The suffering of Ethiopian mothers can be deadly for the children

When a mother is trapped in poverty so are her children. In fact, the longer a mother remains impoverished the greater the likelihood that her children will never be free from poverty.

When poverty denies a mother an education, vocational training, employment, disease prevention knowledge, and access to clean water, the outcome is devastating for her and often deadly for her children.

In Ethiopia, for example, one in eight children die before reaching the age of five - a direct result of the poverty that punctuates life in the poorest villages, towns and cities of Africa.

Each of these children has a mother who, despite her best efforts and tremendous sacrifice, feels absolutely helpless against the poverty that holds her captive.

To save the children, we need to save the mothers.

HOPE International Development Agency continues to work among the poorest mothers in Ethiopia, helping them gain access to clean water, education, vocational training, and small start-up loans that will transform their lives.

Learn more about our efforts to help the mothers and young women of Ethiopia free themselves and their children from poverty by visiting www.hope-international.com

Medical camps bring healthcare to the doorsteps of isolated communities in Pakistan

For the people of Rajputan, a small Pakistani village near the Indian border, twenty kilometers of muddy road is all that stands between them and a doctor. But, without transportation, twenty kilometers might as well be a thousand. Most have never visited the nearest hospital. For the very sick, the travel itself could be a death sentence.

Basic primary healthcare is a right similarly denied to over 35 million other rural villagers. Healthcare systems do not always extend to remote areas. Doctors, medical equipment, supplies, and medicines are not always available. Even where functioning facilities exist – as they do close to Rajputan – lack of transportation, money, and awareness prevent villagers from taking advantage of them.

In this context, organizations all over Pakistan have learned that it is vital to bring healthcare to the doorsteps of the people.

Free medical camps held in remote rural areas are an effective way to treat vulnerable populations. More importantly, the camps provide an opportunity to teach villagers how to avoid common illnesses through simple preventative measures and diagnose health problems before they become fatal. Prevention is more important than the cure.

HOPE International Development Agency’s local partners in Pakistan organize hundreds of free medical camps in remote rural areas every year. At a recent medical camp this month in Rajputan, over 650 men, women, and children came to wait in long, hot lines for a chance to see a doctor without having to first walk for hours.

Each medical camp requires substantial commitment and hard work not only from our partners but from a variety of local volunteers including doctors, nurses, and administrators. HOPE International Development Agency supports their efforts by sending medicines and medical supplies for use in the camps. Several shipping containers have been sent, but many more are needed. In Pakistan, bringing healthcare to the people will require our ongoing commitment and compassion as well.

Learn more about the work of HOPE International Development Agency.

Sri Lanka and Haiti: Never Underestimate the Local Solution

In 2005, when a considerable amount of aid flowed into Sri Lanka to assist survivors of the Asian Tsunami, there was a story of a 20-ft shipping container full of pepper that had been donated by some well-meaning but misguided donors. What was someone who had just lost their home to do with a sack of pepper? This is amusing, yes, but also a tragedy – such a waste of generosity at a time great suffering. This, unfortunately, was one of many such stories.

At the same time, however, there were tales of heroism and generosity among the people living in or nearby affected communities. Residents rallied to establish search parties for those still missing, or help build temporary shelter from debris, or to share meals with one another, to care for each other. Locally, so much was done to help.

During times of crisis, or simply within the context of poverty, the power and effectiveness of a local solution is proven over and again. Who better to make a difference for another person in need than someone who is there? Local understanding of the language, social and political context, geography, and people is critical to providing help that is both appropriate and cost-effective.

Being a steward of donated money HOPE International Development Agency strongly believes in enabling local solutions in times of disaster and in the context of poverty.

For instance, now during the crisis in Haiti, HOPE International Development Agency has been able to support established networks of medical professionals fully engaged in helping survivors from day one. It has been important to get some resources – supplies, medicines – to Haiti and this is proving extremely difficult in a poor country where the primary communications and transportation infrastructure was destroyed. However, by working with committed friends in the Dominican Public, HOPE International Development Agency has been able to get aid to people in Haiti who know how best to use it, and do so quickly.

To take this approach, HOPE International Development Agency must have relationships with people from Haiti and the Dominican Republic. These relationships existed before the earthquake, and will be strengthened because of the collaboration now taking place. It is a healthy relationship borne out familiarity, and anchored in trust.

But the role of the donor is essential. There is an extreme lack of resources in parts of our world. HOPE International Development Agency endeavors to exchange donations received into a tangible expression of compassion where it is needed. By working with our friends living in places facing crisis and hardship, HOPE International Development Agency maximizes the benefits of this exchange.

