Whether you buy gifts sent directly to families overseas or gifts for under the tree, you're helping families step out of extreme poverty with Gifts of HOPE.

Clean water, safe sanitation and health supports start something big. The benefits - good health, more time for family and livelihood - begin as soon as the water flows in a community.

GIVE CLEAN WATER

Gifts of livestock, agricultural training, tools and seeds enable families to grow their way out of poverty permanently.

GIVE FOOD SECURITY

Gifts of livelihood training, education and life skills are more than practical, they’re a gift of hope that fuels lifelong opportunity.

GIVE LEARNING

 

GIFTS OF HOPE, our online Christmas store, is full of thoughtful gifts that change lives and brighten yours.

From gifts of clean water, food security and education for families around the world, to baskets, blankets and artisan handicrafts for under the tree, there's something for everyone this Christmas in our online store.

Every gift gives hope, joy and possibility to families experiencing extreme poverty.

SHOP GIFTS TODAY

11,000 people step away from chronic hunger

A reliable food supply is creating self-sufficiency and a way out of poverty. HOPE supporters are ensuring over 11,000 more people step away from chronic hunger by the end of this year. 

Garden tools, vegetable seeds, tree seedlings, fish fingerlings and training are creating significant increases in both the quality and quantity of food families grow. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, improvements in fingerling quality and fishpond management are yielding a 300% increase in fish harvests. 

Supporter generosity is helping families become self-sufficient:

• 1,600 people are benefiting from 40 animal banks and 120 home gardens
• 5,000 people are benefiting from agriculture and animal husbandry training, fishponds, gardens and fruit tree orchards
• 4,800 people are benefiting from seeds, fruit tree seedlings, tools and training

Thank you for helping ensure families are able to step away from chronic hunger permanently.

Transformation for thousands of people is possible this Thanksgiving

As Thanksgiving approaches, our hearts are with families experiencing chronic food shortages and ever deepening hunger in countries like Cambodia, Ethiopia, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo to name just a few. Floods, storms, landslides, eroding economies, armed conflicts and COVID are the obstacles face as people simply try to access food.

A gift will help provide garden tools and seeds to establish year-round household vegetable gardens, seedlings to create backyard fruit tree orchards and fish fingerlings to stock family fishponds. It will also provide the training needed to ensure families make the most of the resources you give. With a gift, people can transform their lives and step out of hunger and poverty, just like Dawili did when he received help.

“Fishponds have transformed my life and my family,” says Dawili who started with one fish pond and expanded as his confidence grew. Today, Dawili is a successful fish farmer with a secure source of nutritious food year-round and a reliable income that enables him to meet all of his family’s needs and even send his daughter to university - a first for his family.

You can make a lifetime of difference by putting tools. resources and training in the hands of families so they can become self-sufficient and put food on their tables every day.

GIVE A THANKSGIVING GIFT

For children in rural areas of the Philippines and South Sudan, education is THE path out of extreme poverty.

One of the biggest reasons extreme poverty remains so pervasive in Mindanao, Philippines and Ibba, South Sudan is because today's adults did not have access to education when they were children.

Helping provide an education for kids in South Sudan and the Philippines is the best way to ensure they do not become adults trapped in extreme poverty. 

A better tomorrow starts with a better today.

Your help is what children need in order to get back to school and start learning how to make their dreams of becoming teachers, health workers, tradespeople and self-reliant shop owners come true.

$46 provides a quality education, additional training for rural teachers and help families learn how to protect their health.

$84 provides the teachers children need, school supplies and educational equipment.

GIVE EDUCATION

Thriving in an urban environment in India

An alarming rise in urban poverty in Hosur, a city located on the banks of the River Ponnaiyar in Tamil Nadu state, India creates big challenges for youth.

In response, HOPE International Development Agency and the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation (MCIC) launched the Sustainable Urban Centres Project.

Focused on youth, especially young girls at risk of urban poverty, the initiative provides the knowledge and skills fundamental to living in an urban setting. After-school classes, youth groups and training sessions ensure girls have the opportunity to shape a better life not only for themselves, but for their families as well.

The prevalence of urban poverty in India is exacerbated by COVID-19 and the country has been deeply impacted the pandemic. In response, the Sustainable Urban Centres project provided COVID-19 relief to students and their families in the form of PPE, sanitizer and other hygiene and sanitation-based training and activities. 

