December 2017 Program Roundup

December 20, 2017

We are excited to see change happening across our programs as the people we serve choose to use the knowledge, training and tools they have received, and then pass it along to their neighbors, friends and communities.

Savings Groups

Our newest Just Hope team member, Travis Trull, traveled to Ghana and Sierra Leone to visit Savings Groups and work with the Field Officers there. 

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About 20 groups will be closing out their second year and beginning their 3rd year of saving and loaning together as they move into 2018. In both Ghana and Sierra Leone, our Field Officers are receiving more requests to start new Savings Groups.  As people in the local communities observe the existing groups and see their success and the benefits of managing money wisely, their initial hesitation is dismissed, and they want to be in a group themselves. Their skepticism is being replaced with curiosity and intrigue. 

These new requests are encouraging because it confirms that locals are truly seeing results and believe that it is making a difference in the lives of their neighbors. Their desire to begin new groups and pass on their knowledge shows they are able to take ownership over the program and work together to reach their financial goals. 

Agriculture Training

Mabureh Mende Group

Groups in our Agriculture Training program in Sierra Leone will move forward with contract farming ginger in February. The original plan to farm 5 acres has been scaled down to 1 acre. Potential partnerships and local market linkage are still being solidified.

The four farming groups (Motoboh 1 and 2, Mabureh Mende, and Kerefay) are eager to begin the project and to learn the process of farming ginger. Contract farming will give each man and woman an opportunity to potentially double their household income!

Business Mentoring

Just Hope launched the Entrepreneurship Development program in Haiti in August and we are already seeing outstanding results from our program participants, like Samarre.

Samarre Gens smiling with his “Fresh Life” laundry detergent.

Samarre and his brothers in Haiti were only teenagers when they started having to provide for themselves. With challenging family circumstances and bleak economic prospects, Samarre felt depressed and unmotivated. That is, until he applied for Just Hope’s Entrepreneurship Development program, and received the investment he needed to launch his “Fresh Life” laundry detergent business. How is business going for Samarre? Click here to find out…

Survival Skills

Just Hope International’s Survival Skills Project Manager, Carolina, had a successful trip to Panama. She met with the Survival Skills students and celebrated a great year of growth with the program’s closing ceremonies.

Equipped with valuable life skills, these students are working toward building a financially independent life for themselves.

Survival Skills students celebrating closing ceremonies in Colón.

We are grateful for our time in Colón, and pray God will continue to provide guidance for the leaders who will take our program curriculum and continue the work in the country.

Join us as we pray for the expansion of our Survival Skills program to more areas within the region so more students can learn these skills.

Learn More & Get Involved

You can learn more about our programs and the remarkable people we serve around the world. Find out how you can get involved.