HOPE International

by Tyson Presnell, HOPE Field Communications Fellow

A journal entry after visiting a savings group in Lilongwe, Malawi

As I stand up to clear off the table, I carry a strange assortment of foods to the pantry: a pumpkin, peanuts (known here as groundnuts), beans, and eggs. You’d think I had just come from the grocery store or stopped at a roadside stand. No, this food was special. It was from my clients.

I traveled to this savings group on the outskirts of Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital. The group was singing as we arrived. Their group name was fitting: Chimwemwe, which is Chichewa for happiness. After we were introduced to the group, they continued their worship. Following a short message on the importance of prayer, it was time for the savings portion of the meeting. The group chose to worship while turning in their savings because they saw it as a time to celebrate. Continue Reading…

In honor of Universal Children’s Day on November 20, we’re excited to share about the ingenuity and hard work of these children in Rwanda.

In southern Rwanda, two savings groups meet regularly to save between 7 and 73 cents a week. Named Dutezanyimbere, meaning “Let’s hold hands and move forward together,” and Dukomezumurimo, meaning “Let’s keep the calling,” these groups have big dreams. One plans to buy a cow for each member, while the other hopes to buy a house to use for rental income. While these might sound like typical savings groups, they’re unusual in one key demographic: They’re made up entirely of children, with members ranging in age from 12 to 17.

In Rwanda, 61 percent of the population is under the age of 24, and the median age is just 18. HOPE International typically impacts this age group indirectly by empowering parents to provide for their children—but the next generation is also learning the value of saving money. While only 79 of the 8,800 savings groups in Rwanda are made up of children, this small but impressive number is faithfully saving small sums for the future and learning more about God’s Word in community.

Oscar, the 17-year-old who serves as secretary of Dutezanyimbere, immediately saw the benefit of forming a savings group: “I had different needs as a child,” he shares. One of these needs is education. 16-year-old Vestine uses her savings to buy school supplies. Cecilia, another 16-year-old member, says, “I want to study hard and then get a loan from the group to pay for school fees in a good school.” She dreams of using that education to become a doctor.

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…

HOPE Intl

HOPE Intl

An undeserved gift

HOPE Intl

HOPE Intl

Train up a child

HOPE Intl

HOPE Intl

Thank you, 2015 golf sponsors!

HOPE Intl

HOPE Intl

“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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