This Christmas season, we reflect back on 2018 and we marvel at the journey that has brought us to where we are today. Because of your partnership, individuals have dared to take bold steps and ignite hope.

Meet Ncebakazi, a 19-year-old girl who decided to write a different story for her life…

“I grew up in the Eastern Cape, where opportunities are almost as rare as father figures. My mother did all that she could to provide for my sisters and me, but when she passed away in 2011, we felt truly alone. I moved to Cape Town in the hope of finding work — full of bitterness and anger. Angry at how my life had turned out, angry that my mother had died, angry that my father was as good as dead, and underneath that anger, I was really afraid.

That was before I came to Hope Africa.”

Ncebakazi is the youngest hair program student to have graduated from our Economic Development Program. She now owns and operates her own hair salon in the local community, where she plans to implement lasting change.

“I used to doubt that I could change my life, let alone anybody else’s — now I’m looking forward to hiring those who are less fortunate and making sure they can get bread on the table. I might not be able to change the whole community, but I can change 2 or 3 lives. The future finally looks bright, but it started by letting go of my past so that I could truly turn to see what was waiting ahead of me.”

From despair to the prospect of a “bright future,” Ncebakazi’s story is one of many. Thank you for choosing to invest with us in these individuals. We feel so honored to witness first-hand what God is doing in their lives.