Immaculee hopes to one day purchase her own home. Through her HOPE Rwanda savings group, she is gaining experience at saving for a significant goal. Through her savings, she was able to purchase a sewing machine for $93. She’d like to purchase an even better machine, with several sewing functions, and open her own tailoring school in her community.
When she was just fourteen, Nini and her family moved from Haiti to the Dominican Republic in search of a better life. Now married with eight children of her own (six of whom still live with her, along with three grandchildren), Nini is thriving with her own charcoal business. When she first started her business, she needed to take out many loans from different places. It was often hard on her, so she jumped at the chance to work with only one bank—HOPE’s partner Esperanza. Since then, she has taken out 12 loans and not only feels the freedom of working with a single bank, but also treasures the camaraderie that has come with it, as she has developed great relationships with her fellow bank members.
A watermelon farmer, Maria Rahmanova appreciates the agricultural loans from Invest-Credit, HOPE’s partner in Moldova. Each spring for the past three years, Maria has taken out an $800 loan, providing her with capital to purchase the seeds, pesticides, and tillage that help her watermelons—and her business—to grow. Maria uses her profits to help provide for her husband and daughter.
The holiday season is a time filled with warm nostalgia, a flurry of festivities, and a cornucopia of holiday treats. It is also a season for remembering: retelling old family stories, revisiting time-honored traditions, and, as Christians, remembering the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus’ birth turned mourning to joy, brought hope amidst despair, and promised freedom from bondage. In His time on earth, Jesus made the poor and forgotten His priority, and He calls His followers to do the same.
In the midst of this hectic holiday season, here are seven simple ways you and your family can respond to God’s call to remember and serve the poor:
Luis Mota lives in El Seibo, Dominican Republic. Things are hard in his community, he says, but thanks to loans from HOPE’s partner, Esperanza, he has been able to begin raising pigs and providing for his family. Through a series of loans, Luis has purchased 23 pigs. He plans to use future loans to invest in additional agricultural products. Luis has won the love and respect of his community members, who see him as a true example of perseverance and hope. With the help of additional loans, Luis is confident that his business will continue to grow and help him make great changes in his family’s life.
Jean Luis Kemdi shares a home with his parents and 10 other family members, and he lives a somewhat typical life for a 12-year-old in Haiti. But he has big dreams for the future. As one of the youngest members of HOPE Haiti’s savings groups, each week he saves 25 cents. When he has saved enough, he hopes to buy a goat to breed. Jean Luis, whose mother is also a savings group member, said he dreams of opening his own business to sell livestock. He also shares the lessons he has learned with others in his family. “I have learned from the group about transparency, trust, leadership, and management,” he says. “I talk with my parents to show them how it’s very important to save money. For example, if you have 50 gourde [approximately $1.24], it’s better to save 25 and use 25.” Jean Luis also places his faith in Jesus Christ. “You can find all you need in Jesus,” he says.
