Archives For economic development

Home » economic development
Norlita escaping poverty in the Philippines and economic opportunity

In a remote province of the Philippines, Norlita Escarez and her husband, Philip, collected pebbles and sand for a living.  

Without access to better job opportunities, the couple found it difficult to save money and make ends meet for their family of five.

It’s far too common for Filipino families to struggle this way, with nearly 20 million people in the country living in poverty. The Mangyan tribe, who lives in the mountains near Norlita and Philip, is also struggling. Even amid Norlita’s longing for more financial stability, her heart yearned to minister to her neighbors who lacked access to medical care and nutritious food. 

Despite the reality of this material poverty, Norlita and her husband were joyful in Christ. But would their love for the Lord carry them through financial hardship? Would she ever have the means to minister to the Mangyan tribe? 

Continue Reading…

Bosco Nsabimana, Owner of a wholesale crop business in Rwanda. Lifted out of poverty with Urwego bank.

Bosco Nsabimana, a father of eight children and the owner of a wholesale crop business in Rwanda, had big dreams.

He dreamed of expanding his business while empowering his community financially, spiritually, and emotionally, but there was a problem. The only microfinance institutions he was familiar with didn’t align with his ambitions.

Continue Reading…

HOPE International alleviates poverty through economic development

By Elli Oswald, Executive Director, Faith to Action Initiative

For Neema, life was a struggle in rural Tanzania. She and her husband were grateful to have just had their first child and found it difficult to even put food on the table.

Like millions of others living in poverty around the world, Neema’s family was especially vulnerable to being separated from one another. This is because poverty is the most common underlying reason children end up in orphanages.

Surprisingly, 80% of children in orphanages and children’s homes have at least one living parent, and almost all have other family members. The reason most children end up in orphanages is not because they do not have family, but because their families are struggling to care for them. Continue Reading…

We’re thrilled to announce that HOPE International is launching a new savings group program in Tanzania.

“The reason behind every expansion at HOPE is to invest in the dreams of even more families,” says Peter Greer, HOPE’s president and CEO. “It’s an incredible honor to link arms with the Tanzanian Church as it ministers to families there.” Continue Reading…

by Ugochi Obidiegwu (pictured third from left), 2022 Innovation and Design fellow 

Joining HOPE International as an innovation and design fellow, I was curious about HOPE’s operations. I particularly wanted to see if the amazing things I saw on the website happened in real life.

Therefore, when I saw there was an opportunity to see the work of Esperanza International, HOPE’s microfinance partner in the Dominican Republic (D.R.), I signed up. And I was not disappointed. HOPE’s method of Christ-centered economic development works.  

Continue Reading…

By Chris Horst, Vice President of Development

If you attended a HOPE event in the fall, you likely heard us describe the 950,000 men and women HOPE and our partners serve around the world. Yet, when you read our 2017 annual report, you’ll see we report serving 838,000 people at the end of 2017. While we have adjusted our numbers substantially, we did not technically lose these clients. We made this change because we believe in reporting field data with the highest levels of integrity, even if it means reporting unfavorable news.

Continue Reading…