hoperises.org

Hope Rises International fights leprosy and other neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by combining medical care with gospel-centered hope, delivered mainly through local pastors, faith leaders, and Christian partners. Its stated aim is not only to treat disease but to restore people physically, emotionally, and spiritually — reducing the stigma and isolation that often outlast the illness itself. This approach is relevant if you want to understand how a faith-based charity operates in NTD work, or if you are considering supporting or partnering with it.

The problem it addresses

According to the organization, one billion people are in isolation from neglected tropical diseases like leprosy. The emphasis on isolation matters: the harm is not only clinical but social. People affected by leprosy and similar diseases are frequently excluded from their communities, which is why the charity frames its work around both healing and dignity.

What "healing and hope" means in practice

Hope Rises International describes a two-part model:

• Healing through medicine and treatment — life-changing medical care for people suffering from disease, stigma, and isolation.
• Restoration through the hope of the gospel — spiritual and emotional support that addresses the person beyond the diagnosis.

The organization states that "healing happens through medicine and treatment, but restoration happens through the hope of the gospel," and that while healing can take a lifetime, "hope lasts an eternity."

How it delivers the work: local partners first

The core delivery mechanism is partnership rather than direct, centralized operation:

• It works worldwide with Christ-centered partners.
• It partners with local pastors and faith leaders, equipping them to care for their communities both physically and spiritually.
• It follows what it describes as the lead of Jesus in serving "some of the most marginalized people worldwide."

This matters for anyone evaluating the model: the charity positions local leaders as the frontline of care, with the organization supporting and equipping them.

A concrete example of the impact

The site shares the story of Renate, who seventeen years ago was in a hospital bed battling Buruli ulcer — described as a devastating, flesh-eating disease — with an uncertain future. Today she is a nursing school graduate inspired to care for others in her community. The organization uses her story to illustrate its goal of helping more people find healing and hope, and frames it with her words: "What I've learned from this journey is nothing is impossible with God."

Track record and identity

• Since 1906, the organization says it has provided medical care and gospel-centered hope to people suffering from disease, stigma, and isolation — over 100 years of impact.
• It was formerly American Leprosy Missions and adopted the name Hope Rises International to reflect its calling: breaking down barriers to health, stopping disease, and bringing light "where darkness once prevailed."
• Its stated commitment: every person served "is more than their illness — they are seen, valued, and deeply loved by Christ."

What this means if you want to get involved

The site offers three clear entry points: Learn More to understand the mission, Donate to fund the work, and Give Now to support specific needs such as helping people like Renate. It also invites visitors to subscribe for "Stories of Hope" by providing a first name, last name, and email, with a verification step before submission.

If your interest is in how faith-based organizations approach NTDs, the distinguishing feature here is the explicit pairing of clinical treatment with spiritual care and the reliance on local faith leaders as delivery partners — a model built around restoring communities, not just treating patients.

You can support Hope Rises International in two direct ways that its website makes available: donate to fund medical care and gospel-centered hope for people affected by neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) like leprosy, or sign up with your email to receive stories of hope and stay connected to the work. Both options are open to anyone visiting the site — no membership or special status is mentioned as a requirement.

Donate to Fund Healing and Hope

The primary way to support the organization is financial giving. According to the site, donations fund work that goes beyond medical treatment:

• Medical care for NTDs — the organization works worldwide with Christ-centered partners to bring physical healing to people suffering from diseases like leprosy and Buruli ulcer.
• Restoration, not just treatment — the site frames its mission as transforming lives "physically, emotionally, and spiritually through the power of the gospel."
• Local partnerships — giving supports work with local pastors and faith leaders who are equipped to care for their communities both physically and spiritually.

The site uses "Donate," "Give Now," and "Donate today" as its calls to action. If you want your gift to go toward a specific outcome, the clearest example the organization gives is people like Renate — a woman who battled Buruli ulcer seventeen years ago and has since graduated from nursing school.

Before you give: the site does not list specific donation amounts, payment platforms, or whether gifts are one-time or recurring. Check the donation page itself for those details rather than assuming.

Stay Connected Through Email

If you are not ready to donate, or want to follow the impact of your support, the site offers an email signup described as "Stories of Hope, Delivered to You."

