Alexander Harvey

In 2018, Equipping Hope International was born out of a simple conversation between two friends.  One had spent two decades of his life in a refugee camp.  The other was a volunteer trying to help one family adjust to a new country.  Together, we asked what could be done for the thousands who remain displaced and overlooked.  One year later, we’re still asking that question, and now we’re building answers, too.

As a Christian nonprofit working in Tanzania, we’ve spent our first year listening, praying, planning, and most importantly, walking with people in the Nyarugusu refugee camp.  We’re learning every day what it means to serve, equip, and empower in one of the most complex and under-resourced humanitarian contexts in the world.

This post marks our one-year reflection: the milestones we’ve reached, the lessons we’ve learned, and where we believe God is leading us next.

1. Listening Comes Before Strategy

We started Equipping Hope not with a detailed five-year plan, but with conversations with former refugees, with local pastors, with community leaders, and with people still living in the camp. One of the most important things we’ve learned is that listening is ministry.

Too often, nonprofits enter vulnerable communities with what someone across an ocean thinks are the answers.  But what people really need is to be heard.  Every decision we’ve made about programming has come from that posture — from asking, What do you need? What skills do you already have? What are your dreams?

This approach helped us shape our Teaching Hope and Business of Hope programs in ways that reflect real-life needs and possibilities.

2. Start Small — and Start With Strengths

We learned quickly that we didn’t need to reinvent the wheel. We just needed to find what was already working and build from there.

That’s why our first two programs, English language education and tailoring apprenticeships, were designed around the existing strengths within the camp.  We hired refugee teachers to teach English.  We partnered with local tailors to train new apprentices.  Instead of seeing the camp as a place of scarcity, we began to see it as a place of hidden capacity.

That shift in mindset — from deficit to dignity — has become central to our philosophy.

3. Relationships Are the Foundation

It’s easy to get excited about programs, plans, and measurable impact. But we’ve come to understand that at the end of the day, relationships sustain the work.

Our greatest progress has come through trusted local partnerships with refugees who live in Nyarugusu, with leaders who know the camp inside and out, and with students and participants who share their feedback, challenges, and hopes with us.

We’ve also seen how ongoing communication with supporters and donors deepens commitment and multiplies encouragement.  You are not just funders.  You are a critical part of this mission.

4. Real Impact Takes Time

We’ve learned to celebrate the small things. A student finishing a sentence in English without hesitation.  A tailor finishing their first garment.  A widow launching a small but meaningful business.

None of this happens overnight. Real change, especially in a long-term refugee setting, is often slow and quiet.  But it’s also powerful and worth waiting for.

5. God Provides — Often Unexpectedly

There were moments this year when we weren’t sure we’d have enough, enough funding, enough time, enough support.  But again and again, God has shown up through generous donors, passionate volunteers, and new connections that could only be explained by grace.

We’ve come to believe deeply in small steps taken in faith. God has met us every time.

Looking Ahead: Our Hopes for Year Two

As we move into our second year, we carry these lessons with us and lean into a few key goals:

        • Expand our English classes to include more levels and locations
        • Grow our vocational programs with new trades and business support
        • Deepen our relationships with churches, donors, and local partners
        • Continue building a ministry rooted in the Gospel, dignity, and resilience

Thank You for Believing in Us

One year ago, Equipping Hope was just an idea.  Today, it’s a growing movement of teachers, tailors, pastors, students, supporters, and friends working together to build something beautiful.

Thank you for walking with us.  Thank you for praying, giving, and sharing.  Thank you for helping us believe that hope is possible.

If you’d like to keep walking with us in Year Two:

        • Pray for our programs and leadership
        • Sign up for our quarterly updates
        • Share this post with someone who might care
        • Consider making a year-end gift at equippinghope.org

With gratitude,
The Equipping Hope Team