by Chris Horst | May 15, 2009 | Blog |
In Kinshasa, Congo, a sprawling capital city in sub-Saharan Africa, HOPE International has a branch office with over 30 Congolese staff members and 5,000 clients. One issue for our branch manager is the provision of quality health insurance for the local staff. Brian, a friend of mine who managed this office for a few years, shared a story which typified this challenge.
Over the course of a few weeks, a number of the local staff members stepped into Brian’s office and shared that the doctor connected with their insurance plan was misdiagnosing their problems. They shared that he treated them poorly, overcharged for his services and failed to appropriately address their health concerns. As the complaints piled up, Brian paid the doctor a visit.
When they met, Brian confronted him with the frustrations and complaints of his staff, advocating on behalf of those who this doctor had wronged. While Brian shared, the doctor interrupted and said, “Well, have any of them died yet?”
Talk about confusion on how success is defined. No, none of the staff members had died—but that doesn’t mean that he was successful! Defining success is critical to the success of any organization. Recently, I have spent significant thinking about that in regards to HOPE’s work.
One of the primary reasons I believe so deeply in HOPE’s work is because of HOPE’s commitment to the proclamation of the Gospel. Woven into the fabric of our organizational culture is a belief that the story of the cross truly changes lives. Helping the poor in their physical state is wonderful and important, but if we are just helping those that are oppressed become oppressors—is that success? Is it success if we are helping vulnerable individuals create wealth only to neglect their communities once they obtain it?
I believe in HOPE’s holistic approach because I believe in the power of the Gospel to reshape attitudes and soften hearts. When that happens, and hearts are changed, then we achieve success. Then we see our clients begin to reflect Christ’s love back into their communities as they rise out of poverty.
Clients like Berky & Rafael, a Dominican couple who started a school for the poorest kids in their neighborhood with their business profits. Clients like Oleg who started an aftercare ministry for men coming out of prison, providing many of them with jobs in his furniture manufacturing business. They have given back to their communities because their hearts have been changed. That for HOPE, and nothing less, is how we define success.
by Chris Horst | Apr 15, 2009 | Blog |
A few weeks ago I met with a church group in Boulder, Colorado. One of the group members asked pointedly, “Why do you charge interest to the poor? Why not just offer interest-free loans or grants?” I started sharing a lengthy, detailed response when I was interrupted by another member of the group— “It’s not that complex,” she said, “It actually makes a lot of sense why they charge interest.”
She shared that when her practice first opened, decades ago, she provided free counsel to underprivileged women—single mothers, former inmates, etc. “They rarely showed up for our scheduled sessions. If they did show up, they kind of blew it off.” She went on to discuss why she now charges these at-risk clients. While she discounts her service significantly, she still charges a fee. The change, as she described it, has been remarkable. “Now these women value my services. They come on time, they are invested, and they soak up every minute of their sessions. It’s been a dramatic shift since I’ve started charging a fee.”
I smiled sheepishly and said, “Yes, thanks for your comment. That’s why we charge interest.” Her simple story from her counseling practice, and the clear personal conviction with which share shared, powerfully communicated what no amount of complex development theories, supportive statistics or quotes from field practitioners could. It just made sense.
Ok, so it works logically. But, as Christians, we are not always called to act logically. At times, we’re called to act contrary to what “makes sense” to everyone else. The Bible actually has a lot to say about this subject. Some of it, at first glance, actually has made me squirm. Exodus 22:25 says “If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender, charge him no interest” (NIV). That feels fairly straightforward. It seems clear that we aren’t to charge interest to the poor. Upon first seeing that passage, I began wondering if working at HOPE was even biblically permissible!
The Hebrew word for moneylender, neh’-skek, as used in this passage, is also used in Nehemiah 5:7, when Nehemiah rebuked the wealthy in his community for taking advantage of the poor. “I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I told them, “You are exacting usury from your own countrymen!” Here, it is translated as “extracting usury.” The word used in both of these verses, in Hebrew, literally means “to bite” or “to strike with the sting of a scorpion.”
