March 2021 Global Report
Hope for 135 million children and youth!
She lives in Lesotho, a country where 75% of the people are poor or at risk of falling into poverty1 — Her father died. Her mother abandoned the family, and Tando, a teenage girl, was overwhelmed by the pressure to provide for her younger siblings.
“Why can’t I be like any other kid? Why am I forced to be the mom?”
Tando’s future, and her family, were at dire risk. Our partners at World Vision stepped up to help Tando with groceries — Then a friend like you reached out to her with our World Vision partnership program, Journey to Hope. It was just launched in Africa to reach millions more children with God’s Word.
“Hope started to fill my heart,” Tando says today. “I felt such relief that God is watching over me … He will never leave me nor forsake me.”
She chose to commit her life to Jesus Christ!
And now, although she still faces many challenges, she is filled with hope and knows that she is not alone. Praise God!
This year, we want to share God’s Word with 135 million more children and youth like Tando as we accelerate toward our vision of God’s Word. Every Child. Thank you for being part of it!
1 “Lesotho Reduces Poverty, but Nearly Half of the Population Remains Poor,” The World Bank, released December 18, 2019, https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2019/12/18/ lesotho-reduces-poverty-but-nearly-half-of-the-population-remains-poor.
Accelerate!
by President Rob Hoskins
Sometimes, progress looks like inching along when it’s an uphill climb to go anywhere. In other seasons, we’re trekking up the mountain full speed.
OneHope is experiencing a season of acceleration, as we pursue our largest faith goal, sharing God’s Word with 135 million children and youth in 2021.
How did we go from one of the most challenging years ever to expanding our operations the next year? We purposefully took steps to encourage acceleration …
Position — We made decisions that were going to serve our future vision not only the needs of the present. What decision do you need to make today that will serve you long-term?
Prepare — We prepared for the changes in structure, systems, skills, and staffing to accommodate the acceleration strategy and the budget needed for future growth. The OneHope team is accountable to a Board of Directors that approves major Vision shifts and all annual budgets. What guardrails do you have for accountability?
Propagate — We shared the plan in a way the entire team could get behind the vision. If they couldn’t, going faster would just seem like significantly more work. Are you making consistent communication essential?
Purpose — We asked: why are we setting up OneHope up to accelerate? Think of your end goal at the beginning. The need for acceleration must be centered on the mission of the organization, not a leader’s aspiration, financial gain, or institutional growth.
Thank you for partnering with us in this year of acceleration! It has the potential to make a transformative difference in 135,000,000 young lives in 2021.
In a majority Buddhist nation — a boy’s life is transformed!
His parents both work long, hard hours as subsistence farmers. They’re struggling to put food on the table for Sein and his two younger siblings.
This means mom and dad are rarely home — and Sein was growing up wild and undisciplined, spending most of his time on the streets instead of at home looking after his siblings or in school preparing for a better future.
When he did go to school, he got into fights with the other children — and sometimes fought with his own friends!
“I didn’t listen to my parents or teachers,” he recalls, “I wasn’t willing to help out at home or study in school.”
Sein and his family live in an Asian limited access nation on the Open Doors’ World Watch List for persecution of Christians … Buddhism is considered the only true religion, and those who choose Jesus are often at risk of ostracism and outright violence.
Nevertheless, local believers are dedicated to reaching the next generation and connected with Sein. He began attending a local Bible Club, where he learned about Jesus through God’s Big Story and the Book of Hope.
“Through the club, I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and Lord,” Sein says today. “Now, I am listening to my teachers and my parents and I am helping my parents work in the way that I can. My behavior changed, instead of fighting with my friends, I made more and more.”
Thank you for sending God’s Word to transform Sein!
A Path to Redemption and HOPE
Journey to Hope helps victims of violence find hope in Christ and healing from scars of the past
Gender-based violence is a global tragedy — and sub-Saharan Africa is one of the places with the highest incidence of this kind of violence, in the world: up to 58% of women and girls experience it!1
Like any abuse, gender-based violence takes a heavy physical and emotional toll on the victims … and the hearts and minds of the abusers and witnesses to the abuse are also badly scarred.
This is why our partners at World Vision wanted to join with OneHope and create a Scripture-based program to help address the impact of violence with healing from God’s Word for the victims, the abusers, and the onlookers.