In addition to COVID-19 assistance, programs introduced prior to the pandemic were carried out successfully, such as the school vegetable gardens which enabled students to learn basic agricultural skills they can apply in urban settings. The vegetables grown from these gardens are incorporated into school meals, improving nutrition and educating students about their health.

Ultimately, the Sustainable Urban Centres project is an example of a successful initiative, providing a participatory and positive learning environment that ensures urban youth are equipped to break the poverty cycle and improve their future.

Help communities move themselves forward by doing anything that gets you moving!

On September 19 - 26, 2020 be part of the 8th Annual HOPE RUN FOR H20 and walk, run, bike, swim, even paddle board if you want to! Help raise $200,000 so 2,000 people around the world can take their first-ever drink of clean water. 

We're inviting all our friends across Canada to join us for the biggest HOPE RUN FOR H20 since we started 8 years ago.

ONLY 3-days left for early bird price! Register now to receive the early bird price of $35 (includes a HOPE Run For H20 t-shirt and a customized bib).

REGISTER TODAY

In just a few minutes you'll be ready to help families move themselves forward.

Participating is easy. Choose an activity you want to do, how long you want to do it and how much you want to raise. Invite your friends and family to donate to your personal fundraising page or to join your team.

The funds you raise will help construct water systems that will give 2,000 people access to clean water for life.

Get moving and join the movement!

REGISTER TODAY

Meet some of our heroes on World Humanitarian Day, August 19

World Humanitarian Day, August 19, is an opportunity to share more about the real-life heroes we’re privileged to partner with overseas in the work of transforming lives HOPE donors support. People like Jessica Laguerre in Haiti, Shahid Yusef in Pakistan and Nate Nickerson in Haiti, are joined by many others, including Bishop Wilson Kamani, Bishop of the Diocese of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan.

Bishop Wilson epitomizes the humility, grace under pressure, ingenuity, unwavering commitment, compassion and love for people that are hallmarks of the colleagues we partner with in Africa, Asia and the Americas.

Surrounded by suffering caused by extreme poverty, the aftermath of armed conflict and the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bishop Wilson works in the harshest of conditions. Yet his perennial optimism and belief that every person matters drive him forward each day as he works to ensure people in Ibba, including an ever growing population of people who’ve been displaced from their home communities by armed conflict and have fled to Ibba, have access to clean water, health education, proper sanitation and agricultural training. Hundreds of children are in school and receiving the social support they so desperately need because of Bishop Wilson’s efforts. He is also working with various ethnic groups in the region to help them overcome their differences and move forward together.

A tireless advocate for people experiencing extreme poverty, Bishop Wilson pursues his life’s work with passion and at great personal cost as he is often away from his family who live a multi-day drive away from Ibba.

Helping the people of Ibba cope with COVID-19 is an area of increasing focus for Bishop Wilson in addition to all of the other initiatives he continues to move forward.

“Our attempt as a Diocese is to sensitize our communities of the dangers of COVID-19 and teach them how they can stay healthy and safe from this virus. We are doing everything we can while maintaining basic safety measures such as physical distancing ourselves to generate maximum awareness. In the case of corona virus, the more people know about it, the more effectively they can protect themselves,” says Bishop Wilson Kamani.

We celebrate, with gratitude, the tireless efforts of the colleagues we partner with in the work HOPE donors support on World Humanitarian Day. To watch conversations with Jessica, Shahid and Nate, please visit hope-international.com.

There's no place like home - until you don't have one.

When Nyamuse started her day, she had no idea it would end with her husband dead, her possessions abandoned and her family fleeing for their lives.

It was a typical day, facing the challenges of living in extreme poverty.

But everything changed when armed conflict between the government and rebels spilled into her tiny community.

Within minutes Nyamuse was a widow, her neighbourhood was in shambles, and her life, along with her children’s, forever changed.

“We had no future. We escaped from one problem to another." Nyamuse, recalling her family’s narrow escape and 96-hour journey without food, water or shelter to a safer area.

This heart-wrenching situation unfolds every day as armed conflict descends on communities, food shortages escalate into famine, disaster makes an area unlivable and opportunities to earn even a meagre income disappear.

