Loving. Providing. Protecting. Mothering.

May 14, 2012 in Adoption, Faith and Int. Development with 0 Comments

Reposted from Loving. Providing. Protecting. Mothering.

Loving. Providing. Protecting. Mothering. - Alphonsine

 

It was her five children who first motivated Alphonsine Kimuzaza to join “Peaceful,” a community bank an hour outside Kigali, Rwanda, in 2009. They needed books, uniforms, and supplies for school, as well as healthy food to eat—but Alphonsine says she felt “like a parasite” approaching her husband day after day with a list of needs she knew he couldn’t afford to meet with his income as a driver. But she’s quick to add that things have changed: “Now I contribute. … We’ve joined together to make something big.”

Alphonsine identifies a loan of $167 from HOPE’s partner Urwego Opportunity Bank as “the spark.” It enabled her to purchase plantains and other foodscowtuffs for resale, and the business has prospered. Alphonsine has become a wholesaler, selling up to eight tons of beans and sorghum a week while maintaining her plantain sales. Her income varies, but she earns over $50 a day. She’s purchased a hybrid cow that produces more than two gallons of milk a day, and after her children have had their fill, she sells the remainder. Her income helps pay for all five of her children to attend school.

When she learned that three young relatives of her husband had been orphaned, she had sufficient resources to open not only her heart but her home to the children, adopting them, sending them to school, and meeting all of their needs.

“The fact that I have a successful business is not just my hard work. It’s God who led me to the right business,” she says. But Alphonsine is working hard to achieve her dream, and she has eight powerful motivators. “I want my children to go to university,” she says. “That’s the reason I have to work so hard.”

It’s the hard work of our clients and the transformative love of God that changes lives—but a small loan can be “the spark.” Spark change today in honor of a woman you love. For a limited time, with each gift of $100 or more that originates from this post, get a free copy of Mommy’s Heart Went POP!

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Mommy's Heart Went POP!

An Essential Alliance

HOPE’s president, Peter Greer, recently addressed the Christian Alliance for Orphans’ annual Summit at Saddleback Church on the topic “Microfinance and Orphan Care: An Essential Alliance.” Having witnessed how clients like Alphonsine open their homes to orphans, we see microfinance as a powerful, local solution to the orphan crisis with the potential to positively impact thousands of orphaned children around the world—by keeping at-risk families together, by providing a livelihood for orphans as they enter adulthood, and by enabling families to take in those who are orphaned within their own communities. To read an interview with Peter Greer on the intersection of microfinance and orphan care, see this blog post.

Just in time for Mother’s Day comes the release of Mommy’s Heart Went POP!, a children’s book co-authored by Peter Greer detailing his family’s personal journey with international adoption and providing a resource for other families. For a limited time, get a free copy with each gift of $100 or more using the link from this post. For more information or to order your copy, visit http://www.pop-theadoptionbook.com.

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Toxic Charity: Lessons from Bob Lupton

May 7, 2012 in Faith and Int. Development with 0 Comments

I recently had the opportunity to hear Bob Lupton, author of Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And How to Reverse It), speak at the co-lab conference in Chicago.

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I was especially struck by his take on the receivers’ response when we offer charity:

· Give once and you elicit appreciation;

· Give twice and you create anticipation;

· Give three times and you create expectation;

· Give four times and it becomes entitlement;

· Give five times and you establish dependency (Lupton in Toxic Charity, p. 130).

The system of charity is broken: Necessary for short-term relief, charity is like putting a Band-Aid on a broken bone.  As Lupton says, long term it reinforces the underlying issues of poverty—hopelessness, powerlessness, and helplessness.  Affirming the superiority of the giver, it subordinates the receiver.

As Christ followers, we are called to something better.  Christ came to break the cycle of spiritual and physical poverty.  Therefore, let’s not create dependency.   Instead, let’s encourage the poor to use their God-given talents and skills.  Let’s uphold and affirm the poor’s dignity.

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Read an interview with Bob Lupton in Christianity Today: How Charity Can Be Toxic, Just in Time for Christmas.

On the topics of relief, aid, and charity:

· “Aid is not the Answer”

· “Why Telling One Story Isn’t Enough”

· “Why We Need to Listen to the Poor: HOPE’s Untold Story”

Have Our Churches Become Country Clubs?

