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Adapting in Uncertainty: How COVID Shifted Our Focus — and Sparked a Special Project

When we set out our goals for 2020, a global pandemic wasn’t on the list.  Like so many others around the world, we’ve had to adjust, pivot, and pray our way through every change COVID-19 has brought.  In the Nyarugusu refugee camp, where our work is located, the effects of COVID may be particularly difficult to navigate.  The camp is densely populated.  Healthcare resources are limited.

But amid all the challenges, one thing has remained unchanged: our commitment to equipping hope.  And through that commitment, a new opportunity emerged — one that combined our existing programs, responded to the global pandemic in a proactive manner, and empowered our graduates to serve their community in a tangible way.

We call it Protecting Hope.

When the World Stops, Faith Doesn’t

A few months ago, the world paused.

Airports emptied.  Schools closed.  Streets fell quiet.  Nations went into lockdown.  And for the first time in a generation, a single crisis touched every continent, every economy, every home.

In the face of COVID-19, many of us find ourselves asking: What now? How do we continue serving when everything feels uncertain? How do we move forward when the world seems to be standing still?

At Equipping Hope, those questions met us right in the middle of our calling.

 

The Word That Leads Us: How Scripture Is Guiding Year Two

When we launched Equipping Hope International in late 2018, we stepped out in faith, trusting God to provide where we could not. We didn’t have a detailed blueprint, a full staff, or a robust donor base. What we had was a clear calling — to equip refugees in Tanzania with tools for dignity, self-sufficiency, and spiritual growth — and a deep conviction that God’s Word was enough to lead us.

Now, as we begin Year Two, we’re still building. We’re still learning. And we are still being led by Scripture — not just as an inspiration, but as our blueprint.

In this post, we want to share some of the verses that are shaping how we move forward, what they mean to us as a team, and how we see them playing out in the lives of the people we serve in the Nyarugusu refugee camp.

One Year In: What We’ve Learned at Equipping Hope

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.

How Learning English Opens Doors for Refugees

In the heart of western Tanzania, within the borders of the Nyarugusu Refugee Camp, thousands of individuals live a life marked by resilience, resourcefulness, and quiet perseverance.  Many have spent years—and some, decades—within the camp’s limits after fleeing war, unrest, and violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.

And while basic needs like food and shelter are met by humanitarian agencies, there is a quiet but urgent need that too often goes unnoticed: the need for language.

At Equipping Hope International, we believe that education is one of the most powerful tools for restoring dignity.  And in a refugee setting, few educational programs are as life-changing as the ability to speak English.

Why We Equip, Not Just Feed: The Philosophy Behind Equipping Hope International

In humanitarian work, it’s tempting to measure success by short-term wins: how many meals were served, how many shoes were handed out, how many tents were raised.  These are critical acts of mercy, and they meet very real needs.  But when crisis stretches into decades, as it has for refugees in the Nyarugusu camp of western Tanzania, short-term relief cannot carry the full weight of human dignity.

At Equipping Hope International, a Christian nonprofit working in Tanzania, we believe in more than relief.  We believe in restoration.  We believe in transformation that comes not only from food and shelter but from education, opportunity, and the hope of the Gospel.  That’s why our core philosophy is simple, but powerful:

We don’t just feed people. We equip them.

Introducing the Equipping Hope Blog: A Quarterly Glimpse into Our Mission

In 2016, what began as a cross-cultural friendship between a refugee family and a volunteer mentor became the foundation for something much larger than either expected.  Today, that friendship has grown into Equipping Hope International — a nonprofit organization committed to equipping refugees in western Tanzania with the tools they need to rebuild their lives with dignity and faith.

This blog will serve as a quarterly newsletter-style update, sharing not only the progress of our programs in the Nyarugusu refugee camp, but also the stories, challenges, and opportunities that shape our work.  We invite you to join us as we reflect on where we’ve been, share where we’re going, and celebrate what God is doing in a place the world rarely sees.

But first, we want to share how this journey began.

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