HOPE International Plans 20th Annual Golf Tournament
Jeff Rutt, founder of HOPE International, is keenly aware of the worldwide impact of COVID-19. HOPE International is a nonprofit organization that seeks to alleviate poverty in all its forms - spiritual, material, social, and personal. Over its more than 20-year history, the organization, with offices at 227 Granite Run Drive, Suite 250, Lancaster, has done that by loaning out more than $1 billion and helping to start savings groups among about a million clients in 16 countries.
Now, those clients, who Rutt said are already on "fragile footing," have been teetering on the brink.
"We have been trying to pull them off that proverbial cliff edge," said Rutt. "We have gotten some results." HOPE has instituted a three-phase plan called Rebuilding Dreams, which first provided food and water to clients who needed it to survive. The second phase involved a 60-day interest payment holiday. That crucial step cost HOPE about $500,000 a month, for a total expenditure of $1 million. The final phase, which focuses on recapitalization of the tiny client businesses, will include at least $2 million more from HOPE. "These client businesses are starting to reopen, but they need capital to do that," explained Rutt.
To help raise that capital, HOPE is looking for sponsors and golfers for its 20th annual golf tournament at Heritage Hills Golf Resort, 2700 Mount Rose Ave., York, on Friday, Sept. 18, beginning at 6:30 a.m. A second round will be held the same day at 1 p.m. at Iron Valley Golf Club, 201 Iron Valley Drive, Lebanon. The fundraising goal for this year's tournament is $500,000. More information about the tournaments may be found by clicking on "Take Action" and then "Attend an Event" at http://www.hopeinternational.org. Those who wish to take part may email asmith@hopeinternational.org or call 717-464-3220, ext. 544. Golfers are asked to register by Friday, Sept. 11.
Rutt has been impressed by the resilience of some of HOPE's clients. "Irene in Paraguay got a small loan to start a hair salon," he said, noting that countries like Paraguay do not offer stimulus packages. According to Rutt, Irene quickly reorganized to sewing face masks and selling them to the families in her community. "Irene provided a product (her neighbors) need and an income for her family," said Rutt. "I thought that was a good example of pivoting to something she could do."
Rutt also told the story of Corine, a savings group member in Zimbabwe. He reported that Corine said, "When we saw that our savings group was suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we quickly put our heads together and decided to start a bakery. Our plan was that it would enable us to continue to save, but now it has exceeded our expectations by allowing us to use the income to (care for) our families."
Rutt pointed out the differences between facing the pandemic in the United States and in other parts of the world. "We are the aircraft carrier, but our clients in Burundi and Malawi and Rwanda are the life rafts being crushed by the waves," he said. "For us ... it's a challenge, but compared to what the rest of the world is living with, it's not (as big of a struggle)."
Brian Boycan, regional representative with HOPE, reported that the shutdowns around the world have resulted in crises we may not be able to imagine. "In South Asia, they announced at 8 p.m. that they would shut down at midnight," he noted. "In four hours, more than 40 million migrant workers became refugees in their own country. Most lived between 300 and 1,600 miles away from where they were located at the time of the shutdown."
The good news is that many HOPE clients were prepared to face the financial hardships of the pandemic. "Pre-COVID, there was a study done by an independent third-party organization in Malawi, where we work," said Rutt, who noted that the study focused on how many families in that country would have the funds they needed to survive three weeks in an emergency. That amount was around $19. "(The study found that) 37% of the population in general had the ability to survive," said Rutt. However, when the researchers surveyed HOPE savings group members, they found that 81% had the means to survive. "It shows the difference that our savings groups are making," said Rutt.
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