April 30, 2012 in Faith and Int. Development, Leadership with 0 Comments

Have you ever calculated the percentage your church spends on those outside its walls?

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For the first time, I researched giving at several churches. What I found surprised me.  Churches I examined were giving 1-2% of their budgets to benevolence, outreach, missions, and ministry partnerships.  I believe individual church members are giving more, but my limited sample shows that perhaps as a North American Church, we are giving our leftovers.

Our budgets reveal that the majority of church funding is directed to serving those on the inside—members only. If we’re honest, I wonder if our churches are operating more like country clubs.  Today we have an abundance of men’s groups, women’s retreats, softball leagues, and music ministry activities.  The church feeds us, nurtures us, babysits our kids, and provides space for important relationships to develop.  It encourages us. It entertains us. It uplifts us.

But what if the primary point of church wasn’t “us”? What if the point was to bring the Good News to the poor? What if it was to care for the widow, the orphan and the alien? What if the primary point was outward service to a world in need as we bring the amazing message of hope and forgiveness found in Jesus?

A self-sufficient and satisfied church is only mentioned once in Scripture—the church of Laodicea.  And Jesus wanted to spew that sort of lukewarm church out of His mouth. Jesus became poor for our sake.  He went to the cross in our place.  Surely that sort of love prompts a response than is well beyond our leftovers.

When we truly understand what Jesus did for us, we can’t remain content with country-club Christianity.

It is time for some healthy introspection and tough questions: what do our budgets tell us about our mission? Are we really following the example of Jesus or just printing a few verses on our golf carts? If we follow the money, we might be shocked that the way we do church is all about us.

Thankfully, there are churches charting a new course. For example, the Lutheran Church of Hope in Des Moines, Iowa, gives 50% of its budget for internal need, the other half for missions and outreach.  Church of the Holy Spirit in Roanoke, Virginia, has committed to helping to end extreme global poverty through sacrificial giving. My home church recently introduced the “faith pledge” and encouraged members to get more involved in missions.

I might be naïve, but I believe that just possibly the North American Church is dissatisfied with country-club Christianity and ready to go deeper in service to others.

Four Core Beliefs

April 24, 2012 in Faith and Int. Development, Microfinance with 0 Comments

There is a lot that has changed at HOPE since our founding in 1997. We’ve built our team. Added 15 more countries of service. Diversified our services. But our core beliefs have remained consistent.

vegetable bean woman

  • Charity is broken. Necessary for short-term relief, charity is like putting a Band-Aid on a broken bone. It doesn’t address the underlying issues of poverty—hopelessness, helplessness, and voicelessness. Instead it reinforces these mindsets long term.  Our help can actually hurt those we’re attempting to serve.
  • Job creation is a proven way out of financial poverty. Poverty was cut in half—from 52 to 26 percent—between 1981 and 2005. What happened? Economic opportunity in China, Brazil, and India have revolutionized poverty reduction. But it’s also common sense. A job is simply superior to a handout.  Consistently, we hear this when we listen to the families we serve.  They don’t want to be thrown another fish, but rather given the opportunity to start a fishing business.
  • You can gain the whole world, yet lose your soul. Poverty is more than financial. At its heart, poverty is about relational brokenness: our separation from God and from each other. Jesus Christ calls us to restore relationships and has given us the message and the model through his life, death, and resurrection. We are fully committed to addressing not only physical poverty, but also spiritual poverty in all we do.
  • Do one thing – and do it well. HOPE’s model works because it’s simple. We focus on one thing: excellent Christ-centered microenterprise development. Our model includes teaching biblically based business training, sharing the Word of God, providing access to small loans and savings services to those excluded from the formal financial sector.

Fifteen years ago, HOPE offered 12 loans to people in poverty. While so much has changed since then, our core beliefs have kept us anchored.

Why We Need to Listen to the Poor: HOPE’s Untold Story

March 29, 2012 in Faith and Int. Development, Microfinance with 0 Comments

HOPE’s mission is to invest in the dreams of the poor.  But it wasn’t always that way.

