Shruti and her husband didn’t know how to save before joining a savings group—they just wanted to better provide for their three sons.
She couldn’t have guessed it at the time, but setting aside 200 rupees ($2.40 U.S.) each month with her savings group in South Asia would empower Shruti to respond when her family needed it most.
Imagine your lunch break being interrupted by bombs exploding in the next town over. Hearing of war coming closer on the news. Realizing that to remain safe, you and your family need to leave your home. Packing up your car and waiting in traffic for hours. Living in another family’s house for months, not knowing if you’ll ever make it back home.
This is the reality for millions of Ukrainian men, women, and children today. Two years after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the United Nations Refugee Agency, or UNHCR, estimates that there are now 3.7 million internally displaced people (IDPs) in Ukraine.
Many in eastern Ukraine fled west, now living as IDPs with Ukrainian host families. As the war continues, they’ve had to adjust to being far from home with no end date. It hasn’t been an easy road.
Yet even amid loss and adjusting to a new life, these families are displaying determination, community-mindedness, and generosity. And at HOPE International, we’re dedicated to walking with Ukraine’s men and women—as we have been since 1997.
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At HOPE International, we believe that without Christ, none of us can be truly free from poverty. One of our great joys is seeing people come to know Christ and experience the abundant life He offers.
Today, we’re celebrating the stories of Alphonse, Dominga, and Jocelyn, three people served by HOPE who have experienced spiritual transformation and poverty’s grip loosening. From learning how to pray to sharing the joy of salvation with family to finding hope for the future, these stories illustrate how God is at work—and why sharing the love of Jesus remains integral to our approach to alleviating poverty.
Before taking out a loan from Urwego Bank, HOPE’s microfinance institution in Rwanda, Alphonse says he didn’t have the capital he needed to expand his family’s small business of selling cooking oil. Without enough income, he struggled to pay school fees for his children.
Lina Feria never imagined that her small business selling homemade snacks could grow into a flourishing general store. Yet her story testifies that God can use small loans and persistence to transform a business and a whole family.
Building a business brick by brick
When Lina first decided to become a member of The Center for Community Transformation (CCT), HOPE International’s partner in the Philippines, she was selling traditional rice cake snacks (called kakanin) that she made at home.
Although she was not a Christian then, Lina joined CCT because she was curious about their Bible studies. As she got to know staff members and read the Word, she slowly began to learn more about God and eventually gave her life to Him. Continue Reading…
It wasn’t easy for Juvita Cerron to set foot in a church for her first savings group meeting in Comas, Peru. As an unmarried mother expecting her second child, she feared the group would be a place of judgment—but her drive to meet her children’s needs eclipsed her concern for what others might think. As the group welcomed her warmly, their response surprised Juvita: “Through joining a savings group, I found a community that loved me for who I was and reminded me that God loved me too.”
Juvita was still new to the group when her daughter was born three months prematurely. Her savings group embraced her fully, providing support and prayers for her family. After months of constant medical attention, her daughter, Julieta, was near death. Amid crisis, Juvita found new life in Jesus Christ, putting her trust in His faithfulness rather than the relationships or alcohol on which she once relied. Despite doctors’ warnings that her daughter might never fully recover, Juvita rejoices that the Lord miraculously healed her, and now, two years later, Julieta is strong and healthy.
Investing in dreams
Before becoming a mother, Juvita spent two years studying administration at the university level. When she withdrew from college to care for her first child, she had no income and relied entirely on support from her family and her son’s father. She didn’t know how to break the cycle of dependency and provide for her own children—though she longed to do so. Continue Reading…