Learn more by visiting www.hope-international.com

Filmmakers bring stories of hope

Our small team of volunteer filmmakers is traveling this week to Bonke district, Ethiopia. They will be there to capture, in their inimitable way, the situation of families living right on the edge. There are thousands of families in this district without access to clean water; for them preventable deaths and chronic illness is the rule.

We are extraordinarily grateful for the volunteers who use their considerable skill to tell the story of families living in poverty. From year to year, professionals Mark Chow, Laurie Case, Rob Kelly, Tanya Maryniak, Craig Cross, Joe Babcock, and Murray Forward, decide among themselves who can take out the time to travel, film, direct, produce, and edit a powerful documentary for the benefit of HOPE International Development Agency’s friends and supporters. They donate hundreds of hours and many thousands of dollars of professional work, and in the end, they give us a story.

Learn more about the work of HOPE International Development Agency by visiting www.hope-international.com

HAITI UPDATE: More medicines and medical supplies bring more hope!

Four weeks after the earthquake, the staff of Justiniano Hospital, north of Port-au-Prince, continue treating Haitians who fled Port au Prince and surrounding areas in a desperate search for treatment of their injuries.

Doctors and nurses at the hospital are greatly encouraged by the arrival of significant quantities of additional medicines and medical supplies delivered late yesterday afternoon by HOPE International Development Agency. Barry Bartel, a HOPE colleague on the ground in Haiti coordinating the effort, accompanied the shipment.

The shipment is the third such shipment, and more shipments are on the way as workers at the hospital and other distribution areas strive to help as many of the survivors as possible.

A public health specialist assisting at the hospital says that the medicines and medical supplies provided by HOPE International Development Agency are crucial and are exactly what is needed due to high demand and short supply.

Bringing medicines and supplies overland from the Dominican Republic, a strategy employed by HOPE International Development Agency within 24 hours of the earthquake, continues to be a very effective way to deliver the supplies as rapidly as possible.

Visit www.hope-international.com to donate today.

Haiti: Today’s Stories, Tomorrow’s Accountability

Clifferd Dick, HOPE International Development Agency's Director of International Relations, was recently in Haiti to oversee the first stage of our relief and rehabilitation plan for people affected by this month’s devastating earthquake.

Many British Columbians had the opportunity to hear Clifferd interviewed on CBC Radio’s afternoon talk show BC Almanac. You can hear Clifferd's reflections on the disaster and HOPE International Development Agency's response right here.



The Burnaby Newsleader also had a chance to speak to Clifferd and David S. McKenzie, HOPE’s Executive Director. You can find that article here.

The focus that the media at all levels has maintained on the situation in Haiti is rare, and does enhance the ability of organizations like HOPE International Development Agency to help Haitians. We appreciate coverage of our efforts. However, we are aware that an outspoken public campaign should be equaled by our long-term commitment to accountability.

We want to tell our supporters about what their gifts are doing for Haitians. When the official media is no longer focused on Haiti, we will be especially careful to report to donors like you.

Visit www.hope-international.com today and learn more about our work in Haiti.

We also always welcome your emails and phone calls:
hope@hope-international.com
1-866-525-HOPE

Haiti Update - January 25, 2010

HOPE International Development Agency responded rapidly in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti. Immediately after the quake, two trucks full of medical supplies and medicines, including much needed antibiotics, were rushed to affected areas in Haiti via the Dominican Republic.

Clifferd Dick, HOPE International Development Agency’s Director of International Relations, has been in Haiti, facilitating the clearing and procurement of additional shipments of desperately needed emergency medicines and supplies needed to continue treating the survivors.

Even now, as we continue to provide emergency supplies required to support the survivors, we are planning ways through which we can help Haitians rebuild their lives in the aftermath of the this devastating disaster.

Visit www.hope-international.com to learn more about our efforts in Haiti and to give.

Haiti Update - January 20, 2010

With an estimated 200,000 dead, 250,000 injured and 1.5 million homeless, the need for emergency supplies continues in the aftermath of a massive earthquake in Haiti.

HOPE International Development Agency has responded swiftly to the disaster. Personnel and medication commonly used to treat infections and trauma in emergency situations have already been sent to the earthquake-affected area through the Dominican Republic.

By gathering medical supplies and relief items available in the Dominican Republic and transporting them by land, HOPE International Development Agency is responding quickly and effectively to help earthquake survivors.

HOPE International Development Agency’s Director of International Relations, Mr. Clifferd Dick, is currently in the Dominican Republic, en route to Haiti. Clifferd has also facilitated the clearing and procurement of emergency medicines and supplies that will be used to treat earthquake victims.

Given the damage to ports and airports in Haiti, the Dominican Republic has proved to be a strong alternative entry point for supplies being shipped internationally. Channelling aid through the Dominican Republic will help to avoid delays in delivering aid and save many lives.

