2020 has been a year of bad news: coronavirus … dust storms … wildfires … financial shocks … the list goes on.
And yet, despite the real hardships many are facing, we are confident that God is still moving, He is still in control, and He alone deserves our praise. As David exhorts, “Sing praises to the Lord! … Tell among the peoples his deeds!” (Psalm 9:11 ESV).
Today we’re singing God’s praise as we celebrate glimpses of His goodness in the HOPE network throughout 2020. Continue Reading…
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re more aware than ever of the critical role that essential businesses—and the entrepreneurs running them—play. Across the HOPE network, men and women use their businesses to provide necessary goods and services, and as they do, they not only provide for their own families but often become known as leaders in their church and community. Continue Reading…
Over 2 billion people in the world live on $3.10 a day or less.
You’ve likely heard this stat, or something similar. But these statistics don’t tell the full story because $3.10 is just an average: Those living in poverty aren’t making that amount every day. Some days, they may earn $15, but most days, they’re more likely bringing in $0. Often operating their businesses in small communities and selling seasonal products or crops, these entrepreneurs cannot consistently rely on a certain amount of daily or even monthly income to cover expenses. Continue Reading…
Dried apricot, raspberry, brown sugar. No, these aren’t candle scents; they’re the delicate flavors of specialty coffees sourced from the highlands of Burundi and Rwanda. In my very caffeinated opinion, coffees from these two hilly countries in East Africa are among the world’s most delicious, and yes, they even fight poverty. Continue Reading…
At HOPE International, we have the joy of joining hardworking men and women as they glean the fruit of their labors—literally! From plantain farmers to greenhouse owners, see people rejoicing in this season of abundance. Continue Reading…
Header image: slum neighborhood of Asunción, Paraguay
In the 1990s, the World Bank interviewed more than 60,000 individuals living in low-income countries, asking one primary question: What is poverty?
When asked this question, Western audiences often respond with what those in poverty lack: food, money, clean water, etc. But the families interviewed by the World Bank described poverty in much more multidimensional terms, naming the lack of options, strained relationships, low self-esteem, and feelings of helplessness.
A HOPE staff member once asked a savings group in Rwanda the same question—how do you define poverty? Most of their descriptions framed their experience of poverty as emotional and relational: Continue Reading…
