MISSION

The Mission of the Hope Hughes Pressman & Diana Birdzell International Center’s—also known as the Hope International Center—is to foster diversity and combat division by bringing people together through cultural, educational, and technical exchanges. In the course of implementing this mission, the Center provides entrepreneurship training, small business development, financial literacy capacity building, basic Human Rights educational courses, and business mentoring for rural women and youth, addicted drug users, prisoners, refugees, and immigrants.

The intent of these programs is to foster self-reliance, mitigate national and international migration of youth, and reduce intra-family and intra-community violence. Hope International Centers are implemented in Africa, Europe, in the United States and Asia.

MAIN OBJECTIVES

  • Promote business development programs—including projects decision making and financial literacy—to empower women and youth, increase community participation, eradicate child labor, and protect the environment.
  • Advocate for and advise in the creation of local and district policy drafting related to women empowerment, girl’s education, youth employment, and entrepreneurship development.
  • Promote entrepreneurship-development networks that boost small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) in the community and improve professional skills.
  • Advocate for women and youth to be able to access and own resources such as land, business loans, and SMEs.
  • Promote cultural educational and technical exchange programs at both the community and international level.

HOPE INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS (2020 - 2030)

Project 4: Empowerment of Marginalized Families, Refugees, & Internally Displaced Peoples

This program is designed to support the marginalized communities through training, mentorship, and support programs focused on entrepreneurship and SME development.

Project 5: Violence Zero Everywhere

Through this project, the Center works with all community leaders and law enforcement institutions to advocate for and address minorities communities’ concerns in their dealing with the law enforcement communities.

 

The current priorities of the project are:

  • Reforming the incarceration system with a focus on education and skill building.
  • Developing entrepreneurship opportunities for youth and women everywhere, even in Refugees camps and prisons.
  • Building recreational centers in minority communities and rural areas.
  • Giving youth opportunities to travel and visit other communities where there is less violence.
  • Assisting single families in overcoming some of their socio-economic burden and other issues.

Project 6: English and I.T. Learning, Business Development, Legal Services, and Citizenship Education for Immigrants and the Diaspora Communities in the United States and Europe

This project will create development programs for immigrants and diaspora programs in the United States and Europe. These programs will focus on developing:

  • International youth educational, cultural, and professional exchanges.
  • Skill and Opportunity Training Centers for minorities and marginalized families in the United States.
  • Partnerships between international businesses and E-Commerce and Businesses for Women and Youth between Africa and the US

Project 7: Effective, Safe, Affordable Child-Care Services

Through this project, the center will advocate for and support the implementation of effective and affordable childcare services for working parents in both the United States and Africa.

Project 8: Hope International Education Project

Providing access to formal schooling is an essential objective for any open society but, for many poor and marginalized groups, formal schooling is either inaccessible or of very poor quality. Through this project, the Center works with local NGOs, governments, and private entities to support initiatives for accessing Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE).

While the Center promotes basic education, it also recognizes the need to reintegrate young people and adults who struggle with literacy and entrepreneurship skills. It is crucial that other pathways to learning are made available for youth and women who have not had access to schooling such, this project will also prioritize working with local organizations partners to improve policies and programs aimed at young people, women, and adults to ensure that they can realize their rights to basic education.

In the course of this work, the Center will help create and support not-for-profit centers, High Institutes, Colleges, and Universities in Africa that promote policy development, governance, business development and management, entrepreneurship development, and local governance, management, planning.

Project 9: The Revolution of Community Financing & Sustainable SME's: VSLAplus & HOPE SUSU

VSLAPLUS GROUPS

Following the findings and recommendations of a study including around 400 Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) groups, SE International created VSLAplus, a new financial service created to complement and make more effective those groups. VSLAplus program teaches financial, business, and functional-literacy skills to women and youth, small- and medium-size businesses, and other entrepreneurs to improve their family’s wellbeing and enable them to be more involved in their community’s development. VSLAplus is meant to promote entrepreneurship, SMEs, peace and reconciliation initiatives, and family wellbeing.

HOPE-SUSU

HOPE-SUSU is an innovative, non-profit program designed to create an entrepreneurial mindset in women and youth in Africa and beyond, enabling them to launch or expand a small business and improve their socio-economic conditions. The program aims to build the entrepreneurial capacity of women and youth and then support them with business capital in the form of loans to boost their existing business or launch a new business venture.

HOPE SUSU participants are encouraged to join the VSLAplus program and enjoy further benefits: increased loan capital, free training in financial management and business and loan management, family development, food security, and child protection.

“Saving 1 dollar or 400 Cedis or 500 CFA, Kenya Shilling, Congolese Franc etc. a day via HOPE-SUSU is the beginning of setting up and managing your own business, thus ensuring your children’s education.”

~ Dr. Maurice Aleyao, Président & CEO, SE International.