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, Environmental Restoration
Change Belongs in Local Hands
At Plant With Purpose, we believe the future belongs to local communities. That’s why we don’t see people as projects, but as partners. Every Purpose Group writes its own bylaws. Every leader is elected by the members, who are also their neighbors. Every farmer is both a student and a teacher. Because when change is […]
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Thailand
Susan, Thailand: " I see creation is full of beauty and essential to our lives."
“Before joining a Purpose Group, my biggest concern was that my family depended on farming for a living. We planted maize and tended to a small fruit farm. But farming is unstable. Our income depended on the market price of crops. Some years, prices were so low that we lost money, and all the effort […]
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Mexico
Leobardo, Mexico: "Everything has a purpose"
“When I first heard about the program, it didn’t really catch my attention.” Leobardo’s honesty is disarming. As a pastor, he wasn’t looking for another commitment. “I thought the Purpose Group meetings would take too much of my time. At the beginning, everything felt complicated. Roll call, share purchases, keeping records, handling other people’s money. […]
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Burundi
Niyonkuru: "I am no longer waiting for help."
"There was a time when I was full of despair. Poverty had overwhelmed us,” Niyonkuru begins, his voice steady but heavy with memory. “We couldn’t even keep our child in school. And when he dropped out, things only got worse.” 42 year old Niyonkuru lives in Burundi with his wife and two grown children. Before […]
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Dominican Republic
José, Dominican Republic: "I know we are moving forward"
José looked around his home in the countryside, and saw something that troubled him deeply. "I had to buy all the produce for my family to eat,” he recalls. “Almost everyone else in my community was producing the food their families needed from their own plots. But I wasn’t, he said. “That’s what moved me […]
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About Our Work
Three Ways Plant With Purpose Practices Partners Not Projects
At Plant With Purpose, one of our most important commitments is to treat the communities we work alongside not as projects to be fixed, but as partners in transformation. We call this approach Partners Not Projects. This principle is not just a slogan. It is a foundational practice that shapes the way we restore watersheds, […]
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Haiti
Stanley, Haiti: "I know we are changing the future”
“My name is Stanley. I’m 75 years old. I’m a farmer, and my wife and I have raised seven children. Our youngest is 25 now, and our oldest is 42,” he begins, speaking with wisdom and experience. Though Stanley has always worked hard, the challenges of poverty and climate change loomed large in his life […]
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Tanzania
Faith, Tanzania: "It’s through this land that my life changed.”
“My name is Faith. I’m a wife, a mother of seven, and a farmer. I live in the Msuu watershed, and I belong to a Purpose Group.” Just a few years ago, Faith never imagined she would describe herself this way. She never imagined she’d be running a business, much less two. She never thought […]
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Tanzania
Shamsa, Tanzania: "My age is not a burden"
My name is Shamsa. I’m 60 years old, a widow, and a mother of five grown children. I live in Hai District in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania. I keep livestock and do small-scale farming in a garden near my house. When my husband passed away twelve years ago, he left me with the responsibility […]
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Climate Solutions
Why Faith-Based Environmental Action is the Future of Climate Justice
For decades, the climate movement and environmental action has largely been shaped by technical, policy-driven, or economic responses. And while these are vital, they often overlook the role of worldview, spiritual belief, and community values, especially in regions where faith is central to daily life. Nowhere is this more true than in the Global South, […]
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DR Congo, Sustainability
Feza, DR Congo: "Feza did what she could to survive."
At just 28 years old, Feza had already faced more than her share of hardship. Newly married and raising a young child in the Sange Watershed of the Democratic Republic of Congo, she and her husband struggled to stay afloat. The lack of income threatened not only their financial stability but the foundation of their […]
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About Our Work, Burundi, DR Congo, Haiti
Abundance is more than wealth
In the world of international development, economic indicators often dominate the conversation. How much has household income increased? How many small businesses were launched? These metrics are important, but they’re only part of the story. What about trust between neighbors? Spiritual renewal? The return of birds and pollinators to a once-barren field? Or a parent […]
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Burundi
Vyizigiro, Burundi: “What I’ve learned, I want to pass on"
"Before I joined Plant With Purpose Burundi, life felt like I was trying to carry water in a broken jar,” says Vyizigiro, a farmer and father of four living in Rutana Province. "I was always trying to get ahead, to save just enough to start a small business. But every time I tried, the money […]
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Haiti
Rose, Haiti: "Creation care is the most concrete thing"
“I was afraid.” That’s how Rose begins her story, recounting the moment she first heard about joining a Purpose Group. “My biggest worries and concerns were that by becoming a participant of a Purpose Group, I would lose my money.” The idea of handing over her limited savings—money she had worked hard to protect—seemed risky. […]
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About Our Work, Our Response
Rethinking Empowerment: What We Mean When We Say It, and Why It Matters
Empowerment is one of those words that frequently appears in conversations about global development. At Plant With Purpose, it’s a core value. It's central to how we approach our mission and how we describe the way we approach our work. But we also recognize that it can be a complex term. We believe that the […]
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