Hope Missions

Community Leaders

Over the last 20 years more and more development work in Africa has been done with women. Non-governmental organisations and charities have seen that women are often more willing to embrace new concepts and teachings and they are more likely to use the skills that they receive to have a positive impact not only on their own lives but also on the lives of their children, extended family and even neighbours. In many ways it seems that money invested in women’s empowerment initiatives is money well spent.

At Hope Missions we believe that while it is good to work with the women in a community, it is equally important to teach the men to be the best they can be. The system of village, district and even tribal chiefs is very much still in force in Africa and many of the chieftainships fall on the shoulders of men. Accordingly teaching the women without impacting the men who form the community leadership is only half of the battle.

In everything we do, we aim to work hand in hand with the community leaders. Every new initiative is discussed with them and is only introduced if and when they are ready to embrace it. Maintaining a good relationship with the leaders is essential to ensuring that the impact of the work we do within that community endures even after we have gone.

As part of our work with the community leaders we conduct advocacy workshops, providing them with additional skills to help increase their effectiveness as leaders. In addition, we seek to introduce them to the word of God and provide ongoing discipleship. Through this we aim to confront harmful practices and traditions that continue to propagate sexual abuse and the spread of HIV/AIDS, among other social issues.

We desire to see the rural communities in Malawi transformed from top to bottom and as community leaders are the focus of village life our work with them is integral to this transformation. We seek to include the leaders in everything so that we can empower them to continue to develop and improve their communities after we have exited. It is not our desire to create community dependence on Hope Missions but rather to introduce true and lasting hope and to foster independence.

"Transforming communities through the implementation of programs which affect all areas of community life including: agriculture, education, economic empowerment, advocacy and discipleship, working through the local church and community leaders."