HOPE Intl
Mar 21 2013
HOPE Intl
Stories we love
Rosa Iris, the loan officer I was traveling with on a sunny February morning north of Santo Domingo, stood waiting for the motoconcho which would take us to the next loan meeting.
“I’ll wait for you here,” she says.
I hurry off to Raquel’s house, the microloan associate I had just interviewed. After I snap her picture, she asks to see it.
“You’re so beautiful,” I tell her.
“Me?” Raquel laughs incredulously. She tells me that she is facing troubles in her business, and that she misses her family.
Earlier, I had asked Raquel what her favorite Bible verse was.
“Jeremiah 1:19,” she had said. Back at the branch office, I pull out my Spanish Bible and look it up:
“They will fight against you, but they will not conquer you, because I AM with you, says YAHWEH, to deliver you.” Continue Reading...
HOPE Intl
Mar 8 2013
HOPE Intl
Stories we love
In honor of International Women's Day, we celebrate the 81 percent of clients in HOPE's network who are women—mothers, sisters, wives, daughters, and entrepreneurs making a difference in their families and communities.
17-year-old Jenny is in her last year of high school in the Philippines. Her father's work as a carpenter doesn't provide a regular income, but her mother recently joined a savings group with HOPE's partner, the Center for Community Transformation. Jenny was so excited by her mom's example that she started a savings group for teenagers. She's hoping to use her savings to help pay for college, where she'd like to study special education. Continue Reading...
Alisa Hoober
Feb 18 2013
Alisa Hoober
Staff / Travels Stories we love
I recently had the opportunity to travel to Zimbabwe to visit savings and credit association (SCA) programs in person. In the local language, Shona, the groups are called Ndasunungurwa Trust, meaning, "I have been set free." As I heard the stories of many clients' transformation in Zimbabwe, it became evident that this translation was extremely telling of their life stories.
During one meeting, group members were given the opportunity to share their stories with the rest of the group and the visitors in the room. It was silent for a moment as individuals gathered their thoughts. I looked around, thinking of my own apprehension of speaking in front of a group, and wondered who would go first. Continue Reading...
Chris Horst
Feb 7 2013
By Chris Horst
Working with the poorI’m a gamer. Not the World of Warcraft sort of gamer, but a real gamer. Zelda never did it for me, but I’m always up for a ride on B & O Railroad or an excursion to the distant lands of Catan.
Yahtzee is one of my favorite games. In short, gamers throw five dice in series of three rolls to make certain combinations, highlighted by the elusive Yahtzee: a five-of-a-kind. A few weeks ago, I played with a friend who was new to the game. And one overzealous comment reminded me how dangerous prescribing can be. Continue Reading…
Peter Greer
Jan 30 2013
Peter Greer
Stories we love Working with the poor
On Sunday, an inferno overtook Bujumbura’s Central Market—the economic heart of Burundi.
In talking to staff and friends in Burundi, we know that although this fire will cause a major economic disruption, it is personally devastating for families who lost everything and had no safety net or insurance to soften their fall.
Over 100 clients of our partner Turame lost their businesses and their livelihoods as market vendors. 85 percent of our clients are women who rely on this business to provide for their families.
David Wasik
Nov 29 2012
David Wasik
Staff / Travels
Our leadership conference continues. We are studying Spiritual Leadership, by Henry and Richard Blackaby. Sessions discussed, among other things, the pitfalls that can derail spiritual leaders. The Blackabys discuss 10 of them. It was interesting to see how engaged the group was during this session. All of us have known, either in ministry or corporate domains, leaders who have fallen from significant leadership positions because of one or more of these issues. And, of course, we can all see our own tendencies in these as well. Here are a few of the pitfalls we discussed:
