Hope Worldwide
The mission of Hope Worldwide (HWW) is to empower people to overcome poverty, homelessness and addiction through compassionate service.
David Kaner
17 years with P&G, Manufacturing, Product Supply and Purchasing in UK and EMEA.
David has been involved with Hope Worldwide UK since 1995 when it started operations. He served as Chair of Trustees until 2020 and then left the Board in 2021. He is still involved as a volunteer and a member of various Advisory Groups. During his time on the Board the charity’s income grew from $280,000 to $1,550,000. The number of beneficiaries helped has grown even more. Its Two Step program in London has now housed more than 7,500 people since it started.
In his letter of recommendation David writes: “HOPE Worldwide seeks to help people to change their lives; it is not just aid. We focus on people who want to help themselves. One example is Binita who, after completing her training program, was able to get a job as a data entry officer at the Chhaimale Finance Cooperative, doubling her income. The Sewing Dreams program builds on the work already being done in Chhaimale and will help participants make a difference both in family and community.”
The Sewing Dreams program will provide free vocational training to 40 marginalized women from impoverished families in Chhaimale, Nepal through tailoring and business skills training. Participants will be able to use these skills to set up tailoring businesses in the area, where there are currently no tailoring services available or to get jobs in sewing factories in Kathmandu. The program will consist of 2 cohorts of 20 women each who will attend a tailoring and business training course over a period of six months. Support for business start-up and to obtain sewing machines and materials is included. A full year after completion, HWW expects that 25 of the 40 participants will be employed in the tailoring business.
The $17,000 PGAF Grant funds will be used to provide 10 sewing machines in the Community Center already established by HOPE WW In Nepal, to set up an equipment and materials loan scheme to support the establishment of new businesses, staffing for program plus six months support for trainees after program conclusion.
Suman, a determined 10-year-old in Grade 4, loves basketball and shares a close bond with his mother, Tej Kumari. They have faced immense challenges, including physical abuse from Suman’s alcoholic father, leading to his mother’s recent divorce.
To survive, Tej Kumari sells vegetables on the street, earning just $3 a day, often struggling to afford a meal. Despite this, she is determined to create a better future. HOPE worldwide Nepal provides Suman with free education and is training his mother in tailoring through a women’s empowerment program. With hard work, she has acquired a second-hand sewing machine and started selling kurtas. She dreams of starting her own tailoring business, and we are confident she will achieve it, securing a brighter future for herself and Suman.