When families like Nyamuse’s flee to safer places – usually camps of displaced persons – they arrive with nothing but what they can carry on their backs.

A gift from you will be the first act of kindness a family has experienced in months, perhaps years.

See how you can be hope today!

Clean water will change everything for Som Thon and her family

Som Thon and her husband, Thoo Thee, have a lot to worry about, not unlike most parents with five children to raise.

They live in Krawsaing Pnov in Pursat Province, Cambodia. Six years ago, Som Thon packed up her family and moved them across the province to find work. Each morning the family wakes at dawn to begin their day. They feed their small son a bottle and dress their young children for a day of work.

Thoo Thee cuts wood in the jungle with their eldest son for a daily wage. He lost his job when the global COVID-19 pandemic began. Som Thon and her eldest daughter trek into the jungle each day searching for wild leaves, roots or mushrooms to cook for dinner. Sometimes, if they do well, Som Thon will find more than she needs and sell any extra at the market.

None of Som Thon’s children have ever attended school. While there is a primary school in the area, the family cannot afford the fees. Even if they could, the road that leads there is muddy and hard to travel. Of the 86 students who enroll each year, only 50% will continue to the end of the school year.

During the dry season, Som Thon and her five children will trek hours daily to a small creek for water. They are not alone though. Each day, they will join women and children who live in the 1,000 person community. Some mothers collect water for their children, home sick with pervasive, yet preventable, illnesses like malaria, typhoid, dengue fever or dysentery.

Som Thon collects water to cook for her children, likely cassava, rice, and what she has scavenged that day. It's a long walk home carrying water and a baby. There is some relief during the rainy season when the rice fields flood and Som Thon can collect water from the sunken farmland instead of trekking to the creek.

A hand-pump well in their community would change everything. It will give her safe, clean, reliable and accessible water. It would free up time for Som Thon to earn an income and pay for her children’s schooling. The process of building a water system can train an entire work force in Karasaing Pnov on how to coordinate to build other infrastructure, like a better road to get to the Primary School.

Proceeds from HOPE Run for H2O will support Som Thon, her family and her community.

Register today to help us make clean water possible for 2,000 families.

HOPE Changes Everything

Clean water, food security, and livelihood create opportunities for families experiencing extreme poverty to change their circumstances.

The hundreds of thousands of people who changed their circumstances last year are more than a number in a report. They are stories of hope, joy, and accomplishment. They prove, once again, that extreme poverty cannot prevail when the hard work, relentless initiative, and love families have for each other are combined with the compassionate giving of HOPE supporters.

Clean water is often the first step out of extreme poverty. Then, access to safe sanitation, improved hygiene, and health supports, such as clinics and medicines, are the critical next steps. 

35 Initiatives | 138 Communities | 13 countries
374,800 Initiative Participants

Having a secure and reliable food source for families begins with agricultural training and resources, farm start-ups, irrigation, seeds, animal banks, nutrition training, and in cases of emergency, relief.

14 Initiatives | 102 Communities | 10 countries
63,900 Initiative Participants
 
Self-reliance happens when families, in addition to having clean water and reliable sources of food, fully participate in the local economy. Initiatives that support income generation, such as education, small business training, micro loans, and women’s self-help groups, enable families to create a sustainable livelihood that meets their needs.

29 Initiatives | 152 Communities | 14 countries
101,200 Initiative Participants

Learn more about how HOPE changes everything.

The "Initiative Participants" figure includes the 26% of people who participate in and benefit from more than one initiative, bringing the participation across all initiatives to 539,900.

See what you did to change lives.

Everything you want to know about how HOPE invests your generosity to change the world is in this year's annual IMPACT REPORT.

We believe that despite what is happening in the world, together we can accomplish even more this year as we continue building on the 45-years of HOPE you’ve helped create.

Your compassion welcomes the neglected, displaced and forgotten into your life.

Your belief that every family is precious and should be free from extreme poverty enabled the generosity that transformed more than 427,000 lives through 59 initiatives in 17 countries this past year.

In addition to showing how donations are carefully stewarded, this year's report provides you with more than 50 key insights into the outcomes you're creating with your giving. You'll also learn how three courageous women transformed their families by gaining access to clean water, improving their food security and participating in the local economy.

