Hey there! 👋 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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Project Have Hope all started because I was fortunate to meet some inspiring women during a trip to Uganda back in 2005. I’d 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 didn’t. All I knew was that I “wanted to do something,” so I set about to do it. (Side note. Do you want to have a positive impact? Don’t wait. Just start ‘doing’ and let the pieces fall where they may. And yea, the pieces aren’t always going to fit, but that’s just part of the beauty of this game called life.)
I wanted to help the amazing women I had met become financially self-sufficient.
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. I wanted each woman to have the power to make their own choices. Something I’ve 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 I’ve had the power of choice.
So that’s what I set out to do. It hasn’t 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 that’s 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.
I’m grateful to you for journeying with me. Whether as someone who’s bought a
bracelet from me in Harvard Square. A volunteer who has sat around my dining room table carding earrings. A wholesaler who’s bought 1000+ bracelets. A volunteer who traveled with me to Uganda. A donor who has supported our scholastic sponsorship program or women’s business grant initiative or our breakfast program. As a friend who’s 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, you’ve 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!
Are you interested in making an impact to our work? Here are some ways to get involved.