Before HOPE’s founding, we overlooked the simplest part of providing a service—asking our customers what they wanted.

Moroz Zinaida

“No More Handouts”

HOPE was founded out of unsuccessful charity.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, people in Ukraine were in great need.  Motivated by Christ’s compassion, a church from Lancaster, Pa., looked to respond.

They partnered with a church in Zaporozhe, Ukraine.  For three years, they sent shipments of clothing and food, as well as visited the church.  But good intentions weren’t enough.

On one visit, the Ukrainian pastor took aside Jeff Rutt, an entrepreneur and church member.  He expressed his growing concerns:  His congregation was growing dependent on aid.  Also, the local businesses could not compete with the free goods flooding the community.

He told them, “We need a hand-up, not a handout.”

So the American church sought to find another solution.

Let’s Start a Business

Researching new ways to help, the U.S. church saw that sunflower seeds were grown in Ukraine.  A sunflower-seed processor appeared a perfect solution: it would employ church members and meet the growing demand for the product.  They bought a machine and wrote a detailed business plan.

With ceremony, the American church delivered the sunflower-seed processor to Ukraine.

A year later, the Americans visited Ukraine.  The sunflower-seed processor sat in the church’s back corner, gathering dust.  It had never been used.  The instructions had never been read.  In fact, the instructions were in English, not Ukrainian.

While the sunflower-seed processor looked like a viable solution, the poor had not asked for it.

Ownership

Recognizing outside solutions weren’t working, Jeff began talking with the Ukrainian congregation.  Many of them already had businesses in small market and neighborhood stalls.  What they needed was a way to invest in their businesses, they said.

In 1997, Jeff offered 12 small loans to people in Ukraine.   All were repaid.  And the poor had the opportunity to provide for their families in a dignified way.

Why did microfinance work?  The Ukrainians knew the local business context.  They had ownership of the process.  And microfinance encouraged them to use their God-given talents and skills to build a better future for their families.

We know firsthand that we are all “the body of Christ, and each [of us is] is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27), but it takes courage to collaborate with the poor.  And it takes strength to admit we don’t have all the answers.

Fifteen years later nearly 400,000 people are being served through Christ-centered microfinance at HOPE.  I’m so thankful that one man had the humility to listen to the dreams of the poor.

 

 

More resources on sustainable and dignified solutions to poverty are here: Additional Resources.

NPR: Not Our Normal Audience

March 26, 2012 in Faith and Int. Development, Leadership, Uncategorized with 0 Comments

I recently had two great opportunities to talk about HOPE’s work on NPR member stations, WHYY Radio, based in Philadelphia, and witf, based in Harrisburg.

NPR is not my regular venue, and I was thrilled with the opportunity to talk about HOPE in this setting. I am used to speaking at churches, Christian business conferences, and mission seminars–where people want to hear about our work to combat spiritual poverty just as much as our work to address physical poverty.

At HOPE, our core commitment is addressing physical and spiritual poverty. When we share HOPE’s story, it’s never enough just to talk about job creation and economic development – a part of our core message has to talk about the hope that is found through Jesus Christ.

Even in a secular setting, we always want to succinctly and clearly convey the Gospel and why this is an essential part of our mission. It would be easy to selectively leave out this aspect of our identity, but to do so would not only falsely represent HOPE, but also miss an opportunity to talk about the most amazing story the world has ever heard.

 

 

 

What the World Wants

March 7, 2012 in Faith and Int. Development, Leadership, Microfinance with 0 Comments

What is on everyone’s mind?

Jim Clifton, chairman and CEO of Gallup, claims he has the answer.  Take a look at an excerpt of Clifton’s The Coming Jobs War, based on Gallup’s World Poll—where he argues that “more than anything else” people are concerned about finding a job.

Woman with vegetables

Clifton concludes, “…people want to have a good job, and they want their children to have a good job.”

In my recent travels to Congo and in virtually every other country I visit, I hear this same sentiment echoed by the people I met.  When I listen to our clients, they don’t want food, aid, or a new home as much as they want a job.

Historically, the Church played an active role in job creation. Puritan minister Cotton Mather encouraged his congregation to find employment for the poor, “Find ’em work; set ’em to work; keep ’em to work.”