Our Journey to Hope program is ready to begin impacting lives in six nations of Africa this year, and we expect it to touch the lives of more than 120,000 children and youth as part of a program in partnership with World Vision and local believers.
1 “Gender Based Violence against Women in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cross-Sectional Studies,” last modified February 17, 2020, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7037605/.
Who needs healing — and how Scripture helps
Victims of abuse
Journey to Hope shows how Jesus can redeem their brokenness; the Holy Spirit can bring comfort and empower them to live in the fullness of joy that God intends.
Abusers
Journey to Hope shows that Jesus offers forgiveness for the repentant heart, and in Him is restoration and a new way of living in fellowship with others.
Witnesses to abuse
Journey to Hope shows our mandate is to stand with those who suffer and to affirm the redemptive work of the Gospel in the life of both the abused and the abuser.
Sadly, nearly everyone in many nations of Africa is either a victim, an abuser, or has witnessed the abuse of others. Journey to Hope offers Bible-based healing and hope for all, and a plan of action to stop abuse.
Hope and Joy after sorrow and loss
The poverty and turmoil in her nation were bad enough — Kamira lives in Venezuela, where the economy and infrastructure has been in chaos for years now.
But then her father became gravely ill … the terrible state of healthcare meant that little could be done to ease his suffering … and he passed away.
Kamira slipped into depression and hopelessness. But she had one good friend, her study partner at school, Saneh. Saneh’s mother is a pastor, and the two began to visit Kamira at home, caring for and encouraging her.
They invited her to attend meetings at their house church, and it was here Kamira saw a OneHope Youth Film featuring LUMO that shared about the life of Jesus. Kamira was overwhelmed to see the story of Jesus: the Son of God who came to earth to save her.
Kamira chose to dedicate her life to Christ!
Today, she is worshiping regularly with Saneh at the house church, and now Kamira’s mother has also begun attending with her. We’re praying she, too, will come to faith in Jesus.
Thank you for helping to lift Kamira from grief and hopelessness to new life and joy in Jesus!
NATION BY NATION
SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE — A heartbroken child finds hope in Christ
Elisa was devastated when her sister died.
Times were already hard for the family in their home nation of São Tomé and Príncipe, tiny islands off Central Africa. Sixty-six percent of the population lives below the poverty line.1 Malnutrition and lack of consistent quality healthcare lead to a tragic child mortality rate: one-third of the little ones die before their 5th birthday.2
After her sister’s passing, Elisa was paralyzed by grief.
“I isolated myself from everything and everyone,” she recalls. “I was always in my corner, and I didn’t want to know anyone.”
But then she was invited to a club of young people studying the Book of Hope.
“I met special people, and I felt loved!” Elisa recalls. “The lessons were changing my life.”
She began to recover from the grief of losing her sister, and soon committed her life to Christ. Today, she is following Jesus and says, “Today, I look for God’s purposes for me.”
1Sao Tome and Principe,” CIA World Factbook, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/sao-tome-and-principe/#people-and-society.
2“Sao Tome and Principe,” United Nations World Food Program, www.wfp.org/countries/sao-tome-and-principe
HONDURAS —
LIMITED ACCESS NATION — SOUTHERN ASIA —
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC —
God’s Word. Every Child.
From hopelessness and despair to complete transformation!
Her life was one of constant turmoil, fear, and pain.
Sajni was growing up in a majority Hindu region, where poverty is endemic … and the situation was made even worse for her family by her father’s alcoholism. Any money he made was spent on drinking —
And his drunken rages disrupted their home constantly.
They had no peace, and Sajni had no hope.
Then a neighbor offered to show Sajni’s family a film, one of our OneHope Youth Films featuring LUMO. Sajni loved the story as soon as the film began, and was soon lost in the movie, learning about the wisdom and compassion of Jesus, His miraculous power, and sacrificial death on the cross.
When she heard that this was a true story and that Jesus could be her Savior, Sajni committed her life to Christ!
And she isn’t the only Christian in her family now — as she began to grow in God, her family continued to investigate the claims of Christ … and now they are all following Jesus!
They have abandoned the idols they used to worship. Sajni’s father was able to quit drinking. There is peace in their home, and joy in their hearts!
Our local partner Pastor Sinan will soon be baptizing the whole family.
Thank you for showing Sajni and her parents the way to new life in Christ, by giving them a visual presentation of the Word of God. It changed everything for them!
