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Looking back, I have much ground to claim that an interface
with HOPE was a providential experience. It was neither
a coincidence nor a move made in search of an opportunity.
I met the late Reverend Jack Smith, the founder of HOPE,
in Ethiopia in 1969. At the beginning, I did not know of
the work that he and his wife, Evangel, did with the poor.
As a young man in search of meaning then, meeting people
like Jack and Evangel made quite an impression. In August
1970, I left for the US and we kept in touch through the
mail. Jack wrote to me about how hosting three street children
that he and his wife had befriended by the old post office
in the center of Addis Ababa, led to the founding of HOPE
Enterprises in 1971.
Since those early days, the country passed through so many
cataclysmic events. The 1974 revolution, the subsequent
civil war and the recurrent droughts were the darkest of
times for the country. HOPE was in for a lot of work as
multitudes had to be helped. I remember during the drought
of 1984-85, HOPE was flashed on US prime time TV feeding
the hungry.
What I didn’t know in 1985 was that I would someday
become a staff member of HOPE. At that time, I was working
at Kent State University in Ohio and I didn’t even
think that I would be coming back to Ethiopia. For our generation,
our days of youth were tough, with limited choices. Those
of us who sensed danger approaching instinctively left the
country, escaping the worst scenario with death squads murdering
in broad daylight. Ethiopia was certainly not a place I
wanted to be, and many of my generation spent their prime
years in exile.
After many years in the US achieving what I had aspired
from childhood, I started to question myself on whether
or not I was doing the right thing. It was at this time
my Christian values started their work. I looked at the
Lord and reflected on the true meaning of His love and the
implications of the path He left for us. In that inner dialogue,
I looked at my life in terms of salvation, discipleship
and service. Being saved and discipled, the question I had
to ask was, “What is my service, Lord?”
Then one day, Jack Smith invited me to visit him and his
family. The conversation turned more serious and Jack asked
me the question, “Are you doing the Lord’s work?”
I admitted that I was not. Jack asked, “Would you be
willing to serve the Lord?” I answered “yes”.
“Even if he called you to Ethiopia?”, he added.
Two weeks later, independent of this conversation, the then-director
of HOPE resigned and Jack called, asking “Would you
take up the fort?”
This was not calling for a casual answer, but a life decision
with a number of costs. Ethiopia was still a place to avoid,
and many of my friends in the US had horror stories and
scars of cruelty that had been inflicted on them. But the
Lord was calling, using His servant Jack to tell me that
despite the terrible circumstances and risks, it was all
right to obey. I had to approach it prayerfully, between
believing that all things would work together for good,
against the flesh emphasizing the “foolishness”
of returning. It all boiled down to who I trusted: the security
of my achievements in the U.S., or the Lord. Finally, the
step of faith won and I returned to my beloved country after
17 years in exile.
When I joined HOPE in July 1987, it had four projects.
The situation was filled with hopelessness and a lack of
momentum everywhere. However, the joy of the Lord was within
me, and immediately results started to happen. All the projects
expanded and new ones started. The Lord was with us as He
continued to show His presence with fruitful outcomes of
our feeble efforts, and amazing response to the prayers
of ours and our friends around the world. Over time, we
systematized our interventions as the Ladders of HOPE. I
have had the privilege to present this approach both within
country and abroad, and these steps have done wonders to
enable our beneficiaries to break out of poverty.
The journey has certainly been full of hills and valleys
while the joy of serving HOPE remained constant. We have
dreamed dreams, and the Lord has fulfilled them. It reminds
me of the New Testament story of the five fish that fed
5,000. Currently, we assist over 15,000 needy people on
a regular basis. Who would have thought that those first
three street children would have led to HOPE’s service
today? What Jack and his family gave to those three children
has truly been multiplied to help tens of thousands over
the ensuing decades.
What I have known is that the love, trust, and enablement
of God have stretched to meet the challenge that we put
before Him in prayer and supplication. The work of good
never fails, reaping more goodness and bringing about the
kind of virtue that is so very indispensable for a sane
society. At a time when goodwill is dissipating and despair
is getting the upper hand, may we all believe that a return
to our humanity is the only way forward. And with this faith,
we are ready to go on in obedience. I thank all of our partners,
agencies, and communities who have made this journey possible.
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