This matches Ephesians 4:28 where Paul encourages those who at one point were stealing to “steal no longer, but [to] work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.”

As the global Church, if we’re listening to the people we’re serving and if we desire to maximize the impact on poverty, we need to get serious about job creation and do so in ways where relationships are established and the hope of Jesus is shared.

To see more posts about job creation in the developing world, see What Christianity Today Missed and Wealth Creation: Taking China’s Story of Success to Africa.

What Christianity Today Missed

February 23, 2012 in Faith and Int. Development, Leadership, Microfinance with 8 Comments

It’s not news: Getting a job is probably the most basic way to get out of poverty.

That’s why I’m amazed by the fact that in Christianity Today’s list of top 10 poverty alleviation strategies, only one directly involves job creation (microfinance).

See list below.

Chiflac Victor

  1. Get clean water to rural villages.
  2. Fund de-worming treatments for children.
  3. Provide mosquito nets.
  4. Sponsor a child.
  5. Give wood-burning stoves.
  6. Give a microfinance loan.
  7. Fund reparative surgeries.
  8. Donate a farm animal.
  9. Drink fair-trade coffee.
  10. Give a kid a laptop.

These solutions are critically important, but primarily address poverty’s symptoms instead of its root cause. They also emphasize what “we” can provide instead of recognizing that imported solutions rarely last.

Job creation is doing more than just treating poverty’s symptoms.  It challenges  the notion that the poor are helpless, powerless, and voiceless. 

With a job, the poor can work to provide for their families.  They can use their creativity and pursue their dreams.  And they can build a better world for their children.

At HOPE, we encourage business initiatives and share about the love of Christ.  We empower the poor to recognize their dignity in Christ.

But there are also many other Christ-centered organizations paving the way for job creation in the developing world.

Here are just a few top-notch Christ-centered organizations:

  1. The Chalmers Center.  Designing and teaching a biblically based business curriculum, The Chalmers Center empowers the poor to manage their money, save, and expand their businesses.  See http://www.chalmers.org/.
  2. Jobs for Life.   This great organization equips churches to teach basic skills necessary to find and maintain a job. See http://www.jobsforlife.org/affiliate-locations.htm.
  3. Sovereign’s Wealth Fund.  By investing in kingdom businesses, Sovereign’s Wealth Fund is helping to build a thriving middle class.   See http://www.slideshare.net/sovereigns/swfdeck.

I truly believe that Christ-centered business has the potential to change the world!  When we invest in individuals,  they, in turn, invest in their families—and in their communities.

Domestically and internationally, Christian organizations are lifting up the name of Jesus and carrying out the most basic form of poverty alleviation, helping the financially poor find a job.


Kurt Cobain, O.J. Simpson, and my Wake-up Call

February 16, 2012 in Faith and Int. Development with 1 Comment

The other night I had a chance to watch “Skin” –a documentary about apartheid in South Africa.  The narrative begins in the ‘60s.  While watching, I had assumed the film’s events all took place several decades ago.

But in the closing credits, I was reminded that this story of racial segregation through apartheid continued until 1994, when I was in college.  I was shocked as I thought back to how ignorant I was to this appalling practice.

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I was an international business major and considered myself to be fairly educated on world events in college.  But the things that stand out to me during that period are:

  • Kurt Cobain’s death
  • O.J. Simpson and the glove
  • Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan
  • Leonardo and Kate on the “Titanic”

But looking back, I had little knowledge and concern for much more significant events, including:

- The reality of apartheid, state-sanctioned segregation, in South Africa.

- The economic depression in post-Soviet countries—a crisis now considered twice as bad as our Great Depression.  (Many of their countries’ GDPs fell by 40 percent, according to the World Bank.)

- The horrors of the Rwandan genocide—where over 800,000 people were murdered.

These are world-changing events.  I am shocked and embarrassed about my ignorance and inaction, and I hope to never be that way again.  As a father, I want to teach my kids to always have their eyes and hearts wide open.

I believe that the current generation of students are far more engaged, informed, and interested globally than ever before. I see this progress and celebrate that we are finally getting our eyes off of us for just a moment to see and hopefully respond to some of the world’s greatest needs.