VIEW IMPACT REPORT

Garbanso Gelo Emergency Update

Generosity and a quick response from supporters enabled our HOPE Ethiopia team to immediately meet the most urgent needs surviving families in Garbanso Gelo faced after a massive landslide washed away most of their community.

"The community exists in very devastating conditions, but even in this condition we're always looking towards a bright future." Frehiwot, HOPE Ethiopia Country Director

In addition to ongoing efforts to reduce the impact of COVID-19 where HOPE is working in Ethiopia, the compassion of supporters is enabling traumatized families in Garbanso Gelo to begin rebuilding their lives and get back to constructing the water system that will provide clean water for their community.

A FEW HIGHLIGHTS...

EMERGENCY FOOD
With much of the community's food supply destroyed by the landslide, emergency supplies were trucked to Garbanso Gelo as soon as conditions would allow.

17,500 Kgs 
CORN FLOUR - A STAPLE AMONG FAMILIES
1,250 Litres
COOKING OIL TO PREPARE MEALS

HOUSEHOLD HEALTH 
In the aftermath of the landslide, basic household items and sanitation supplies ensure the health of families is not put at further risk.

400 Bars
HAND SOAP TO MAINTAIN SAFE HYGIENE
2,000 Items
BASIC HOUSEHOLD ITEMS LIKE UTENSILS, PLATES, MUGS, WASH BASINS AND WATER BUCKETS

Emergency food supplies, like this 50 kg bag of corn flour being distributed in Garbanso Gelo, will keep families sustained while they rebuild.

DONATE

HOPE is on a mission to double its impact in the years ahead. Today we’re hoping you’ll simply be generous with a bit of your time and take a brief survey that will help us shape HOPE. We invite you to participate and be heard.

TAKE THE SURVEY

THANK YOU!
$64,665 OF HOPE RISING

Your inspired participation with our first ever online auction has ensured that women and their families will RISE UP out of poverty and become self-reliant through Self Help Groups. And it’s because of your generosity.

The income generating skills women learn, along with small business training and micro loans will make it possible for families to become free from poverty.

HOPE RISING
ONLINE AUCTION

BIDDING IS NOW OPEN!

Your support will enable women and their families to become self-reliant through participation in self help groups where they learn income-generating skills, receive small business training and access micro loans.

Bid on experiences, your favourite local products and beautifully crafted items from fair trade co-ops around the world.

START BIDDING

FOLLOW US FOR PREVIEWS AND MORE...

HOPE RISING
ONLINE AUCTION

ON APRIL 29, OVER 100 EXCITING ITEMS WILL BE ONLINE FOR YOU.

Your support will enable women and their families to become self-reliant through participation in self help groups where they learn income-generating skills, receive small business training and access micro loans.

Bid on experiences, your favourite local products and beautifully crafted items from fair trade co-ops around the world.

For more information and sneak previews...

COVID-19 Pandemic Forces HOPE International to Make Life-Altering and Financially Devastating Decisions

March 13, 2020 - The escalating COVID-19 situation has demanded, as per the BCCDC's announcement yesterday afternoon, the required cancellation of all gatherings over 250 people. To that end, all HOPE International events across Canada this spring, including our Vancouver Film Premiere and Gala, will be rescheduled.

This poses a tremendous challenge to HOPE. We rely on your participation at our events to support our vital work overseas. Support that provides clean water, food security and livelihoods for millions of children and families facing unimaginable need.

DONATE

Read More...

GiveHOPE by joining us for an evening of hope for families in Sri Lanka.

The premiere of “HOPE IN SRI LANKA” highlights an evening of good company, a full-course meal, first-class entertainment, great auctions and giving to change lives in Sri Lanka.

Tickets are extended to guests complimentary because we want the generosity to flow and our guests to give out of compassion and care.

There are a number of ways to extend HOPE throughout the evening. A silent auction features items from artisans around the world. A live auction offers unique experiences and curated travel packages donated by local businesses. The moment of giving immediately after the film is a special, tasteful invitation to support life-changing work.

VIEW DATES & LOCATIONS

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REACH MORE WITH HOPE

Building on a legacy of 45 years to foster a hopeful future for millions more people living in extreme poverty.