Hey there! đ Thanks for stopping by. I'm Karen. Founder of Project Have Hope. For the past 19 years (geez! I'm getting old!), I've straddled my life between Uganda and the US. I've watched kids become adults and adults become empowered. I've cried a thousand tears and have shared even more laughs. I've grown in countless ways. And better yet, I've seen the power of what we can achieve when we work together.
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The Beginning
Project Have Hope all started because I was fortunate to meet some inspiring women during a trip to Uganda back in 2005. Iâd like to say that I had a plan when we established Project Have Hope, that I had a clear idea of what we were going to do and how we were going to do it. I didnât. All I knew was that I âwanted to do something,â so I set about to do it. (Side note. Do you want to have a positive impact? Donât wait. Just start âdoingâ and let the pieces fall where they may. And yea, the pieces arenât always going to fit, but thatâs just part of
the beauty of this game called life.)
 The Goal
I knew I wanted to help the amazing women I had met become financially self-sufficient. Self-sufficient, a term Iâve come to see as very âAmerican.â In the Acholi Quarter, I donât know that anyone is truly self-sufficient. Itâs not about self or the individual, but about working together as a family, a community, caring for
neighbors as if theyâre your very own children. Just one of the many things theyâve taught me over the years. But, I digress.
I wanted the women to be able to support themselves and their families. I saw the tragic effects of domestic violence, where women were unable to leave abusive situations. Where they had no voice. No power.Â
I wanted each woman to have the power to make their own choices. Something Iâve had the privilege to do my
entire life. Blessed by a supportive family, access to education and employment, things may not always be easy, but Iâve had the power of choice. I didnât want to create a situation where the women would simply become dependent on me to buy their crafts, to give them money, as another caretaker, as someone else theyâd have to kowtow to for support. I wanted them to be independent and able to make the decisions that would be right for them, not to become another outside force controlling their fate.Â
Reality
So thatâs what I set out to do. It hasnât always been perfect or successful, but I keep trying, the women keep trying and we keep working together trying to make all the pieces fit a little better.
Education and vocational training have taken up a lot of the puzzle pieces. Both women and their children have been able to gain steady income through employment or independently started small businesses based around the skills they have acquired through our programs.
There are a lot of other pieces to this million piece jigsaw puzzle which will, very likely, never be completed and will always keep changing shape. And thatâs okay. Because like me, this will never be perfect, will always be evolving in an effort to be the best and do the best I can.
Iâm grateful to you for journeying with me. Whether as someone whoâs bought a
bracelet from me in Harvard Square. A volunteer who has sat around my dining room table carding earrings. A wholesaler whoâs bought 1000+ bracelets. A volunteer who traveled with me to Uganda. A donor who has supported our scholastic sponsorship program or womenâs business grant initiative or our breakfast program. As a friend whoâs just been there to lend an ear, or a hand and support me. There are a myriad of ways that so many have supported this journey. Thank you. In big and small ways, youâve made a tremendous impact on our work.
I firmly believe that we EACH have the power to make a positive impact in this world. Whether we choose to do something in our own communities or internationally, for the environment or for animals, to educate or to empower, for our neighbor or a community we've never met. We just have to believe WE CAN do something and then go out and start doing!â