What are the issues we ignore that we need to awaken to today?

 

Wealth Creation: Taking China’s Story of Success to Africa

February 15, 2012 in Faith and Int. Development, Microfinance with 1 Comment

Thirty years ago, a greater percentage of China’s population lived below the poverty line than in most other countries, according to the World Bank.

Drastic economic reforms were undertaken.  From 1981 to 2005, the proportion of China’s population living in poverty dropped from 84 percent to 16 percent.

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Photo courtesy of Joel Esler

China’s phenomenal progress occurred in part because individuals had the opportunity to unleash their entrepreneurial spirit:  On average China’s economy grew almost 10 percent annually, and today nearly half the economy is driven by privately owned businesses.

A similar story is unfolding in Brazil, in India, and in other countries focused on unlocking entrepreneurial abilities.

From 1981 to 2005, Brazil’s poverty rate was cut from 17 to eight percent, and India’s, from 60 to 40 percent.  Through job creation, more people than ever before are being lifted out of poverty, according to the Brookings Institute, and as Dr. Scott Todd of 58: has pointed out, between 1981 and 2005, extreme global poverty was cut in half, from 52 to 26 percent.

Is Africa Next?

According to a recent report from the World Bank, countries in Africa are on the verge of the same remarkable path toward wealth creation as China was 30 years ago.  Until the recent financial crisis, its economy was, on average, expanding five percent annually, and even after the recession, it has experienced rapid recovery.

To eradicate poverty in Africa, we need to recognize the way economic development led to China’s success.  Then we can focus on initiatives that enable Africans to use their creativity to transform their communities.

Thankfully, there are innovative ways the church is already getting involved:

  • Private Investments:  Africa’s future looks bright because of the difference private investments are making in the continent.  Generating 1.7 million jobs from 2003 to 2010, its impact bypasses the effect of aid, according toThe New Africa: Emerging Opportunities for Business and Africa.  SpringHill Equity Partners, Sinapis Group, Karisimbi Business Partners are showing how larger investments and mentoring can create successful, large-scale enterprises.  See http://springhillequity.com; www.sinapisgroup.org; www.karisimbipartners.com.
  • Education: Prior to its economic reforms, China’s educational system was far more advanced than most other developing countries.   According to the World Bank, primary education was “well over 100 percent” in 1980, and its “adult literacy rate… was 66 percent in 1981.”  Because of its educational foundation, China’s poor had skills and knowledge that translated to employment in a free-market economy.  My friends, Chris Crane and Tiger Dawson, are helping to build the foundation for economic success in the developing world through Edify.  Taking an entrepreneurial approach to low-cost private education, they are coming alongside Christian educators and providing business loans and training to advance a model of low-cost private education in the developing world.  See www.edify.org.
  • Health: China’s health-care system was also better developed than other nations at the outset of its economic reforms, giving it an edge to overcome poverty.  To create the groundwork for better healthcare in Africa, a nonprofit called LifeNet is franchising Burundi’s church-based health clinics—upgrading and expanding existing clinics, providing nurse, management and pharmaceutical training—so that more of the poor have access to quality, affordable healthcare than ever before.  See www.lninternational.org.
  • Microfinance: Microfinance—encompassing business training, small loans, and savings—has been crucial to China’s poverty reduction, according to the chairman of the board for the Bank of China, Xiao Gang.  While China is making great strides toward financial inclusion, only 25 percent of Africans have access to such services.  Partnering with the poor, HOPE International, Opportunity International, and Five Talents offer small loans to entrepreneurs who can start or expand their businesses and provide for their families—helping pave the way for a flourishing middle class.  They often provide biblically based business training and savings.  See www.hopeinternational.org; www.opportunity.org ; www.fivetalents.org.

As we as a Church awaken to what is possible within our lifetime—eliminating extreme global poverty—social entrepreneurs and Kingdom-minded investors are playing a critical role.

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Re-posted from my guest blog for 58: http://www.live58.org/microenterprise-development/taking-china-story-of-success-to-africa/. 

58: is an unprecedented global alliance of Christians, churches and world-class poverty-fighting organizations working together to end extreme poverty in our lifetime by living the True Fast of Isaiah 58.

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