Operation HOPE Blog

With a Focus on “Making A Better World in the Future,” Global Dignity Co-founders Crown Prince of Norway, Professor Pekka Himanen, and Operation HOPE CEO John Hope Bryant, join a core group of respected leaders from Europe to teach youth the importance of living a dignified life.

The campaign to promote was advanced this month when Young Global Leaders (YGL’s) lead another round of “Dignity Day” sessions. Under the umbrella of the World Economic Fourm, YGL’s Dignity Day continued with Pekka and Bryant leading an interactive discussion with business leaders from Vienna. Held on March 28, 2008 hundreds of students, all leaders of the future for Vienna, participated and learned how to promote Global Dignity (GD) in their communities, and using the five Dignity Principles in their lives.

Using the Dignity Principles these youth are taught how to how to respect themselves and each other.

Opportunities Abound In Today’s Housing Market

The white bus rumbles into the quiet suburban neighborhood. Neighbors, young and old, cock their heads in curiosity or point at the slow-moving coach.

Once the vehicle stops, about 20 potential buyers file out and become detectives, opening and closing cabinets and drawers, knocking on walls and asking about the price, the previous owners and what repairs may be needed.

Welcome to the Foreclosure Bus Tour, a six-hour expedition to show Orlando-area homes and educate potential buyers on the vagaries of snatching foreclosures in a state where the housing market has struggled over the past two years. Real estate agents have also organized tours in California, where the idea seems to have originated, and cities such as Phoenix, Detroit, Kansas City and Jacksonville.

(l to r: Andrew “Bo” Young III, Thomas Jones, Bryant, Zab Judah)

Launching Operation HOPE’s (HOPE) National CEOs, Leaders & Luminaries Speaker Series in Harlem last night, Founder John Hope Bryant underwent his own “African Ancestry Reveal” – the process of mapping a DNA sample match through a database containing more than 25,000 African lineages – while promoting the importance of strengthening ties between African Americans and the Diaspora.

It was standing room only in uptown Harlem as celebrities, including New York Jets Running Back Thomas Jones and IBC Welterweight Boxing Champion Zab Judah, mixed and mingle with the locals for an inspiring evening of empowerment.

The ceremony proved to be an emotional experience for Bryant, particularly when he discovered he is a descendant of Cameroon origin, like his mentor music legend Quincy Jones. “I am moved more than I ever thought I would be. We are empowered by details, and this small fact is a significant detail in my life, and brings with it such inner dignity. I am forever linked to my beginnings, and I have always felt something very special about being in Africa when I visit the continent,” said Bryant.

African Ancestry President Gina Paige believes that these reveals result in people’ lives being transformed. “We are excited about the impact that our work continues to have at home and on the continent. In addition to sharing this information with their families at reunions and other gatherings, our clients are also traveling, rebuilding schools and clinics, and investing in Africa now that they know their roots.”

(Bryant and Gina Paige, photo courtesy of Wali Amin Muhammad)

Through HOPE Global Initiative’s memorandum of agreement with USAID’s Volunteer for Prosperity, it is the organization’s desire that more individuals from the U.S., Europe and elsewhere who travel to Africa will volunteer and/or teach in a classroom during their time in the region. The success HOPE has had with its award-winning youth financial literacy program, launched in June 2007, has resulted in 120 HOPE Corps volunteers being recruited, and 1,471 youth and women being educated in basic money management principles.