Bringing hope into the lives of the world's poorest families

It’s Boxing Day and as the year draws to a close we remain deeply grateful for all that donors have accomplished.

In 2013, there were many people to be helped, and many tragedies that required immediate action. Each time, donors responded without pause. The consistent support that we witnessed, month after month, inspires us to keep doing everything we can to eradicate poverty. Hundreds of thousands of people were touched this year all across Africa, Asia, and the Americas. We cannot thank you enough for all that you’ve done, and all that you continue to do.

HOPE International Development Agency donors lifted orphaned children up out of poverty and gave them an opportunity to create a new life. Impoverished parents used micro-loans to start small businesses that generated sustainable sources of income; allowing them to feed and educate their children. Communities came together and created clean sources of water that will last for decades.

Access to clean water is one of the ways that hope was brought back into the lives of people this year.

In Burundi, Africa, one of the poorest countries in the world, we began working with communities to develop and build water systems that provide abundant supplies of clean water. For families living in Matara and Bubanza, Burundi, there truly is no proper way to express the impact clean water has in their lives. Once the systems are completed, mothers will be able to think about the future because their children will be healthy and well-fed.

Clean water is the cornerstone of survival, and with it, life can thrive.

With the arrival of clean water in communities throughout Cambodia, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Ethiopia, children are able to go to school rather than spending their days gathering water. Most of these children have never been given an opportunity like this before. A proper education is the key to children growing up and pulling themselves, as well as their communities, out of poverty. Their learning means that they can find stable work, start businesses in their communities, or in many cases, continue the work being done by getting involved in helping others.

The joy on their faces when they hear they can stop working in the fields or carrying water, and get an education instead, is one of the things that  keeps us going. It is their hope and their excitement for the possibilities that lay ahead that gives us the strength to keep reaching out and touching as many people as we can with the help you provide.

So today, and everyday, we say thank you. Thank you for continuing to make stories like these a reality for these families and so many more. Thank you for helping us to keep reaching for one more life, every day.

Without your support, none of this would be possible.

With your support, the world is being changed one step and one day at a time.