Mission & History

Mission

The Mission of HELP International is to empower people to fight global poverty through sustainable, life-changing development programs.

Click here to find out about our development model.

Where we started

In an effort to relieve suffering caused by Hurricane Mitch in Honduras, several Brigham Young University faculty and students founded HELP International in 1999, as H.E.L.P. Honduras. The initial group of 46 volunteers raised over $115,000 and spent four months in Honduras conducting humanitarian aid work and providing microcredit loans to those in need. These initial projects affected the lives of an estimated 4,000 people, providing relief to many people who were left homeless by Hurricane Mitch.

Since then, HELP has grown to be a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization specializing in three core competencies: (1) public health, (2) education and (3) entrepreneurship/business projects. Though HELP has engaged in primary aid relief in the form of earthquake and tsunami aftermath relief efforts, its primary drive is to work more in the context of secondary development relief with training initiatives, and program partnering.

HELP currently runs programs in El Salvador, India, Uganda, Peru, Tanzania, Thailand, Belize and Fiji. HELP has grown and changed through the years and continues to focus on facilitating poverty alleviation worldwide by adhering to its mission to fight poverty and empower people.