HOPEww's OPERATION DELIVER HOPE:  Puerto Rico Disaster Response: UPDATE

  • By Shane Engel
  • •
  • 29 Sep, 2017
UPDATE:  We are happy to announce that we were able to successfully send 16 pallets of direct relief to Puerto Rico today!  2 pallets are scheduled to fly out Saturday, October 14 and the rest will be sent by cargo on Sunday.  Thank you to all who have contributed to these efforts and a special thank you to the South Florida Churches of Christ for their generosity and the lending of the Broward Church building for our staging area!  Please keep Puerto Rico in your prayers as the recovery effort will take months if not years.  

HOPEww's OPERATION: DELIVER HOPE 

Help us deliver hope to Puerto Rico with much-needed supplies and resources today! https://hopeww.kindful.com/?campaign=272543

Greetings from HOPEww,

As many of you know Puerto Rico is reeling from Hurricane Maria. The storm knocked out the island's entire aging power grid, blocked roads and left entire communities isolated. As of today (9/29), 80% of the cell phone towers are still down and it could take months for full electrical power to be restored. Water systems are not operational and emergency systems are scarce. Please be praying for these issues to be resolved quickly.

Thankfully, we have been able to communicate with our members in Puerto Rico, and despite extremely difficult living conditions, our partners are safe. The citizens of Puerto Rico are facing a long period of recovery from Hurricane Maria, and your help is needed now more than ever.

HOPE worldwide has been able to supply immediate cash relief of $5000 and now we would like to send shipments of much-needed supplies and resources to San Juan. We have set up a special service by which you can purchase goods and have them shipped directly to our supply center in Florida, to be sent to San Juan. The Gooddler organization has been an excellent partner in the past and has developed a special page that has the requested items from HOPEww San Juan. Please note that these materials need to be ordered by October 3 to make the first shipment.

http://gooddler.com/Wishlist/10182

Thank you for all your love and support for those in Puerto Rico and beyond!
With gratitude

The HOPEww Team




Puerto Rico Update and Request:

Over a week ago, Hurricane Maria cut right through the middle of Puerto Rico and left a path of destruction and knocked out electricity across the entire Island of Puerto Rico. The situation has gone from bad to worse as relief opportunities have been halted by poor conditions and airport closings. HOPEww has been actively looking for ways to transport assets to the Island and despite many leads we have yet to find a way through.  We are working with our partners in Dominican Republic as explore chartering a ferry to deliver supplies form there.  

This is bad on any island, but an island with nearly 4 million inhabitants, as is the case in Puerto Rico, it can be devastating. At this point gas, food and water are in extremely short supplies. About 97% residents are still in the dark as of Wednesday (9/27), Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said. About half of the residents do not have running water. Power may be out for many weeks which prevent many other necessities from being available. 

Many concerned HOPEww friends in the United States are of Puerto Rican descent and are asking for help for their families as well as the local churches. Currently we are asking Florida churches to collect some of the much needed supplies and we hoping to airlift them to Puerto Rico. Please pray that we can find a means to transfer the goods from Miami to Puerto Rico, as this is our challenge at the moment.  

If you have viable connections that would be helpful in the transportation of resources to Puerto Rico, please email us hope.worldwide@hopeww.org. HOPE de Puerto Rico has already begun organizing volunteers and cleanup efforts, but we need the ability to send them goods and volunteers.

With Gratitude, 
The HOPEww Staff

Please pray for a way...

Puerto Rico Update

By Haley Schultz • 25 Apr, 2018

I spoke to Yliana, our Chapter Director in PR and she said folks are fine – that many haven’t had power for many months anyway, and that so many have generators that they are not feeling too much of a negative impact. She said that businesses are suffering the most, therefore the economy. Yliana’s biggest concern was that she can find a place to make copies for the sign-ups for their annual “Camp Invencible”, a summer day-camp for children in an under served area.

Donate to Puerto Rico's rebuild HERE

Thanks,

Terri Loso

This trip had a massive impact in my life!

By HOPEww Volunteer Corps • 20 Apr, 2018
This Christmas, I had the opportunity to serve on a volunteer trip in Ormoc City, Philippines. This trip had a massive impact in my life, particularly in the ways I view contentment and sustainability.

I learned so much about contentment through the situations I was placed in. As we were constructing homes for the people in the village, I noticed that some houses there only had three walls, meaning that when it rained, the houses would flood. Despite this reality, the Filipino people were content. This inspires my heart; I don’t think I would be happy if I lived in a home that would flood often. I believe the Filipino people were so content because they understand the value of quality time. Everyone in their village knows one another, all the kids play outside with each other for hours, and when new faces arrive, the whole neighborhood comes out and throws a party to celebrate their visitors.

HOPEww Philly Chapter Champions Penn State Youth as Researcher (YAR) Program

By Shane Engel • 19 Apr, 2018
Jamison Malcom, former HOPEww employee, minister and service champion has pioneered a fantastic program as a part of his Masters Program at Penn State. The program is called Youth As Researchers. It’s a UNESCO supported program that encourages youth to understand an issue in their community and then to see what ways that issue could be addressed. The youth are in charge with every step, adults are present as a formality and to help keep things safe.  The Youth Researchers in this project interviewed Philadelphia Police Officers to collect data for research around issues of racial discrimination in policing their neighborhoods.   

