Cricket in the Rain

The rain was pouring down. Streams of water ran off the rim of my hat in every direction. My clothes were soaked. Actually, they were beyond soaked, they had become one with the rain. Until last week when I landed in Bangladesh for the first time, I hadn’t experienced so much precipitation at once. In fact, I probably hadn’t experienced this much “precipitation” in most swimming pools. 

I shook my head from side to side to let some of the water slosh out that had been lodged in my ears. Feeling thirsty, I stuck out my tongue for a split second and took in a gulp of water. Instantly hydrated, I gripped the cricket ball a little tighter with a three finger grip, straightened my arm, spun it like a windmill, and tossed the ball at the wickets. The ball bounced once in a puddle the size of a Walmart parking space, and surprisingly popped up toward the wickets. 

Simon was standing in front of the wickets, cricket bat in hand, focused. Being the consummate competitor that I am, I thought “that’s a good ball, I’m going to get him out”. The score was tied 15-15 and the next run would win the game. To my surprise, Simon, a 7 year old boy, who stood all of 4 feet tall, swung the 3 foot long cricket bat with precision, hit the ball up and over his shoulder, and sprinted across the field to the other set of wickets. He’d done it! He had just scored the 16th run and won the game for his team. Everyone cheered, all of the boys and girls from both teams started running around with excitement. There were hugs and high-fives flying everywhere and Simon was hoisted onto his teammates’ shoulders. It didn’t matter who had won or lost, it mattered that we were playing the game together. 

This was my first experience playing cricket. And I will never forget it! Growing up on the east coast of Canada, I didn’t learn about cricket until university. On this day in June 2014, I found myself on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh at a small compound called the “Home of Hope”. Simon and the other orphans who live at the Home of Hope (HOH) taught my friend and I how to play cricket that day and throughout the rest of my time at the HOH, they taught me so much more about what really matters in life. We lived together, sang songs, played cricket and soccer, watched the world cup, and talked about our home environments. They bravely shared their dreams of becoming soccer players, singers, social workers, lawyers, teachers and doctors. 

Experiencing the joy that these children had even though they had so little, was both life giving and humbling. After my time at the HOH I wanted to do whatever I could to raise awareness and provide for these incredible children in any way possible. Fast forwarding to today, I want to help the children at the HOH realize their dreams and have futures so bright that they forget about the difficulties of their past. 

The Home of Hope

The Home of Hope (HOH) is an orphanage that is part of Hope Generation, an organization that was started in 1979 by Americans, Larry & Sharon Smith in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bangladesh has come a long way since 1979, but to put things in perspective, as recently as 2016, 52% of the population lived on $3.20 USD/ day (Worldbank, 2020). This is not much more than the cost of a Starbucks Caffé Americano, $2.59 USD (Pricelisto, 2022). 

The Smiths have helped Hope Generation and the HOH to faithfully grow with the vision of raising up generations to serve God. In the beginning, the HOH had the ability to care for 7 boys. As of today, the HOH’s capacity has grown to care for 240 girls and boys. This capacity has enabled the HOH to shelter, educate, and empower hundreds of young people in the area. They have worked hard to bring hope to the youth of Dhaka and to anyone who hears their story, around the world. 

The Importance of Vision 

Through challenging times like the current global pandemic, the Smiths and their colleagues have stayed committed to Hope Generation. They have been fueled by their faith and the vision that their work is helping to raise up generations to lead in Bangladesh. This vision helps them to continue to innovate and do whatever it takes to provide for the children.

A key part of Hope Generation’s vision is education. Hope Generation understands that education is one of the greatest gifts that can be given to a child. To facilitate this, Hope Generation built a school across the road from the HOH called Hope Mission School (HMS). HMS is a K – 10 school that teaches basic English and is open to children who don’t live at the HOH. The school, along with agricultural projects and a store are helping the HOH progress toward their goal of self-sustainability. 

The leadership at the HOH continue to use the vision of helping their children become leaders by teaching them the importance of innovation. Where children are included in the creative process and are able to help with the agricultural projects that benefit the HOH. Hope Generation also has a Bible college called “The Campus” (Hope Generation, 2022b) where students can earn degrees in theology, leadership, and education. When students graduate from the HMS they can choose to attend The Campus or another local college.

Today, more than half of the staff at the Home of Hope grew up there and have returned after completing college. There are dorm parents, groundskeepers, and even a newly hired teacher that the HOH has produced who are now providing their skills and expertise to raise up the next generation of young people. This is evidence of the empowering and enabling work that the HOH does. This is a truly beautiful process. Year by year, the Smiths and their fellow workers have focused on building up generations of leaders for Bangladesh, one child at a time. Now, seeing their vision come to fruition, they speak with great pride about having “their kids come home to lead the HOH” (S. Smith, personal communication, March 15, 2022). 

Here’s the Point: Vision is important. As leaders in education, business, government, or any other profession, you understand this. Daily, you work with purpose to see the vision of your organization come to life. You lead by example, forge new paths for your organization, and grow on your journey. If you take a moment to look beyond your organization, to those in need, you have incredible potential to use your diverse skills and resources to increase the capacity of magnificent organizations like the Home of Hope. Dig into your creativity for ways that you can help or dig into your pockets, give it a try. You’ll be glad that you did. 

Help Transform Vision into Reality

If you have enjoyed hearing the stories of the incredible kids at the Home of Hope orphanage then, check out this link for more information or to get in contact. If you would like more information about Hope Generation as an organization, then check out this link. As a not-for-profit organization, Hope Generation and the Home of Hope have continued to grow through the kind donations of people like you and me. If you feel so bold as to help Hope Generation with their vision of raising up generations of leaders to follow God in Bangladesh, then check out their current donation campaigns. *Please note that I do not collect any rewards for sharing links on my website.

References

Hope Generation. (2022a). Who We Are. Hope Generation https://hopegeneration.com/who-we-are/

Hope Generation. (2022b). The Campus. Hope Generation https://give.hopegeneration.com/projects/the-campus?id=the-campus

Pricelisto. (2022). Starbucks Menu Prices. Pricelisto. https://www.pricelisto.com/menu-prices/starbucks

World Bank. (2020). Poverty and Equity Brief Bangladesh. World Bank Group. https://databank.worldbank.org/data/download/poverty/33EF03BB-9722-4AE2-ABC7-AA2972D68AFE/Global_POVEQ_BGD.pdf

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. It was a pleasure spending time with you today.

Peace & Blessings, 

– Josiah