Around the World: HOPE International and Compassion International

Starting a family is a blessing, but for some, that blessing isn’t without hardships. Parents welcoming children in third-world countries have a unique set of struggles, which in turn become the struggles these children come to face. With so much stacked against them, how can young parents in third-world countries have hope for a better future for themselves and their children?

We believe that compassion is born from hope and that hope blossoms through compassion. That’s one of the things that makes our partnerships with both Compassion International and HOPE International such a natural fit.  

Compassion International's mission is to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name by connecting vulnerable children with churches in their communities that come to know, love, and protect them. These churches provide meals, medical care, protection, education, and spiritual assistance. In Compassion International’s 70 years of service, they have helped more than 2.3 million children and created over 8,600 churches. The long-term, whole-life care they deliver is personal and tailored to fit each child's unique needs. They believe, and their experiences have shown them, that children become healthy, strong, confident, and empowered to journey out of poverty with the right resources at the right time—when compassion meets action.

HOPE International’s mission is to invest in families' dreams in the world's underserved communities as they proclaim and live the Gospel. By sharing the hope of Christ, HOPE International provides biblically based training, savings services, and loans that restore dignity and help to break cycles of poverty. Serving developing countries for over 30 years, HOPE International has invested over $1.5 billion in the dreams of entrepreneurs, served 2.6 million families, and equipped over 9,600 local churches with Christ-centered financial saving groups that serve as a ministry for local churches to catalyze holistic community transformation by restoring broken relationships with God, self, others, and the rest of creation.

Since the beginning of the first collaboration between these two organizations six years ago, they have brought hope, compassion, and essential resources to vulnerable families and children to help them transition out of poverty. 

In 2024, the DLP Positive Returns Foundation, deeply touched by the incredible work these two mission-aligned organizations had come together to achieve, provided major funding to extend their collaboration of in Guatemala—creating five Compassion Centers for families in great need. At these centers, HOPE International provides microfinance support to over 400 families, enabling parents to start small businesses, build homes, continue education, access healthcare, and meet many other essential needs—things we often take for granted in our daily lives. At the same time—as Compassion International knows it takes a village to raise a child—these centers also provide community development for nearly 1,000 children, including feeding, clothing, education, and spiritual support.