Homes for HOPE is More Than…
At Homes For HOPE, we believe in holistic transformation. Because poverty is more than material, we believe in solutions that address more than material need. As part of the HOPE network, we support the integration of material, personal, spiritual, and relational solutions to poverty. We believe that men and women living in poverty are created with inherent dignity and have dreams, passions, and skills. They just need someone to invest in them to provide opportunities to meet their own potential.
Sandrine
Hinduka Saving group,
Rwanda
Sandrine and her mother, both single mothers, live in Burundi. Before joining a savings group, they were called names and disrespected. After joining the group, Sandrine and her mother were given hope and were able to rebuild their house. Sandrine went back to school and started a business to provide for her family. She has faith in God and dreams for the future. She hopes to go to university, become a teacher in her community, and send her daughter to school. Sandrine also wants to encourage other single mothers like her who need community and share Christ’s love with them.
Yoselin
Las Triunfadoras Savings Group,
Peru
Yoselin Ambrosio Aldaves has been a member of Comas CMA, HOPE’s partner in Peru, since 2022. Yoselin and her husband have 3 children, and they are also legal guardians of Yoselin’s 15-year-old sister.
During COVID-19, Yoselin and her husband struggled to provide for their family. With other neighbors in their community, they created a “Common Pot” for everyone to eat from, so people didn’t have to go hungry. Everyone gathered and contributed what they could and shared with the community. Comas CMA supported their Common Pot and brought food to add for the community. This is when Yoselin and her community learned about savings groups and started one together.
Before joining the savings group and opening her store, Yoselin struggled to save money. Since joining a savings group, Yoselin has taken loans from her group to start her own business. As her business grows, she can depend on income from her store. Now, Yoselin can provide for her children, giving them 3 meals a day and treats on the
weekends as a reward for helping her at the store.
As a result of the savings group, now Yoselin and her neighbors have a true community that feels like family. When she has leftover goods and produce from her store, Yoselin brings them to her savings group and offers them to members in the group who are in need.
Yoselin dreams of opening a Mini Market and selling goods in large quantities so she can have enough money to send her children to university. She wants her children and her husband to learn about God and the Bible. Yoselin now encourages others to also open businesses, pointing out their gifts and skills and saying that if she can become an entrepreneur, others can too.
Bertha
Chisomo Savings Group,
Malawi
Bertha and her husband Warles have 6 children and they financially support Bertha’s parents and Warles’ mother.
Before joining Chisomo savings group in 2020, Bertha’s family had financial difficulties and struggled to pay for her children’s clothing, food, school fees, and medical bills. Her husband’s job was seasonal, and they didn’t have enough
money to provide for their family.
When Bertha joined a HOPE Malawi savings group, she decided to open a business selling donuts in her community. (In Malawi, donuts are a popular meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner because of their affordability.) But this was more than a business…Since joining a savings group, Bertha is now able to provide food and clothing for her family, pay school fees for her children, and she even managed to connect tap water to her house using her savings.
Bertha was a Christian before joining a savings group, but she writes: “Being a part of the savings group has impacted my spiritual life, especially in sharing the word of God, since in every meeting we pray, worship, and share the word of God together. I am now able to share the word of God with the group members, my family, and I was offered a leadership position in my church, where they now give me opportunities to preach as well. In the past, I would not have been able to do this.”
Now Bertha can give money to her church and her community has access to clean water because of the tap water she was able to connect to her house. People in Bertha’s community have greatly benefited from her being part of a savings group. Now, not only does her family have clean water, but her parents, mother-in-law, and her entire community can access clean water.
Alice
Microfinance,
Paraguay
Alice and her husband Victor live in Paraguay with their 3 children. When the pandemic hit, it was difficult for Alice and Victor to make money. Victor is an auto mechanic, but they struggled to make ends meet on his income alone. When Alice started a restaurant and bakery, everything changed. Alice began selling pastries, cakes, cookies, hamburgers, sandwiches and pizza!
With the loans she’s taken out through Diaconía, our partner in Paraguay, Alice has been able to supply her shop with ingredients for her meals, and supplies such as napkins, plastic and paper bags, and cutlery. But this is more than a job! Alice is grateful to be earning an income while also using her gifts and skills to do something she enjoys!
Alice’s kids also take joy in her work and like to help her stir the pastry dough so they can dip their fingers in the leftover dough. Alice and Victor are grateful that they can now fully provide for their children without worrying they will go hungry.
You can invest in entrepreneurs like Sandrine, Yoselin, Betha, and Alice through the work of HOPE. To learn more about what we do and how you can play a role in alleviating poverty in all its forms, schedule a meeting with us!
