There is great reward when we embrace others in need and equip them with skills (not handouts) so that dignity and sustainability can be passed on to others!
Without an investment there can be no return. From prayer to a variety of caring actions, the door to make a difference is open for you, your family, and your friends.
I will crush poverty with HOPE!
Your network is a powerful tool! Explore the incredible difference you can make when you advance the cause through your office, church, small group, VBS, school, clubs, business, alumni networks, family, the web, social media, and more.
Patrick
Their alcoholic grandmother then took custody of the five children but did not provide for them or treat them well. Patrick watched as his youngest brother grew weaker by the day and then passed away. Their living situation continued to deteriorate, and because their grandfather could not earn enough money to provide for everyone, the children were all forced to look for jobs to buy essentials like food and clothing.
During this time, Patrick and his grandfather started developing strange wounds on their bodies, which caused physical torture and misery that lasted for years. Patrick’s grandmother became scared of the wounds, so she isolated them in a small hut and would either withhold food completely or purposely make the food inedible in an effort to starve them. She made Patrick’s sisters wear plastic bags on their hands if they went near them, which created intense fear and a feeling of separateness. One of his sisters would try to sneak them some milk so they could have something substantial in their stomachs, but still Patrick’s health declined. The poor nutrition caused him to be constantly sick, but his grandmother refused to get him medical attention. His sister went to the clinic for help but was only able to afford a few aspirin.
One day, not wanting to get too close, Patrick’s grandmother used her foot to push his inedible food across the floor to him. Culturally, this use of her foot was one of the greatest signs of disrespect. This was the last straw; something deep inside of Patrick’s heart broke. At only 8 years of age, he set out on his own and wandered into a thick forest. Although his sisters and others searched for him, no one could find him.
This was the turning point for Patrick, who found loving parents and over 100 brothers and sisters!
He thrived at the children’s home, learning business skills even as a child. He started collecting kernels of maize that had been left in neighbors’ fields after harvest and sold them to buy his first chicken. His one chicken soon became 20 and then 100! He then sold half of them and bought his first sheep. The sheep soon gave birth, so he sold them along with more chickens and bought his first cow. He began selling the milk from the cow and over time was able to buy another cow. Patrick now owns four cows, seven sheep, and a small house on a half-acre, and he sells milk to the same children’s home where he was raised! Patrick has become an entrepreneur and an example to the other children in the home, as well as the local villagers.
As a teenager, Patrick met an ELI trainer named Isaac and joined a year-long intensive training course in agriculture. He did so well that, when a village requested training from ELI, Isaac asked Patrick to do it. 90 farmers were there, anxiously waiting to learn how to properly care for their chickens that kept dying. Patrick taught them about breeding, feeding, and medication. Now, he has pastors, farmers, coordinators, and other people who seek him out so they too can learn how to make money raising chickens.
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How You Can Impact One Person
$10 provides in-village awareness workshops
$60 provides 5 days of life-skill training
$35 provides a year's worth of coaching & mentoring
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Empowering Villages with Hope!
$25/month or $300/year empowers emerging leaders to impact their villages
(for every 25 people who give $25/month, another village can be empowered)
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Empowering Villages with HOPE!
$90 trains a woman to leave illegal brewing
$250 provides a village outreach/evangelism weekend
$1,800 empowers a village cohort to lead a community
$8,000 provides Family HOPE to an entire village
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Their alcoholic grandmother then took custody of the five children but did not provide for them or treat them well. Patrick watched as his youngest brother grew weaker by the day and then passed away. Their living situation continued to deteriorate, and because their grandfather could not earn enough money to provide for everyone, the children were all forced to look for jobs to buy essentials like food and clothing.
During this time, Patrick and his grandfather started developing strange wounds on their bodies, which caused physical torture and misery that lasted for years. Patrick’s grandmother became scared of the wounds, so she isolated them in a small hut and would either withhold food completely or purposely make the food inedible in an effort to starve them. She made Patrick’s sisters wear plastic bags on their hands if they went near them, which created intense fear and a feeling of separateness. One of his sisters would try to sneak them some milk so they could have something substantial in their stomachs, but still Patrick’s health declined. The poor nutrition caused him to be constantly sick, but his grandmother refused to get him medical attention. His sister went to the clinic for help but was only able to afford a few aspirin.
One day, not wanting to get too close, Patrick’s grandmother used her foot to push his inedible food across the floor to him. Culturally, this use of her foot was one of the greatest signs of disrespect. This was the last straw; something deep inside of Patrick’s heart broke. At only 8 years of age, he set out on his own and wandered into a thick forest. Although his sisters and others searched for him, no one could find him.
This was the turning point for Patrick, who found loving parents and over 100 brothers and sisters!
He thrived at the children’s home, learning business skills even as a child. He started collecting kernels of maize that had been left in neighbors’ fields after harvest and sold them to buy his first chicken. His one chicken soon became 20 and then 100! He then sold half of them and bought his first sheep. The sheep soon gave birth, so he sold them along with more chickens and bought his first cow. He began selling the milk from the cow and over time was able to buy another cow. Patrick now owns four cows, seven sheep, and a small house on a half-acre, and he sells milk to the same children’s home where he was raised! Patrick has become an entrepreneur and an example to the other children in the home, as well as the local villagers.
As a teenager, Patrick met an ELI trainer named Isaac and joined a year-long intensive training course in agriculture. He did so well that, when a village requested training from ELI, Isaac asked Patrick to do it. 90 farmers were there, anxiously waiting to learn how to properly care for their chickens that kept dying. Patrick taught them about breeding, feeding, and medication. Now, he has pastors, farmers, coordinators, and other people who seek him out so they too can learn how to make money raising chickens.
Change the Future
Empowering Villages with Hope!
$25/month or $300/year empowers emerging leaders to impact their villages
(for every 25 people who give $25/month, another village can be empowered)
Ignite World Changers
Empowering Villages with HOPE!
$90 trains a woman to leave illegal brewing
$250 provides a village outreach/evangelism weekend
$1,800 empowers a village cohort to lead a community
$8,000 provides Family HOPE to an entire village
How You Can Impact One Person
$10 provides in-village awareness workshops
$60 provides 5 days of life-skill training
$35 provides a year's worth of coaching & mentoring