USA (MNN) ― A national initiative to spur volunteerism highlighted World Hope International this year. Volunteers for Prosperity focused on Hope Corps volunteer Amber Hirschy in its 2007 Annual Report. The report featured a handful of non-profits making a difference abroad because of the Initiative.
Hirschy spent eleven months in Cambodia working with World Hope International's micro-finance program. She worked with locals to help them launch small businesses with the aid of a low-interest loan. Once the businesses were successful, the owner was able to generate an income.
Hirshy's work with micro-finance also ministers to the self-esteem and confidence of the people who receive the loans. The clients of World Hope's micro-finance institutions are treated as business partners rather than charity beneficiaries, and this translates into a robust incentive to succeed, which is shown by on-time repayment rates that are generally in excess of 95%.
One of the fundamental aspects of micro-finance programs is that they are run in an ethos of business viability and sustainability. The micro-finance institution (MFI) charges enough interest on the loans that it provides to cover their operating costs.
As a Hope Corps volunteer, Hirschy saw how her aid allowed to share and integrate a faith-based
lifestyle while enabling those she helped to become self-sustaining. "Living and working in Cambodia
challenged me to see the world in new ways and to truly acknowledge the
hardship and suffering that many people around the world experience every day," she says.
In 2007, WHI sent over 350 volunteers to engage in community initiatives around the world. Since Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. on August 29, 2005, WHI has sent over 4,500 volunteers to provide relief and development support to communities along the Gulf Coast.