HOPE International Development Agency will continue to intensify our response in the coming days.

Help save lives today.

Saving lives in the aftermath of massive earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti

“Worse than a war zone”… this is how one survivor of the killer earthquake that struck Haiti this week describes the capital city of Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas in the aftermath of a massive earthquake that brought the capital city crashing down on top of it citizens.

HOPE International Development Agency is responding immediately by ensuring survivors receive urgently needed supplies of food, medicine, water, and temporary shelter.

The coming days, while less shocking than the moment the earthquake struck, will be no less devastating as more bodies are found and a lack of essentials, like food, water, medicine, and shelter, create a crisis that could end up being just as deadly as the earthquake.

Haiti’s Prime Minister, Jean-Max Bellerive, states that the death toll could exceed well over 100,000 people as more bodies are discovered in the coming days - crushed underneath thousands of collapsed buildings, homes and tons of rubble that has turned Port-au-Prince into one massive disaster zone.

The magnitude of the destruction is frightening and the death toll disheartening. Some of the city’s largest buildings could not withstand the earthquake and now lie in ruin, including Parliament, hospitals, and schools. Thousands of homes vanished, along with residents, in an instant.

We need to respond right now or it will be too late for many of the survivors as life’s essentials - food, water, shelter, and medicines - become even more scarce.

See how HOPE International Development Agency is responding to the crisis and give today.

You Get What You Give

Here’s a bit of advice to help you navigate what promises to be yet another frantic holiday season, fraught with the dichotomies that have become the hallmark of the modern Christmas.

If you want joy, happiness and hope this season - then give joy, happiness and hope.

Simply put, you get what you give.

If you’re looking for joy, then give the kind of joy an orphaned or abandoned child will feel when your gift rescues them from what promises to be a short and brutal life in the filthy back alleys of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

If you’re seeking happiness, then give the kind of happiness a mother will feel as her child receives life-saving medicine and medical attention provided by your gift.

If you’re searching for hope, then find hope in giving a gift that frees an entire family from the soul-crushing poverty that is their inheritance simply because of where they were born.

Joy, happiness and hope are waiting, for you and the world's poorest families, in this year’s HOPE International Development Agency Gifts of Hope Christmas Catalog.

Visit www.hope-international.com today and chose from a selection of gifts that will last well beyond the season, never fade, never fall out of fashion, and never lose their usefulness.

When No Usurps Yes

Having witnessed the carnage wrought upon humanity when no usurps yes, I can only hope and pray that enough of us on this terrestrial ball of more than 6 billion people still believe in yes, especially when it comes to helping the poor.

Yes only lives if we say it and act upon it. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the same holds true for the poor. In fact, their life of extreme impoverishment - something they did not bargain for, but rather, received as their birthright - can only be remedied by a yes. In short, they live if yes lives. To put it in less esoteric terms, they live if we give.

When no usurps yes, however, the poor are robbed of their hope and their lives - as is the case for the 25,000 children worldwide who lost their lives to poverty today.

At HOPE International Development Agency, we believe in yes because we’ve seen its transforming power in action in the lives of the world’s poorest families.

For yes to live, and subsequently, for the poor to live, people like you need to keep saying yes and giving.

Put another way, saying yes is the only way to commute the sentence of suffering and death that looms over the heads of the world’s poorest families every hour of every day.

The hope of the poor continues to rest in a heartfelt yes.

Learn more about the power of saying yes by visiting us at www.hope-international.com today where you can read about what happens when people like you say yes!

Clean water arrives for 200,000 people in Derashe Woreda, Ethiopia

The people of southern Ethiopia’s Derashe Woreda were literally drinking themselves to death when HOPE International Development Agency first arrived a decade ago.

At the time, only 11 percent of the people living in Derashe had access to sources of drinkable water, most of which were not reliable. The rest of the population had no source of clean drinking water. The water they could find came from filthy ponds or the silt-laden remains of dried up riverbeds - both of which were teeming with deadly parasites and bacteria.

The consequences were devastating, as evidenced by the fact that 17 of 100 children in this region were dying before the age of five.

Today, nearly all of the 200,000 people living in Derashe have access to abundant and sustainable supplies of clean water – right in their villages! Their hard work and the support of generous HOPE International Development Agency donors made it possible to construct the 85 water systems now serving the population of Derashe.

Yet as we celebrate with the people of Derashe, we are mindful of people in Bonke Woreda, a neighboring region where clean water is simply not available. Disease is ravaging their villages and their children are dying at a rate equal or greater to that of Derashe before the arrival of clean water. More than 22,000 people in the area are in need of clean water and we have begun work that will result in each one of them gaining access to abundant and reliable sources of clean water!