Jennifer Collier is Senior Director of Program Field Operations for Convoy of Hope’s International Program. She witnesses the positive impact of the integration of Children’s Feeding, Women’s Empowerment, and Agriculture on people and communities around the world. This interview originally ran in Hope Quarterly 38.
HQ: Was there a defining moment in your life when you knew you would dedicate your life to combating poverty and hunger?
Jennifer: I was about 12. At Christmas, my extended family opted not to exchange gifts. We pooled our money to buy socks, blankets, and food and took those resources into a community in Philadelphia where poverty and homelessness were daily challenges. I will never forget the look on people’s faces when we gave them the simple gifts we had purchased. It wasn’t so much that we were giving away socks, blankets, and food — it was the fact we connected with them. They felt seen.
That day I began to sense a calling to serve. I went on to study social work and was active in that field for many years. Now, at Convoy of Hope, I see the same principle at work that I saw that Christmas. At Convoy, we go to people and
assure them that they are seen. We get to know them and discover the needs they identify as most important in their lives.
HQ: Talk about Convoy of Hope’s key goals for 2030. Why are they critically important?
Jennifer: By 2030, our God-inspired dream is to feed 1 million children every school day globally. We want to empower 250,000 women and girls every year and see their lives changed. We want to train 100,000 farmers in best agriculture practices and multiply their harvests. At the core of our goals is to see lives transformed, to see families and communities thriving. We believe these three program pillars, operating together, are key to bringing about
sustainability and community transformation. We want to build on a community’s strengths and tailor a plan that best moves them forward.
HQ: How have you seen these programs change the trajectory of people’s lives?
Jennifer: In one South Asian city, we partnered with the director of a children’s feeding project. When we studied the children in the program, our nutritionist discovered the initial menu of meals did not fit their nutritional needs. They had been undernourished for so long they needed smaller meals and specialized components like bananas and yogurt. A year later, after the menu was adapted to their needs, we saw significant improvement in their health and growth.
I met a young mother in the Philippines who proudly showed me her healthy baby. She told me she had endured several unhealthy pregnancies that ended in miscarriage. Then, she joined one of our mothers programs and received the nutrition and the health guidance to carry her through her pregnancy. That beautiful healthy baby is a direct result of Convoy’s intervention in her life.
Convoy has witnessed similar transformations through the combination of our Women’s Empowerment and Agriculture programs with Children’s Feeding. We began working in a Maasai community in Tanzania in 2014. By 2020, all three programs were established in a lasting foundation that has resulted in a thriving community that is feeding their own children and empowering nearby communities.
HQ: Why is it important for each of us to become a source of help and hope to someone in need?
Jennifer: To meet the largest challenges, it takes every one of us. But sometimes people can become overwhelmed by the size of a need and fail to act because they believe their individual response won’t accomplish anything meaningful. When each of us commits to do the next kind thing, we not only make a difference individually, but we help create momentum that is able to address those large issues.
An important first step is to really see people and their needs. It might be the need of your co-worker at the office. It doesn’t have to be someone on the other side of the world. As you commit to intentionally seeing people and their needs, you will begin a journey of personal response that truly can become significant.
