for their families.
  • Unemployment—Farming creates jobs and means of productive income for millions of families.

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HOPE International alleviates poverty through economic development

By Elli Oswald, Executive Director, Faith to Action Initiative

For Neema, life was a struggle in rural Tanzania. She and her husband were grateful to have just had their first child and found it difficult to even put food on the table.

Like millions of others living in poverty around the world, Neema’s family was especially vulnerable to being separated from one another. This is because poverty is the most common underlying reason children end up in orphanages.

Surprisingly, 80% of children in orphanages and children’s homes have at least one living parent, and almost all have other family members. The reason most children end up in orphanages is not because they do not have family, but because their families are struggling to care for them. Continue Reading…

At HOPE International, we’re always eager to share how God is at work across the HOPE network—but we’re also committed to championing our nonprofit peers. It’s our joy this Giving Tuesday to once again recommend a short list of other nonprofits doing incredible work.

As HOPE has served in contexts of conflict, war, and civil unrest in Ukraine, Haiti, and elsewhere, we have seen firsthand that those who minister in hard places aren’t exempt from the pain of the brokenness around them. This year, we want to recognize five nonprofits supporting the mental and spiritual health of those responding on the frontlines of global conflicts. These organizations’ crisis support and counseling services are essential in helping staff care for themselves and others.

This Giving Tuesday, we’re glad to recommend five nonprofits providing care and crisis support to global workers.

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