Stories
Discover real-world stories of communities overcoming poverty and deforestation! Plant With Purpose, a Christian non-profit, shares examples of environmental sustainability and stewardship from all around the world. These stories show us how faith, resilience, and sustainable practices transform people’s lives as well as their environment. As rural families overcome poverty and heal the planet, embrace empowerment, renewal, and hope.
About Our Work, DR Congo, Environmental Restoration, Living Sustainably, Mexico
School Partnerships: Inspiring the Future Today
Many supporters of Plant With Purpose are familiar with how our work helps farmers restore their land and lift their families out of poverty. But what you may not know is that in many of our program watersheds, schools are also becoming powerful centers of restoration. Through local school partnerships, the next generation is equipped […]
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DR Congo, Environmental Restoration
Environmental Healing in the Kilibi Watershed
This Earth Month, we are excited to share stories of environmental stewardship happening around the world and to encourage you that when people come together, transformation is possible! Like most of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Kilibi watershed was once lush, teeming with wildlife and fertility. However, tree cutting for agriculture and charcoal […]
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Living Sustainably, Tanzania
From Banana Fields to Medical School
How one mother’s determination enables her children to become medical professionals For many parents, the dream of seeing their children become doctors feels almost impossible. For Vumilia, a smallholder farmer in rural Tanzania, that dream once seemed far beyond reach. Today, two of her children are studying medicine at university. But the path from struggling […]
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Tanzania
From Grief to Hope
How a widow in Tanzania rebuilt her family’s future Ritha, 57, lives in the Saseni watershed in Tanzania. A devoted mother of four—three daughters and one son, she never expected to face life alone. But in 2019, when her husband passed away, everything changed. Suddenly, Ritha became the sole provider for her family. Without steady […]
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blog, Ethiopia
Measuring Impact in Ethiopia
We thought we had bad news . . . but it turned out to be remarkable news!
Every three years, Plant With Purpose conducts an extensive impact evaluation to measure the effectiveness of our global work. Activity alone is not enough. The real question is simple:
Is it working?
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About Our Work, DR Congo
Redeeming Waste for Restoration
How Compost Training Is Restoring Land and Lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
How long does it take to see real change in communities facing poverty and environmental degradation?
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About Our Work, blog, Living Sustainably
How To Achieve Sustainable Economic Growth
How To Achieve Sustainable Economic Growth In a world marked by economic disparities, achieving sustainable economic growth while addressing poverty remains a crucial challenge. While economic development is vital, it is equally important to ensure that growth is environmentally responsible, socially inclusive, and economically viable over the long term. People experiencing rural poverty, in particular, […]
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About Our Work, Tend
A Plan to Help Congregations Thrive
In Parts One and Two of this blog series, we shared how Plant With Purpose’s journey toward U.S. church engagement was shaped by listening carefully to the church. Through research, interviews, and pastoral feedback, one truth became clear: churches are deeply committed to discipleship and outreach, but they are stretched thin and wary of anything […]
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Mexico
Lucrezia: Creating Community-Wide Transformation in Puebla
In times of scarcity, people often turn inward—focused on surviving, providing for their families, and getting through each day. Poverty can be isolating. When resources are limited, shame and loneliness can take root just as quickly as hunger. This is why one of the most powerful transformations within Plant With Purpose program watersheds is not […]
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Haiti, Updates
The challenge of working in Haiti in 2026
Plant With Purpose works in some of the most difficult places in the world where people live — places where environmental degradation, poverty, and instability often intersect. Our mission is to help communities build resilience and hope in the midst of those challenges. In recent years, life has grown harder across many of our program […]
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Ethiopia, Living Sustainably
Ato, Ethiopia: "We planted these seeds together"
When Ato’s Purpose Group in Ethiopia’s Ziragn watershed started working, its members didn’t anticipate just how far the small group would go. Their beginning was modest, with neighbors gathering to learn together. They started planting a few seeds on communal land, and seeing what might grow. For Ato, a committed member of the group, those […]
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Tanzania
Sarafina, Tanzania: “Without the group, this dream would have taken a very long time.”
“Before joining Plant With Purpose, I was a wife doing small activities around my house, and I depended mostly on my husband,” shares Sarafina. She and her husband, in their sixties, raised three sons, one daughter, and now have two grandchildren. Life, she said, felt predictable but limited. “I thought it was normal, maybe that […]
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About Our Work, blog
Why are incomes growing at Plant With Purpose?
Around the world, rural families face the interwoven challenges of poverty, degraded land, and limited opportunity. Plant With Purpose partners with these communities to restore both the land and livelihoods, cultivating resilience that begins with the soil and extends to the soul. At the heart of this mission lies a remarkable outcome: participants’ incomes rise […]
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blog, Tend
Creation Care for Churches: Tending to the Life of the Church
In part one of this blog series about the Plant With Purpose Journey toward U.S. Church Engagement, we discovered that strengthening the church has always been part of our mission. With a Lilly Endowment grant in hand, the Plant With Purpose team set out to help U.S. churches connect the dots between discipleship and creation […]
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About Our Work, blog, Tend
How does Plant With Purpose Work in the United States?
Every so often, a question finds its way into conversations among our supporters, partners, and friends: Does Plant With Purpose work in the United States? After all, we’ve served hundreds of thousands of people across Mexico, Haiti, Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, and the Dominican Republic—helping rural communities overcome poverty […]
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