A Changed Life

L heard about our programs from a friend who’d attended our classes. She signed up, expecting to only participate in the Computer Literacy course, but got placed in Life Skills first—where her whole life unexpectedly changed. 

L grew up an orphan, bounced around between various family members. She endured emotional, verbal, and physical abuse at the hands of those who should have been caring for her. A lifetime of mistreatment left her angry and bitter. She had no inner peace and believed on a deep level that she was not valuable or even lovable. She felt like her life was a total mess when she came to join our courses.

Week after week in class, it was reiterated to L that she is valuable and important. She was told repeatedly that she has skills and gifts to offer the world. Hearing that message over and over again slowly chipped through the walls that had built around her heart.

L eventually found the courage and strength to share her story with the class. In doing so, she also found healing and grace, and was able to come to a place of forgiveness for those who’ve hurt her.

Now, L is convinced that God created her for a purpose and believes she has what it takes to achieve her dreams. She visits her family and is actively working on restoring those relationships.

“I am so happy. I know God loves and cares for me. In my family, now we talk to each other. My family sees a lot of change in me. I want to thank Bridge for Hope for helping me believe in myself for the first time. I hope this course will change many, many people’s lives in the future.”

Partner with us to help us 
continue changing lives >

Freedom in Forgiveness

[photo credit]

N is a beautiful young woman who began attending our Life Skills and Computer Literacy training classes. When she first arrived, she was nervous and quiet—timid, even. When we had the students engage in trust-building activities, it was clear that this was challenging and frightening for her. The next day, Amanda, one of our staff leaders, sat with  N during a tea break. Over cups of steaming tea, she began crying as she shared her story…

N’s dad had been a caring and loving family man. When he had to move away for a while because of work, it was challenging for the family, but everyone knew it would only be for a short season. That didn’t turn out to be the case. N’s dad found another woman and made a new life for himself. After several years, he returned. N’s mom forgave him and welcomed him back. It wasn’t long before he began abusing her.

As N poured out her heart, she acknowledged that these situations left her unable to trust her dad. She was angry and bitter—and felt greatly challenged by the message of forgiveness that was taught in the Life Skills class. Amanda encouraged her to take that step—that choosing to forgive her father would free her heart from bondage and fear. While N had a hard time accepting her counsel, she listened intently to every word spoken.

The next day, N arrived to class with a smile on her face. She was glowing with joy. When Amanda asked her why she was so happy, she said that she had decided to forgive her dad. She said she didn’t want to at first, but understood that she needed to do it to free herself and start moving forward with her life. N said that Amanda was the first person to ever take the time to listen to her and help lead her positively out of her situation. The next week, N spoke with her dad on the phone—their first real conversation in several years—and she felt at complete peace with being able to talk with him.

We are beyond grateful for N and the many just like her whose lives continue to be transformed in incredible ways.

Thank you for partnering with us. N’s life is changed forever because of your support. 

Give Up a Gift for Africa

Do something a little different this Christmas. Give up a gift for Africa.

Replace one gift for your child, spouse, or family member with a donation to Bridge for Hope. By giving a donation in place of one stocking stuffer or gift, you help a young African leader break the cycle of poverty. Now that’s a gift that actually keeps on giving!

Through our work to develop sustainable solutions to poverty, we are impacting not only individuals, but families, communities, and an entire nation. Join us in that effort by giving a gift that changes lives.

You can download this special thank you note to present to your loved one, letting them know about the life-saving gift given on their behalf.

Would you give up a gift for Africa? Your gift—of any amount—will go on spreading hope long after it’s unwrapped.

Please consider making as generous a gift as you can. Your donation will make a world of difference.

Give up a gift for Africa >

Help spread the word by sharing about this 
opportunity on Facebook & Twitter.

Shop for Hope

What if you could support our work in Africa just by shopping online? Well, you can!

Big Picture: A company called Pure Charity has partnered with over 1,000 popular stores that allow customers to give a portion of their online shopping charges to the giving project of their choice.

How It Works: You create an account with Pure Charity and securely register your debit/credit card. Each time you use that card online at places like Walmart, Target, Home Depot, etc., a portion of your purchase goes directly to your giving account to fund your chosen project. How awesome is that? 

Step-by-Step Instructions: 

1. Sign up for a Pure Charity account.  If you’re on Facebook, you can sign in through that (which is great for sharing in the future), or you can sign up the old-fashioned way.

2. Register your main credit/debit card. This is 100% secure and safe! Follow this link to add your card information.

3. Install the browser plugin. This makes a little icon pop up when you’re shopping online at participating vendors, and with a simple *click*, a percentage of your purchase will go directly into your personal giving account with Pure Charity. It works at over 1,000 online stores like:

Best Buy. Target. Gap. Groupon. Priceline. Sam’s Club. Apple. Sephora. Petsmart. Walmart. Lowe’s. Forever 21. Expedia. 

4. Follow Bridge for Hope to stay up to date on their Pure Charity projects. Also follow the Epic project we are actively trying to fund right now.

5. Start shopping! When you see the little icon pop up, click on it. It will show you the percentage of your purchase that vendor will give back to you for your giving account. Click on the percentage to activate it. You’ll also see special discounts and offers available to you. From there, you can browse the site and shop as usual.

6. Support your favorite project. Pick us! Pick us! Donate using the funds you’ve collected in your giving account, and/or give additional funds directly from your registered debit/credit card. Note that these projects are time-specific. If a project doesn’t fund by the finish date, Pure Charity refunds the money back into your giving account.

6. Share with friends! Pure Charity makes it so easy to share causes you’re passionate about with your friends and followers.

We only have 90 days to fully fund our project—but we believe we can get it done, together. So will you give us ten minutes? Go sign up and get started with Pure Charity.

Epic Hope

This past October, we had 9 EPIC students from the Xhosa communities, from diverse church and personal backgrounds. We have been very encouraged to see the hope, joy, and confidence in Christ grow in each student and staff member throughout the course!

Meet some students from our last term:

Zoe: (pictured immediate left)
Recently forced to move out of her home with her brother, Zoe was going through a very difficult season when she applied for EPIC. She was struggling to find hope and direction to go forward. Discovering more about herself and the matchless grace of God, she has newfound strength to hope again and to take steps towards her dream of becoming a nurse.

Phumlani: (pictured immediate right)
At the age of 19, Phumlani has started a youth movement in in the local township area of Philippi. He was drawn to EPIC because of his hunger to grow in his personal relationship with Jesus and develop as a leader. He chose to trust the staff and his fellow students, allowing us to speak into his life in personal and challenging ways. We are excited to see him continue to grow in character and influence as he pursues the call of God on his life!

Buyile: (pictured far left)
Before EPIC, Buyile had been looking for a fresh start in life. Recently out of prison, and not yet having a job, he was trusting God to make a way. During EPIC, God met him in a personal way, renewing his trust in Him and his hope for the future. He is currently attending our Life Skills and Computer Literacy courses, continuing to develop his qualifications for the workplace.

Partner with us to pour into
EPIC students’ lives >