As entire communities in West Africa were left devastated by U.S. government funding cuts, particularly due to the shutdown of USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development), World Hope International has stepped in to help hundreds of thousands of families in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Because of generous donors, a majority of whom are Wesleyans and Wesleyan churches, World Hope has been able to show the love of Jesus through the delivery of thousands of dollars of life-saving medications to the most remote areas of West Africa. The Christian relief and development organization, founded by Dr. Jo Anne Lyon, was able to secure and send a container filled with $22 million worth of medicines in high demand. This is crucial, as millions of dollars’ worth of medications and vaccines are languishing in warehouses, nearing their expiration dates because of funding cuts. [1]
But delivering critically needed medicine is not the only priority. World Hope also has been using its limited resources to bring projects to completion already started to deliver clean water and improved sanitation to Liberia and Sierra Leone.
“At a time when hundreds of organizations have been shut down and abruptly had to stop work since March, by the grace of God, World Hope is still here,” said World Hope President and Chief Executive Officer Reverend Jenn Petersen. As co-pastor of Resurrection Life, a Wesleyan Church in New York City, Jenn believes the church must step up. “If there is one thing I have learned through this process at World Hope, it is that when everything seems to be falling down around us, there is still hope. There are still people following Jesus who continue to love and serve the most vulnerable self-sacrificially.”
Delivering life-giving drugs
World Hope was able to raise $150,000 to deliver emergency prenatal, seizure and infectious disease medication and treatments to Liberians earlier this year. For every dollar, the organization is able to deliver $200 worth of medical aid. “We are so grateful to our generous donors for what we have been able to do so far,” said Jenn. “But we simply need more support, because we cannot do it alone.”
Richeleau A. Nance, World Hope’s Global Director for Gifts-In-Kind (GIK) and Country Coordinator for Liberia, said, “We started distribution in Liberia in the first week of May, which happens to be the start of rainy season, fearing the peak of the rainy season that make roads nearly impassable.” Through the partnership with Liberia’s Ministry of Health, World Hope set off to deliver the medicines to two of the most remote counties — Nimba and Bong. “It took our teams 10 days to complete distribution in these two counties, even helping to clear trees from roads at times. But we were able to deliver the medicine to 38 clinics,” Richeleau said.
As of the first week of July, World Hope distributed essential medications to138 healthcare facilities across Liberia covering seven out of the 15 counties in Liberia.
Delivering life-giving water
The medicine distribution was just one project that World Hope, through the generous support of donors, is engaged in to save lives in West Africa. U.S. government-funded projects to bring clean water and improve sanitation to entire communities were also abandoned overnight — some that were already 80% complete.
In March, Jenn traveled to Liberia to, among other things, dedicate the Wesleyan Foundation School that was expanded through a project made possible, in part, by Celebrate Church of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. While that was an amazing experience, Jenn was equally impacted by the communities devastated by the funding cuts.
“I saw firsthand the toll on people’s lives from these cuts,” she said.
Imagine being one of 40,000 Liberians who has watched for months as clean water was getting closer to being accessible for the first time, with projects nearly 80% completed, only to have them halted because of the cuts.
Elijah Kihara Maina, World Hope’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) regional director for West Africa, explained that landowners who had given over property rights so their community could have a better future were devastated when the construction simply stopped. “Our children cannot stay in school if they are spending hours getting water,” he said. In addition, women and young boys and girls are at the added risk of exploitation when they are regularly walking alone.
Due to its ongoing partnership with the Liberian government and three decades of expertise, World Hope was asked if it could manage to bring these water projects to the finish line. World Hope has taken a step of faith and agreed to help, knowing there will be more instances in which it will be asked to stand in the gap — in places like Haiti, Cambodia, Sierra Leone and the Philippines.
Jenn explains, “How can we not show compassion when we are able to stop people from suffering unnecessarily? How can we not try to meet their physical needs while attempting to meet their spiritual needs?” It is the mission of World Hope, “our way of living out the gospel; by serving where we can when we have so much.”
To learn more about World Hope and how you can get involved, visit WorldHope.org.
Jennifer Jones is a World Hope International Marketing and Communications team member, journalist and pastor’s wife serving as the North Carolina East District administrator of The Wesleyan Church.
[1] As reported by “The New York Times” and “The Washington Post,” June 2025.
