Alexander HarveyIn the earliest days of Equipping Hope International, before we had formed a board, launched a program, or drafted a mission statement, I kept returning to a simple but powerful idea, the kind of idea that’s easy to say but hard to live: teach a man to fish.
You’ve probably heard the proverb: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. For me, that’s not just good advice, it’s a biblical principle.
“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.” — Proverbs 21:5In a world where we are constantly bombarded with urgent needs, quick fixes are tempting. And sometimes necessary. But I believe deeply that the most lasting transformation happens when people are equipped with the tools to build a better future themselves. That belief is why Equipping Hope exists. It is why I said yes to cofounding this organization. And it is why I’m still here, years later, watching this vision unfold in the heart of a refugee camp thousands of miles away.
When Relief Isn’t Enough
When Augustine Mutabesha and I first met through World Relief’s Good Neighbor Team, our conversations were simple. Appointments. Paperwork. Translation. But as our friendship deepened, so did the questions. Augustine shared about life in the Nyarugusu camp, a place he had known two decades of his life, and the impossibility of building a future when every aspect of your survival depends on someone else. Even in the U.S., with new opportunity, his heart remained tied to those still in the camp. And mine did too. We began to wonder: What if there was a way to move beyond relief? What if we could offer education, training, and discipleship — not just rations or resources? What if we could truly teach a man to fish? We didn’t have a blueprint. But we had that question. And that question became a calling.Equipping Is an Act of Love
Today, Equipping Hope supports both English language and tailoring training for refugees in Nyarugusu. These are not glamorous programs. But they are powerful. We’ve watched a 17-year-old girl grow in confidence as she learns to speak in English for the first time. We’ve seen a widow sit behind a sewing machine, her hands making something strong and beautiful for the first time in years. We’ve seen graduates of our programs go on to help others by leading classes, training newcomers, building up their community from within and even being selected to attend college on scholarship. This is what happens when you teach someone to fish. It takes longer. It requires trust. And it doesn’t always come with flashy statistics. But it brings real, rooted change.We’re Not Just Meeting Needs — We’re Making Disciples
At its core, our mission is not just economic. It’s spiritual. Jesus didn’t say, “Come, I will feed you.” He said, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” We believe the Gospel is both a message and a method and that equipping people with skills and purpose is one of the most Christ-like things we can do. We don’t only want to help people survive. We want to help them thrive in Christ.“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” — Colossians 3:23Whether someone is sewing garments or learning verbs, they are doing kingdom work when they step into their God-given identity with purpose.