Read Full Article Here:  http://news.psu.edu/story/515030/2018/04/09/public-events/penn-state-gives-voice-youth-through-socia...


HOPEww Papua New Guinea Receives Funding Boost

By Shane Engel • 19 Apr, 2018
Yesterday at HOPEww PNG’s main office in Gordon, Moresby Northeast, MAPNG president Pang Heng Chew and associates, secretary Kee Lim and chairman of MAPNG’s organising committee Mr Ivan Lu presented a cheque for K70,000 ($22K U.S.) to HOPE Worldwide Inc.  The funds will go to the general operations and also helping with the local clinic they have partnered with. We are very excited for HOPEww PNG and all of the incredible work they are doing.  

Read the full article here : https://postcourier.com.pg/hope-worldwide-png-gets-funds-boost/
 

Let Your Light Shine

By HOPEww Volunteer Corps • 18 Apr, 2018
On Volunteer Corps, we stress showing the love of Jesus by our actions. We serve in the most desperate parts of the world, in the most challenged communities. We strive to do so with grace, patience, kindness, as well as humility and respect. We don't always succeed, but we certainly do our best. We are in no way the saviors of the world. We make a difference, of course, as we assist existing long term programs, but we learn at least as much as we give.

Live Like It’s HVC Every Day

By HOPEww Volunteer Corps • 13 Apr, 2018

Cambrie Vergeire, a young volunteer from Denver, went on the Philippines Volunteer Corps this past Christmas. She shares about the profound spiritual impact the trip had on her...

The Philippines Hww Volunteer Corps was the most life-changing trip I have ever taken. I traveled with my dad, and during this trip, we were able to build houses and extend stores, repair and paint boats, and spend time with the community. We laughed, sweated, swam and danced together. Although these moments were temporary, the impact this experience left on me will last forever.

Coming home, I dreaded returning to my mundane schedule. Compared to serving in a foreign country, school and other responsibilities sounded much less fulfilling. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay back in the Philippines, however, I could live as if I were on a HVC trip every day. It’s easy to view the needs overseas to be greater than the influence or reach I have locally. But, my backyard is a mission field, and I need to take ownership of that.

It Would Change My Life Forever

By HOPEww Volunteer Corps • 11 Apr, 2018
Those were some of the words written by Katee Cohen (O'Connor), from Los Angeles, when she applied for the December 2015 Fiji HYC.
Little did she know, while serving in Fiji, she met a local brother called Ash. They kept in touch, saw each other occasionally in spite of the miles, and started dating long distance. Eventually, Katee moved to Fiji. She and Ash co-lead the teen ministry, and this past weekend, they got married!

It goes without saying that no one goes on a Volunteer Corps to find a spouse, but we are always amazed at the way people connect on a deep level on these trips. People build spiritual friendships that last a lifetime. And yes, it is not unusual for people who serve together to also fall in love, but many strong marriages saw the first spark on a HOPE Youth Corps or a Hww Singles Corps. Nothing wrong with that!

Congratulations  to Ash and Katee Cohen!

HOPEww Malaysia in the news!

By Shane Engel • 06 Apr, 2018
HOPEww Malaysia was recently featured in The New Straits Times for their work those in need of basic nutrition.  
Read the inspiring article here:
https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2018/04/354051/low-income-parents-skip-meal-so-children-can-have-...

The New Straits Times is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print, having been founded as The Straits Times in 1845, and was reestablished as the "New Straits Times" in 1974.

The Long Term Impact of HOPE Youth Corps

By HOPEww Volunteer Corps • 05 Apr, 2018
I received the most touching and inspiring Volunteer Corps application a couple of days ago. Back in 2007, Chris J. Harried used to be one of the vulnerable kids we serve on our programs. He came from a challenging home situation in Baltimore. The HOPE Youth Corps volunteers had a huge impact on his life, as they mentored him.

Eleven years later, Chris is a disciple of Jesus, a qualified educator, and is signing up for his 5th Volunteer Corps as a participant. Over the last few years, he has served in Dallas, Alaska, Atlanta, and India. This July, he is going to Zambia, where he will teach and train local teachers in Lusaka.

I was moved to tears as I read his application.

Medical Professionals and Bi-Lingual Volunteers Needed for Puerto Rico

By Haley Schultz • 02 Apr, 2018

Calling medical, dental and pharmacy professionals and bi-lingual (Spanish/English) volunteers for the first HOPE worldwide Community Service Brigade (CSB) in Puerto Rico. The goal of the CSB is to provide health and dental care for the members of our ICOC churches and their communities living in desperate poverty. This will be an incredible opportunity to provide healing and hope to many struggling to recover from the devastation caused by recent storms.

Please understand that due to extensive infrastructure damage on the island, the number of volunteers on this first team to Puerto Rico will be limited. First priority will be given to medical professionals and bilingual applicants. We greatly appreciate our CSB volunteers so applicants not selected for this team will have first priority for the next Puerto Rico CSB team.

Puerto Rico CSB Schedule:

·      Volunteers Arrive San Juan (SJU) Thursday, June 28 / before 5 p.m.

·      CSB Clinic: Friday, June 29

·      CSB Clinic: Saturday, June 30

·      Worship with the San Juan COC: Sunday, July 1

·      Volunteers Depart: Sunday Afternoon/Evening, July 1 or Monday July 2

Apply now

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