Clean water is vital to not only prolonging life, but improving the quality of one’s existence. Since 2004, World Hope International has drilled more than 700 wells, which have provided clean water to more than 500,000 people in five African countries. But there’s still a long way to go.

World Water Day—March 22, 2012—reminds us by opening our hearts to those who thirst and making small personal changes can make a big impact.

• $12 can provide one person with access to a clean water well through World Hope International – Give Now
• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
  • It takes three liters of water to make one one-liter bottle of drinking water
  • Investing in a reusable water bottle can help save you upwards of $100 per year* – this could provide nine people with clean water
  • By planting one tree, up to $35,000 worth of water can be recycled and reused in wells, streams, lakes and other bodies of water.

Learn more about World Hope International’s Clean Water Wells & Sanitation program now.

Statistics courtesy of the United Nations Water for Life Factsheet on Water and Sanitation; the World Health Organization and UNICEF Progress on Sanitation and Drinking-Water 2010 Update.

*Based on the use of a single bottle of water per day from a 24-pack purchased for $6.99.

Regularly beaten by her guardian, 14 year-old Isoke* was not allowed to attend school, and was made to do domestic work in her guardian’s home. When she could no longer withstand the abuse, she ran away. It was while living on the streets of her town in eastern Sierra Leone that she was approached by Madame K, a woman who claimed she could help find Isoke’s family members. Trusting and friendly, Isoke followed Madame K who took Isoke to a brothel.

It was here that Isoke was forced to have sex with many men each night. Madame K was paid for Isoke’s “service” and kept Isoke dependant on her for food, shelter and clothing. Isoke was regularly left in physical pain from the sexual abuse.

During this time, Isoke’s mother reached out to the guardian she had trusted with her daughter. When she learned Isoke was missing, she reported it to the local police and her village’s community watch group.

Through God’s grace, Isoke was able to get word to her mother of where she was. For the second time, Isoke ran away so that she would be safe. This time, running home. Once reunited, Isoke’s mother reported her daughter’s experience to the authorities, after which she was connected with World Hope International.

World Hope International and its network of partners were able to provide Isoke with the physical, psychological and spiritual care she needed to recover from all that she experienced. Isoke also received legal counsel and educational support so she could attend school. Isoke is now safe and sound, living with her mother in Sierra Leone. Isoke’s testimony helped send Madame K to jail for five years for her crimes.

Every day, World Hope International (WHI) is helping girls like Isoke to escape or avoid the evils of human trafficking. Through community education efforts and the establishment of community watch groups, WHI is helping to bring the darkness of forced labor and sexual exploitation into the light.

In 2012, World Hope International will open an Anti-Trafficking Shelter to provide even more young trafficking survivors with a safe place to receive comprehensive emergency aftercare. The Shelter will serve as the first stop for survivors removed from instances of sexual exploitation and forced labor. This haven will offer a completely secure place to heal.

Learn more about this and other World Hope International’s Anti-Trafficking efforts now.

*Isoke’s name was changed for her protection.

- President’s Message: Give Hope – Change a Life
- Anti-Trafficking: A New Safe Haven in Sierra Leone
- Coming Soon: The New WorldHope.org
- Adelphe: Combating Trafficking Through Education and Opportunity
- Hope for Children: Hope and Healing in India
- FIRST STEP: Bringing More Manufacturing to Sierra Leone
- Economic Development: Fruitful Crop Brings Family Together.

Read more now.

World Hope International (WHI) was given an opportunity that is quite rare for a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization – daily exposure in New York City’s Times Square.

View the commercial now.

Beginning today (February 24, 2012), a 15-second commercial featuring World Hope International will appear hourly on CBS’s David Letterman Theater screen in Times Square. The spot can be seen from 6 a.m.-midnight, February 24-April 24, 2012, and will introduce the estimated 500,000 people who pass through Times Square each day to Chen—an 11 year-old girl who escaped the horrors of sex trafficking in Cambodia because of World Hope International’s intervention.

The advertisement will also introduce the viewing public to a new way of giving to World Hope International. WHI is now offering the convenience of text donation. By texting WORLDHOPE to 20222, passersby can make a quick $10 donation to World Hope International’s mission to end poverty and suffering.

Armondo is currently being cared for by World Hope International community volunteers.

World Hope International staff around the world are marking World AIDS Day in their own special way, some are participating in awareness parades, while others are working one-on-one with people living with HIV/AIDS. One such person is Armando who lives in Mozambique. Armando left Mozambique several years ago to work in the mines of South Africa. When he returned, he discovered he’d contracted HIV. Currently unable to get around without assistance, he and his family are being cared for by World Hope International-trained caretakers. Through community training, these caretakers learn about HIV/AIDS and how it’s spread, as well as how to best treat those who are positive.

Two World Hope International volunteers currently working in Zambia summed up the importance of working with those who are poor and are suffering from HIV/AIDS pretty well with their recent blog post about World AIDS Day.

Below are some additional resources on the current state of HIV/AIDS around the world:

• Good.com’s The Changing Face of AIDS
• The New York Times article A Decade of Progress on AIDS.

World Hope International’s HIV/AIDS Work
Thus far in 2011, World Hope International’s work with HIV/AIDS has resulted in:

• Nearly 4,200 orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS receiving care
• Care for more than 3,100 individuals living with HIV/AIDS
• More than 13,700 studentsreceiving information on HIV/AIDS prevention through Reach4Life.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 09/19/11

CONTACT:

Anastasia Parsons, Director of Communications/Marketing, 703-923-9414, ext. 112, anastasiaparsons@worldhope.net

WORLD HOPE INTERNATIONAL’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS ANNOUNCES CHANGE IN EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP

ALEXANDRIA, Va., September 19, 2011—After a weekend of deliberation, the Board of Directors for World Hope International (WHI) announced their selection of Dr. Thomas E. Armiger as the organization’s new chief executive officer. This change comes after the recent resignation of Dr. Karl Eastlack, who served as president and CEO for two years.

Dr. Armiger brings a great deal of knowledge about, and passion for, World Hope International to his new role, having served previously as chair of its Board of Directors for seven years. Well-known and respected throughout his denomination, Armiger currently serves as one of three General Superintendents for The Wesleyan Church. A graduate of Indian Wesleyan University and Nazarene Theological Seminary, he was ordained as a Wesleyan minister in 1979; later completing his Doctor of Ministry degree at Fuller Theological Seminary. His career has included service as a local church pastor, denomination executive and superintendent of the Virginia (now Shenandoah) district of The Wesleyan Church. In 1997, he was elected to his denomination’s highest office as General Superintendent.

“We are very pleased and excited at the depth of knowledge and experience Dr. Thomas Armiger will bring to World Hope International,” says Dr. Evvy Hay Campbell, World Hope International Board of Directors chair. “He brings a great understanding of the needs of developing countries and a heart for World Hope International’s global mission. Though we were saddened by the resignation of Dr. Eastlack and express our best wishes for his future service to Christ, we are confident in our subsequent decision of appointing Dr. Armiger as CEO.”

For more information on World Hope International, call 703-923-9414 or visit WorldHope.org.

World Hope International is a Christian relief and development organization working with vulnerable and exploited communities to alleviate poverty, suffering and injustice.

• Prolong life
• Prevent outbreaks of disease
• Promote an increase quality of life
• Increase time for economic productivity, family responsibility and spiritual life.

$3 Can Save One Life. Learn more now.