HOPE International

Learning Haitian Creole

by Marshall on April 8, 2011

“Hello non mwen se Alejandro ak mwen se yon konseye nan Espwa”*

Interesting piece on loan officer Alejandro, who works for Esperanza International – HOPE’s partner in the Dominican Republic. Alejandro is learning Haitian Creole so he can build stronger relationships with the many loan associates of Haitian descent.

I got to know Alejandro last month when I worked in San Pedro de Macoris, and actually saw his Creole in action – I thought he was fluent!

*Translation: “Hi, my name is Alejandro and I’m an Esperanza loan officer.”

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Too horrific for headlines

by Marshall on April 5, 2011

Question: What country does this describe? (I’ve blanked out the name)

The fighting has left tens or even hundreds of thousands of women gang-raped and led to what may be millions of war-­related deaths; at its peak, some 3.4 million [citizens of ______] (the only one of these tolls we can be remotely sure of) were forced to flee their homes for months or years. But it draws little attention in the United States. As Jason K. Stearns, who has worked for the United Nations in _____, points out, a study showed that in 2006 even this newspaper gave four times as much coverage to Darfur, although [citizens of ______] have died in far greater numbers.

One reason we shy away is the conflict’s stunning complexity. “How,” Stearns asks, “do you cover a war that involves at least 20 different rebel groups and the armies of nine countries, yet does not seem to have a clear cause or objective?”

Answer:  Congo, officially known as Democratic Republic of Congo. Or DRC for short. (Formerly Zaire, not to be confused with Republic of the Congo.) One of the hardest places on Earth to live.

The excerpt above is from a recent NY Times review of Dancing in the Glory of Monsters:  The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa by Jason K. Stearns.

The article was forwarded to me by my friend and colleague Katie Nienow. Katie spent 2.5 years working for HOPE International in the DRC. The piece is neither for the faint nor hard of heart. But it describes a reality that deserves to be noticed.

Now we know.

Question:  What will we do?

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Photo: Carmen’s classic Singer sewing machine

by Marshall on February 24, 2011

Carmen, a HOPE / Esperanza loan associate, sews some pretty amazing blanket, sheet, and pillow sets with this bad boy from Singer. I met Carmen this past Saturday on a HOPE Vision Trip in La Romana, Dominican Republic.

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In the craftsman’s hands

by Marshall on February 23, 2011

I woke up yesterday morning with a knot in my stomach.

To be honest, I wasn’t excited about the day. It was my second day working in San Pedro de Macoris, and my first waking up in my new home here. Normally I’m excited about new things, new adventures, but I just wasn’t feeling it. I was tired of moving to places where I don’t know anyone. The challenges of working in a different culture had worn on me. I felt ineffective and unmotivated. I had forgotten my mission.

I passed the early morning catching up on emails as I waited to head out to the field with Isidro. Isidro is a loan officer who roves the  dusty streets of San Pedro communities, his silver-speckled hair buried beneath his helmet. He’s been doing this for nearly 10 years. A quick “Vamos!” and we headed out into the radiant mid-morning Dominican sun, accompanied by the rattle of his Dominican motorcycle.

As we rode along, Isidro explained his job to me. He specializes in individual loans – larger loans to clients who have built up their credit and business over the years with Esperanza, or newer clients that already have successful small businesses. Even though individual loan clients mail their loan payments in each month, Isidro spends a lot of time visiting his clients. Just stopping by to see how the business is doing, talk about family or church. Not just a loan. A relationship. Isidro was clear on his mission – to be a partner and friend to these entrepreneurs.

We pulled over at José Lugo’s one-room mechanic workshop located in northern San Pedro. His hands greasy from working, José greeted me with a wrist-bump. You could tell he meant business, staring out at me from behind is protective glasses – but he quickly broke into a smile as he told me some of his story.

José specializes in making and repairing metal machine parts:  gears, bearings, and other things with technical names I’m not sure of. He showed me a transmission gear he was repairing, while next to me his employee slowly drilled a hole in a part using a metal bore. José is relatively new to HOPE and Esperanza – this is his first loan, which he took out about a year ago. He talks about his clients – they come from all over San Pedro. He does a lot of work for manufacturers in the Zona Franca, or industrial free zone.

José pointed around his shop to the various tools he bought with his loan: a black power hand drill, a red gas tank, a pneumatic nozzle, and his pride and joy, the impressive green drill press that stands 6 feet tall at the back of his shop. None of it was brand new, top-of-the-line technology. He probably picked them up at various places – a hardware store, a friend’s shop, a factory looking to update equipment. But now in his hands, these tools are instruments of precision, creativity, and value. They honored him.

…

Yesterday, I woke up thinking of my own purposes. José reminded me that I am to be an instrument of the Master Craftsman, bringing honor to him. This morning I got out of bed on a mission, much greater than my own.

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Don’t tell anyone about the HOPE International T-shirt design contest

by Marshall on February 21, 2011

Please, please, please don’t enter the HOPE International T-shirt Design Contest! Don’t tell your friends about it. Don’t post it on Facebook, Twitter, and your blog. Don’t even click on the link to learn more!

