Bright Hope News

Oruro, Bolivia – What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “microenterprise”? You might think of a family receiving a loan to jumpstart their business, or an individual attending job skills training to work towards self-sustainability. But what about an entire church coming together to generate income for their ministries? That’s exactly the model Bright Hope is implementing in Bolivia, and it’s changing how the local church can impact their community. 
 

Oruro, Bolivia — In December of last year, our incredible allies proved that #GivingTuesday really could be just as big as Black Friday and Cyber Monday by surpassing our fundraising goal and raising over $11,000 in less than 12 hours!
 

Samfya, Zambia – Given Lungu grew up in a small fishing village just south of Samfya, Zambia. At the age of 18 she married and had a son. Life seemed to be off to a good start. However, within a few years of their marriage, things took a dark turn.
 

Kariobangi, Kenya – At 28 years old, life was promising for Jeniffer Aoko, married and raising her four daughters in the family’s humble shelter in the Kariobangi neighborhood of Nairobi, Kenya. Nothing could have prepared her for the tragedy before her.
 

Lake Zurich, Ill. — Claude Fanor of Pignon, Haiti is an eyewitness: transformation is happening in his country.  

Nairobi, Kenya – Left by his family at a young age, Peter Otieno knows the struggle of providing for himself in order to survive. 

Beganabe, Haiti — Lila Etienne is a woman with a vision to help lift her home village of Beganabe, Haiti, out of extreme poverty. Yet not long ago, Lila’s focus was much narrower—simply putting food on the table for her three children. 

Hoffman Estates, Ill. — On Giving Tuesday, December 1, we reached our goal of $10,000 at 6:00 p.m. CST thanks to the generosity of Bright Hope allies like you! This $10,000 will fully fund #ProjectEmpower, launching a sustainable small business through a local church in Bolivia.  

Nairobi, Kenya – “As a single parent in the slum, life has not been a bed of roses as I had imagined, so I have had to be the provider in my house,” shares Jane Adhiambo, a 45 year old widow living in Mathare Valley Slum. Her husband died in 2006, leaving her to raise their three daughters alone. 

Steadfast friends, Emelda and Margret, both know the struggles of living in Zambia. As a widow and mother of five children, Margret never thought she would be able to send her children to school. Even though she never had a garden, in 2008 she used the microloan she received through our partner, Samfya Community Care Providers, to plant one. With that $10 loan, she started her first garden and was able to feed her family and sell the excess, paying back the loan in full within four months. She received an additional microloan that December and became a farmer, growing a large field of maize that produced 25 bags in the first year. In 2013, she increased the yield to 33 bags. 

Edwin is the pastor of a small church in the city of Oruro, Bolivia. When he became a Christian, he devoted himself completely to serving the Lord. He wanted to go to seminary to become a pastor, but could not afford it, so he decided to get creative. A friend gave him an old sewing machine and he began teaching himself how to sew, selling every piece of clothing he made. That machine, he said, not only paid for his seminary courses but also his apartment rent and food while he was studying. For him that machine was his most prized possession. 

El Alto, Bolivia – Esperanza Chuquimia is currently the Director of the Children’s Program at Bright Hope’s partner church, Bethesda. Her name, Esperanza, means “Hope” in Spanish, which fits her perfectly as she is truly a beacon of Hope for the at-risk children of El Alto.