I am by no means a biblical scholar. However, after doing some research, there seems to be fairly clear consensus that these, and other similar OT passages, are an indictment of usury and exploitative interest. The Bible is clear in its condemnation of profiting off the backs of the poor. And, make no mistake about it; God has a strong distaste towards charging exorbitant interest rates to those on the margins.
What HOPE is doing across the world, however, is trying to put moneylenders out of business. Whenever we start working in a new community, we undercut the loan sharks. While it is common for these loan sharks to charge 200 or 300% APR or more, HOPE is offering reasonable and transparent rates. HOPE’s rates are a breath of fresh air for the poor who have been trapped in poverty as a result of these moneylenders.
Through charging interest, HOPE has sustainable programs, which treat our clients as clients, not as needy recipients. They value the services we provide—because they experience the dignity of legitimate exchange and because the rates are clear and reasonable! We are bringing justice in the communities where we are working, as we seek to strip loan sharks of their clients. I believe, just as the psychologist from Boulder said, that charging interest to the poor “just makes sense”—logically and biblically.
*Thanks to my former colleague, Dave Larson, upon whose research I drew upon for this.
by Chris Horst | Mar 15, 2009 | Blog |
As a tribute to the late Paul Harvey, who passed away last month, I’d like to share “the rest of the story” of HOPE’s beginnings. You think you know how HOPE International began? Yes, the Ukrainian pastors approached Jeff Rutt (HOPE’s founder) and his church and asked them to stop with the hand-outs. And yes, HOPE began with twelve enthusiastic Ukrainian entrepreneurs shortly thereafter. But, do you know what happened in-between those two incidents? The story is actually a bit grittier than what gets printed in the brochures.
As HOPE’s web site history correctly states, Jeff “returned from the trip with a strong drive to find a solution. He plunged into research and eventually discovered the concept of microfinance.” “Eventually” is the key word. When the Ukrainian pastors approached Jeff in 1997 and asked him and his church to change their missions strategy, Jeff started thinking. What these pastors asked for was a long-term, sustainable solution to the abject poverty which existed in their communities.
Jeff and his church thought through and researched close to 50 different ideas and eventually landed on a promising plan. The plan they decided on was to help these churches process and sell sunflower seeds, as sunflower seeds are one of the most abundant resources in Ukraine. They wrote a comprehensive business plan and then raised $2,000 to buy a top-of-the-line sunflower seed processor. Through this plan, Jeff estimated the Ukrainian church members would be able to generate thousands of dollars to fund the ministry of the church, eliminating the need for his church to bring the hand-outs.
They excitedly took care of all the shipping and logistical issues to ensure it got to Ukraine. Jeff led a group of enthusiastic members from his church to Ukraine to be there for the delivery of the machine and to help train the Ukrainians on how to use it. They celebrated the machine’s arrival, took their pictures arm-in-arm with their Ukrainian friends, and flew back home—solution found!
Not exactly… One year later, when Jeff and the church returned, they found the machine exactly where they had left it. The Ukrainian church leaders were embarrassed to even show them the unused machine. “There was absolutely no evidence it had been used…it was in the exact same spot we had put it,” Jeff shared with me. Cobwebs and dust littered the gears and levers. Remarkably, the processor hadn’t moved an inch from where it had been delivered. It hadn’t even been turned on.
Why did this happen? The issue, as Jeff describes, was ownership. “It wasn’t their idea. It was our idea. When you have your own idea, then you will do whatever it takes to try and make that idea work, but they didn’t have any ownership of this idea.” Ownership is the name of the game. Often, charity, while well-intentioned, fails to truly stimulate long-term change. Even in the case of providing an income-generating piece of machinery, Jeff found that without local ownership, the idea and machine wasn’t ultimately theirs.
We need to continue to find creative ways to partner and empower the poor, to break the perpetuity of poverty. Real transformation and development happens when we partner with local ingenuity and ideas. Jeff and his church learned that lesson in a very real way—and HOPE was birthed out of that realization. And now, today, in some of the most challenging communities in the world, hundreds of thousands of industrious and innovative individuals are having their potential, dreams and ideas awakened and resourced. In the words of Paul Harvey, “And now you know…the rest of the story.”