That way, I have a better shot with my own entry:

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WORLD Mag highlights HOPE in Haiti

by Marshall on February 18, 2011

Cool look at HOPE’s saving & credit association program in Haiti:

Off Cadiac’s main road, in a one-room rental house with no plumbing or electricity, Marimat Batis arranges chairs near two single beds and talks about saving money for the first time in her life. Batis, who lives here with her four children, sells clothes in the market. She’s using her modest savings for a long-term goal. “I’m buying sand,” she says with a smile. “I will build a house.”

WORLD Magazine, “Aid in action” (2nd half of the article)

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Going on a HOPE International Vision Trip

by Marshall on February 17, 2011

Today is an exciting day. Today I am going on my first Vision Trip with HOPE International.

The trip will be led by my cousin, Chris Horst (see previous post), who also works for HOPE. Chris is flying in with a group of HOPE’s friends, partners, supporters, and collaborators in the work of releasing the poor from physical and spiritual poverty. Together with my colleagues and friends Liz and Máximo, I’ll be helping out with some translating and sharing my experiences here in the DR. I’m also looking forward to what I’ll learn. Over the next two days we’ll be discussing HOPE’s work here in the Dominican Republic, visiting microfinance loan meetings, hearing the stories of entrepreneurs, and learning more about what it means to invest in the dreams of the poor.

Time to hit the road! I’ll be snapping photos and video as much as I can, so stay tuned for more in the coming days.

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Final Countdown

by Marshall on October 5, 2010

After a week and a half of visits to the Dominican Consulate, various medical clinics, and our nation’s capital, I’m finally ready to ship out. Almost.

First, tomorrow (Wednesday) I head to Lancaster, PA, home of a few Amish and the main office of HOPE International. Thursday will feature orientation, training, paperwork, and prayer for my upcoming trip. Come Friday I’ll be out of the country…Out of the frying pan and into the fire, as it were.

Thanks for tuning in!

And if you happened to be searching for the 80′s most epic rock ballad…

We’re leaving together
But still it’s farewell
And maybe we’ll come back
To earth, who can tell?
I guess there is no one to blame
We’re leaving ground
Will things ever be the same again?

It’s the final countdown
The final countdown

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Efficiency Junkies Unite!

by Marshall on August 17, 2010

Some thrive of the rush of closing a sale, others live for the thrill of helping someone learn a new skill or discover a new truth. Me? I get fired up about efficiency. Conversely, inefficiency irks me.

There HAS to be a better way...

That’s why I was excited to start reading my technical guide for the microfinance product costing tool I’ll be implementing for HOPE/Esperanza in the DR.

The tool was developed by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), an independent policy and research center dedicated to advancing financial access for the world’s poor. Here’s what they say about the tool:

CGAP developed and field tested this activity-based costing tool to help MFI managers understand and analyze individual product costs, especially administrative/organizational costs. Once a product’s costs are determined, the tool suggests methods for understanding why and how the costs were incurred and how the product contributes (or not) to the overall financial viability of the MFI. Activity-based costing, the preferred method outlined in this tool, traces indirect costs in microfinance to core operational activities. It is a potent tool for identifying opportunities to improve business process effectiveness and efficiency.

So here’s the theory behind what I’ll be doing in the DR:  measure cost >> understand profitability >> identify improvement areas >> become more efficient >> alleviate poverty using fewer dollars. BAM!

Can’t wait to finish the 100+ pages!

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A hopeful return to the Dominican Republic

by Marshall on August 10, 2010

“It’s déjà vu all over again.” – Yogi Berra

In 2009 I had my first taste of life in the Dominican Republic. (See posts here and here). In just under 2 months I’ll be back for seconds…and this time it’ll be more of a smorgasbord.

From October 2010 – June 2011, HOPE International is letting me cut my teeth in on-the-ground microfinance as a Dominican Republic Fellow. I’ll stumble through Dominican Spanish, commit many cultural faux pas, and  attempt to implement a new cost measurement system in bank branches around the Caribbean nation.

HOPE is a Christian international microfinance nonprofit whose mission is to invest in the dreams of the poor in the world’s underserved communities so that they might be released from physical and spiritual poverty. HOPE doesn’t have the size as some of the “giants” of the microfinance community (i.e. Opportunity International, FINCA, Grameen Foundation), and yet it has a deep impact wherever it operates.

HOPE International's global reach

What distinguishes HOPE is its holistic definition of and approach to poverty - certainly a physical condition, but also emotional, relational, and spiritual. To some this might seem nebulous and unnecessary, but I think it reflects an understanding of what it is to be human – body, heart, mind, and soul. I obviously have much more to learn about the organization, but I’m very happy to be joining the HOPE team (which includes my cousin-in-law Chris Horst).

In the Dominican Republic (DR), HOPE operates through  another nonprofit, Esperanza International. If you know a little español, you’ve realized that “esperanza” means “hope”. Despite this fortuitous coincidence, they are distinct organizations.

Over the next months I’ll be prepping for the 9-month adventure, raising support, and blogging about thoughts on microfinance, culture, economics, poverty, and…if we’re lucky…a few UFO sightings.

So stop back here like Chicagoans vote:  early and often!

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