HOPE International

Last month, over 200 golfers joined HOPE International in York, PA, at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort, for a beautiful and sunny day of golf! We are so grateful to our sponsors who helped us make the day a success, and we hope you’ll join us in 2016 for our 16th annual “Drive out Poverty” golf tournament on Friday, September 23. A special thank you to the following sponsors:

Community Banker sponsors

Domuss, Ltd.

Heritage Hills Golf Resort

Men of Iron

Merrill Lynch, The Swift Group

Residential Mortgage Services

Regional Champion sponsors

Advanced Insurance Solutions

Apple Nissan

Esbenshade’s Greenhouse

Hostetler & Church, LLC

Shepherd Real Estate LLC

Stewart Title Guarantee

Susquehanna Bank

Dignity sponsors

Akron Insurance

Associated Insurance Management

Barkas, Inc.

Conestoga Title Insurance Company

Fidelity National Title Insurance

Kaplin Stewart

McKonly & Asbury, LLP

mRelevance

Pine View Enterprises, Inc.

The Simkiss Companies

VAL-CO

Wells Fargo

Empowerment Promoter sponsors

Bare Wealth Advisors

BB’s Grocery Outlet

B.R. Kreider & Son, Inc.

Finance of America

Horst Realty

Lamar King Tournament within a Tournament

Lancaster Mortgage Company

Lesher Mack Sales & Service Inc

M&T Bank

Martin’s Trailside Express

Morgan Stanley

Realty 1

Ron Thompson

Sharp Shopper

Select Security

Speedwell Construction, Inc.

UGI

Weaver Energy, Inc.

Adventure Capitalist sponsor

Aero Energy

Convene

Master’s Advisors, Inc.

Metro Bank

Mid Penn Bank

Modern Eyes Optical

RP Electric

Startup sponsor

Abel Construction

Black Rock Financial Management

Donegal Insurance Group

EK Bare and Sons

Ivy Funds

L Star Management

Lori Miller

Markley Actuarial Services

Pikeland Construction, Inc.

Prudential

RS Investments

Voya

Waterford Management, LLC

Wilkinson Homes, LLC

Akron Insurance

Associated Insurance Management (AIM)

Barkas, Inc.

Conestoga Title Insurance Company

Fidelity National Title Insurance

Kaplin Stewart

McKonly & Asbury, LLP

mRelevance ($4,400)

Pine View Enterprises, Inc.

The Simkiss Companies

VAL-CO

Wells Fargo

With dirt still in her fingernails from digging in her garden, Victoria proudly displays her produce—green and red peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and beans.

Six years ago, Victoria used her first loan from Invest-Credit, HOPE’s partner in Moldova, to buy the frame structure for her greenhouse. She uses it to grow produce, which she sells to retailers in bulk. The greenhouse enables her to continue growing produce throughout the cold winter months, thus increasing her profit. Continue Reading…

Reposted from www.peterkgreer.com

This week is the 75th birthday of Muhammad Yunus, the inspiring leader who asked a question which struck at the root of a paternalistic approach to poverty alleviation: Why do for people what they’re capable of doing for themselves?

This question served as the basis of Yunus’ groundbreaking work in the 1970s as he founded the Grameen Bank; pioneered the modern microfinance movement; and garnered some impressive recognition, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and a Nobel Peace Prize.

Hundreds of thousands (myself included) have been inspired by the model of microfinance and signed up to help unleash women’s and men’s creativity around the world.

But recently there have been articles and thoughtful research projects critiquing this tool. Does this recent criticism undermine the microfinance movement? Does it unravel all that Yunus envisioned and that many of us have worked to implement?

Inside a simply finished home overlooking Burundi’s capital city, Bujumbura, I listened. With my voice recorder between us, I listened to Uvita and Zenon recount their previous struggle to meet their family’s needs. Blessing, the youngest of their six children, played nearby, stopping every few minutes to beam a smile in our direction, clearly aware of his charm. Captivated by this family, an earnest prayer welled up inside me:

Father, would you continue to bless this family. Provide for them above and beyond their wildest dreams. As they flourish, may they be like a river, bringing refreshment to all they meet!

To be honest, this sudden, emotional prayer caught me off guard. Where did THAT come from? Having never faced scarcity, I couldn’t relate to Zenon’s feelings of helplessness as he worked so his family could get by—but the loneliness he described sounded familiar. I remembered a past season when my work and life felt meaningless. And with little hope for change, I had felt trapped and alone. I was getting by, but I wasn’t thriving. So as I reflected further, my prayer began to make sense. Continue Reading…

by Annie Rose Ansley, HOPE Trips Liaison

It’s Thursday morning, and Francia walks down the dirt road to the building that serves as a church and elementary school in her community. The one-room building in Los Mella, Dominican Republic, is also the site of the repayment meetings for Francia’s community bank. This group of 15 women meets biweekly to worship God, learn business and life skills, and repay the small loans they receive through Esperanza International, HOPE’s partner in the D.R.

Francia didn’t know Jesus before joining her community bank several years ago. Now, she is responsible for leading her group in prayer, worship, and sharing the Word, and her strong faith clearly shines through. Despite being the most petite woman in her group, Francia stands tall and speaks with strength. She shares a personal testimony about answered prayer in her life—a time when she was robbed and, after fervent prayer, ultimately got back what had been stolen from her. Francia urges the women to trust God, and at one point she holds up her Bible and proclaims, “THIS is what’s real.”

Later on in the meeting, during the loan collection process, one bank member doesn’t have the money to repay her portion of the loan. Following the group solidarity model, the women have cross-guaranteed each other’s loans, meaning they are responsible to cover for the missing money. This is a vital element of community banks, building solidarity and providing clients access to loans even though they don’t have traditional collateral. But it can sometimes bring challenges. Today, for example, no one seems to have the extra money to pay the other woman’s amount.

Five minutes of hesitation pass, and a couple group members get frustrated. 10 minutes pass, and heated discussions break out. 15 minutes pass, and still no one volunteers. Suddenly, Francia stands up.

“Ladies, we need to pray.”

by Claire Stewart, Executive Assistant

One year ago

I watched the clock as the seconds ticked by … 9:36 a.m. … 9:42 a.m. … 9:55 a.m. … Emerging from my cramped intern cubicle, I entered the conference room next door. Outside, the bustle of the city matched the nervous energy pulsing through my body.

Two sheets of paper lay on the table, covered in highlighting, arrows, and scribbles: “project management example,” “story of failure,” “phone skills,” “why I’m a good fit.” I spread the pages in front of me and situated myself facing away from the hallway. Straightened my blazer. Cleared my throat. Waited.

Finally, my phone rang. “This is it,” I thought. “BE PROFESSIONAL.”

“Hello, this is Claire.”

“Hi, Claire! This is Anna. How are you today?”

“I’m doing well. How are you?”

“I’m well! Hey—before we dive into my questions, may I pray for us?”

Oh yeah. Prayer. Asking God to enter into the decision process. Had I done that yet this morning? Of course I was approaching this opportunity prayerfully—but had I actually prayed? As Anna—who was about to interview me for a position at HOPE International—lifted up our conversation to the Lord, my tense shoulders relaxed and the anxious knot in my stomach loosened.

Little did I know this simple act was an informal initiation into a posture of prayer that is the core of HOPE’s workplace culture.

Today

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Thank you, 2015 golf sponsors!

HOPE Intl

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“To support my children.”

Peter Greer

Peter Greer

3 myths about microfinance

Isaac Barnes

Isaac Barnes

Surprised by a prayer of blessing

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Prayer comes first

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HOPE Intl

Experiencing prayer in my first year at HOPE

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