(Chris)
by Chris Horst | Feb 15, 2009 | Blog |
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Ephesians 4:28 (emphasis mine)
“So that.” Our mandate, as believers, is to equip and empower others to not just leave their old lifestyles, but to be transformed themselves so that they can help others. What I love about this verse is that our mandate doesn’t stop with helping thieves stop stealing. Our calling is not solely to help the poor to no longer be poor. We’re called to help them become agents of change in their own communities so that as a result of our help, they can then help others. How can the church respond to this mandate?
On the island of Hispaniola, tens of thousands of Haitian immigrants have migrated across the border into the Dominican Republic in search of a better life. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and often the prospects of moving into the Dominican Republic, while still a very poor country, are enticing. However, the reality is that the dream of a prosperous new life rarely comes to fruition. Unable to find honest work, many Haitian immigrant mothers resort to prostitution as the cries of their hungry children become too much for them to bear.
The churches in the Dominican Republic want to help. They want to help these mothers leave that destructive lifestyle. But how? No amount of prayer, food, medical treatment, clothing giveaways, water sanitation, or even advocacy is going to free them. The issue is employment. These women’s children are dying in front of them and they need money to feed them and put them in school. Churches there want to help these women, to live out Eph. 4:29, but they don’t know how.
One of these prostitutes is named Rosa Andre (pictured with her son below). Rosa is HIV+ and has five children. Iglecia Buen Samaritano (Good Samaritan Church), in Puerto Plata, DR, wanted to minister to her and women like her, but did not know how. Last year, in partnership with HOPE, Iglecia Buen Samaritano pioneered a new program to help women like Rosa. Over the course of 40 days, church volunteers and HOPE employees met with a group of 20 prostitutes, including Rosa, every day to go through biblically-based business training and through Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life.
Many of these women learned for the first time that there is a God who loves them and has a purpose for them. At the end of these 40 days of training and encouragement, they were each given a loan of about $150 to start a business. The results have been astounding. Many of these women have entered into a relationship with Christ and over 95% of the women who have gone through the program have not gone back to their old occupation as they are now able to provide for their families through honest work. They’ve seen real change happen in their lives. We are now replicating the program throughout the country because of the success in Puerto Plata.
Rosa, when asked about the impact of the program on her life said this, “There is a change because before I went out and engaged in prostitution. I feel safer now because I don’t go out. And now I can support my five children by selling clothes. I knew about the love of God before but I didn’t understand it. I understand that God loves me now.” The church found a way to help Rosa. They responded to Ephesians 4:28. Rosa no longer is selling her body for sex, but selling clothing so that she can provide for her five sweet children.
Let the prostitute no longer sell her body for sex, but rather let her labor, doing honest work with her own hands, so that she may have something to share with anyone in need. Ephesians 4:28 (revised)
by Chris Horst | Jan 15, 2009 | Blog |
Matthew Parris, an award-winning columnist with a prominent British newspaper, wrote this in a recent column:
Travelling in Malawi refreshed another belief, too: One I’ve been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I’ve been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my world view, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God.
Now a confirmed atheist, I’ve become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people’s hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good. (emphasis mine)
What a powerful proposition Parris suggests. I agree with him strongly, as does my organization, HOPE International. We believe his comments are the reason Christ-centered organizations are so important in Africa. Still, it is confounding to read this from an atheist. Essentially, what Parris says compares to Mitt Romney making a comment like this in a primary debate: “You know, I believe I’m a great candidate, but I just think Rick Perry is better prepared and will be more effective than me at bringing about the type of change we need in America.”
It’s laughable to think about. Yet, this is what Parris says. Despite that he whole-heartedly believes there is no God, he supports and believes in the work of Christian organizations in Africa because of the transformation which only God can bring. We have seen this clearly demonstrated around the globe. The transformative message of Christ coupled with an effective and empowering method of helping is a dynamic combination.
As a decidedly Christian organization, we are actually able to add tremendous value to the lives of our clients because of our Christian-ness. And Parris, an atheist, seems to agree. In other words, HOPE is not just a Christianized knock-off version of bigger secular organizations. HOPE’s faith-based approach is much more than that – it’s ultimately the singularly most-important characteristic of our work.
