By Paulo Lopes, President, ADRA International
In the early hours after Hurricane Melissa tore through Jamaica this past October, our emergency response teams navigated flooded streets and toppled power lines to reach families huddled in shelters. The Category 5 storm had devastated the island: homes destroyed, communities cut off, nearly 530,000 people without electricity. Yet amid the wreckage, I witnessed something that never ceases to humble me: hope.
Hope this Christmas season looks different depending on where you’re standing. For families in Jamaica still rebuilding after the hurricane, hope arrives in the form of emergency food kits and hygiene supplies. In the Solomon Islands, hope looks like two new water tanks and safe toilet blocks at a boarding school, transforming daily life for girls who once walked miles for water and risked their safety using an open pit toilet with no walls.
These may seem like simple interventions. Clean water. A safe restroom. Emergency supplies. But to the people who receive them, they represent something far more profound: the knowledge that someone, somewhere, sees their struggle and believes their lives matter.
When Crisis Strikes, Compassion Responds
In my three decades of humanitarian work, I’ve learned that hope is not merely an emotion. It’s tangible. It’s a hot meal when everything is lost. It’s a rebuilt classroom where children can dream again about their futures. It’s the message that echoes across oceans and through devastated neighborhoods: You are not forgotten. You matter.
The global impact of holiday giving extends far beyond the immediate crisis. When communities receive emergency assistance, they’re also gaining the foundation for long-term resilience. Food assistance today becomes a community garden tomorrow. Temporary shelter becomes a pathway to permanent housing. Crisis response becomes community transformation.
And when we invest in development work, in the infrastructure that makes daily life possible, we’re preventing crises before they begin. The girl who can stay in school because she has access to clean water and safe sanitation? She becomes the nurse, the teacher, the leader who transforms her entire community. The family that receives shelter materials after a hurricane? They rebuild not just a house, but a future.
This is what it means to serve humanity so all may live as God intended. Walking alongside communities through the entire journey from crisis to renewal, ensuring that hope doesn’t fade when the headlines move on.
The Miracle of Sustained Compassion
I think often of the words in Matthew 25, where Jesus tells us that when we feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, and care for those in need, we’re serving Him. This Christmas season, as we remember how God entered our world in the most vulnerable way possible (as a baby born to a displaced family), we’re reminded that hope has always shown up in unexpected places, for unexpected people.
The needs remain staggering. Hurricane Melissa alone caused nearly $8 billion in damage to Jamaica, almost half the country’s annual GDP. Across the Caribbean, families are still sleeping in damaged homes, still working to piece their lives back together as the holiday season approaches. In the Solomon Islands, 15-year-old Mary once risked her safety walking in the dark to use an open pit toilet with no walls, and she spent hours each day carrying water 1.5 kilometers from a stream. Through our “Turn on the Tap” project, ADRA provided her school with water tanks, new toilet blocks for boys and girls, and hand-washing stations. “We can now fetch water close by without walking kilometers,” Mary shares. “Now, we can go to class on time! I’m happy and appreciate that ADRA sees our need.”
Mary’s words capture something essential about the nature of hope. It’s not just about meeting a physical need. It’s about being seen. Being valued. Being remembered. In a world where it’s easy to feel invisible, especially when you’re young, female, and living in a remote community, the message that someone notices your struggle and responds to it can change everything.
Yet what strikes me most is not the scale of the challenges, but the power of compassion in action. Charity gifts given during the holidays don’t just address immediate needs.
Every person who donates, every school that holds a fun run, every church that hosts a fundraiser, and every family that gives through a gift catalog becomes part of a larger story of restoration and abundant life. They are reminders that even in the darkest hour, those in need are seen, they are valued, and they are loved.
In God’s economy, no act of love is ever wasted. Every gesture of compassion, no matter the size, becomes part of a larger story of dignity and hope. It’s not charity from a distant benefactor, but an expression of our shared humanity, our recognition that we’re all part of God’s family. When one part of the family suffers, we all feel it. And when one part is lifted up, we all rise together.
Hope as the Greatest Gift
In the humanitarian world, we talk about “first responders,” those who arrive immediately when disaster strikes. But sustained supporters are just as crucial. They ensure that the mother in Jamaica can feed her children not just this week, but next month. They’re the reason the student in the Solomon Islands can finish her education and pursue her dream of becoming a nurse. They’re the reason hope endures.
This season, as many consider holiday giving, I’m reminded that in God’s economy, no act of love is ever wasted. Every gesture of compassion, no matter the size, becomes part of a larger story of dignity and hope. It’s not charity from a distant benefactor, but an expression of our shared humanity, our recognition that we’re all part of God’s family.
When communities receive support through organizations like ADRA, they’re not just surviving disasters or hardship. They’re thriving beyond them. That’s the miracle of compassion in action. That’s the gift of hope. And it may well be the greatest gift any of us can give.