The signup form asks for:

• First name
• Last name
• Email address
• A verification step ("Please verify your request")

Submitting connects you to updates showing "how your support is bringing hope and healing to lives around the world." This is the lowest-commitment way to engage — useful if you want to learn more about the organization's work before deciding whether to give.

Support the Model, Not Just the Cause

One thing worth understanding before you choose how to give: Hope Rises International describes its approach as working through local partners rather than operating alone. The site states it partners with local pastors, faith leaders, and Christian partners to provide both vital care today and hope for tomorrow.

This matters for your decision because:

• If you value community-led, faith-integrated health work, this model matches that preference.
• If you prefer to fund purely clinical or secular medical programs, note that the organization explicitly combines medical treatment with gospel-centered hope — this is central to its stated mission, not incidental.

A Note on the Organization's Background

Hope Rises International was formerly American Leprosy Missions, which the site says has worked since 1906 — over 100 years of impact. The name change reflects a broadened calling: breaking down barriers to health, stopping disease, and reaching people isolated by NTDs. If you are researching before giving, this history is a reasonable signal of organizational track record, though the site does not publish financial breakdowns or ratings on the pages reviewed here.

Quick Comparison of Your Options

What to Check Before You Act

• Donation specifics — amounts, payment methods, and recurring options are not stated on the pages reviewed; confirm on the donation page.
• Where your money goes — the site describes global work with local partners but does not publish a cost breakdown here.
• Your own priorities — the organization is explicitly Christian and gospel-centered. If that aligns with your values, the giving and email options above are the direct paths to support it.

Hope Rises International is a Christian charity that fights leprosy and other neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by working with local, Christ-centered partners worldwide. It was formerly known as American Leprosy Missions and has operated since 1906. Its stated mission combines medical care with spiritual hope: physical healing, dignity, and what it describes as enduring hope for people who are marginalized by disease, stigma, and isolation.

What the organization does

According to its website, Hope Rises International focuses on:

• Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), including leprosy. The site states that one billion people are in isolation from NTDs like leprosy.
• Medical care and treatment. The organization says it provides life-changing medical care to people suffering from disease.
• Partnership with local leaders. It works with local pastors, faith leaders, and Christian partners, equipping them to care for their communities both physically and spiritually.
• Restoration beyond medicine. Its stated view is that healing happens through medicine and treatment, while restoration happens through the hope of the gospel.

Who it serves

The site describes its focus as "some of the most marginalized people worldwide" — people affected by disease, stigma, and isolation. One example it gives is Renate, who seventeen years ago was hospitalized with Buruli ulcer, a flesh-eating disease, and later became a nursing school graduate inspired to care for others in her community.

History and name change

The organization frames the name change as "New Name, Same Mission" — more than a century of work continues under a name meant to reflect both medical and spiritual restoration.

How to learn more or get involved

The website offers ways to engage:

• Learn more about the mission and its work.
• Donate to support the programs.
• Give now toward specific needs, such as helping people like Renate find healing and hope.
• Stay connected by signing up with your first name, last name, and email to receive stories of hope.

The site does not publish pricing, membership fees, or login requirements in the material reviewed here, so no assumptions should be made about cost or access. For current details on programs, giving options, or involvement, visit hoperises.org directly.

Hope Rises International is a Christian charity that has worked since 1906 to fight leprosy and other neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). For most of that history it operated as American Leprosy Missions; the organization adopted the name Hope Rises International to reflect a mission that goes beyond medical treatment to physical, emotional, and spiritual restoration. It works worldwide with Christ-centered partners, local pastors, and faith leaders to provide care and reduce the isolation caused by disease.

A century of work under a new name

The organization's own framing is "New Name, Same Mission." Since 1906, it has provided medical care and gospel-centered hope to people facing disease, stigma, and isolation. The rebrand was not a change in direction but a restatement of purpose: breaking down barriers to health, stopping disease, and reaching people who are marginalized.

The name change matters if you are trying to trace the charity's record. Donations, history, and impact attributed to American Leprosy Missions belong to the same organization now called Hope Rises International.

What the organization says it does

Hope Rises International describes two connected layers of work:

• Medical treatment — care for people suffering from leprosy and other neglected tropical diseases.
• Restoration — addressing the stigma and isolation that accompany these conditions, which the organization frames as spiritual and emotional as well as physical.

It carries this out by partnering with local pastors and faith leaders, equipping them to care for their communities both physically and spiritually. The stated belief is that healing happens through medicine and treatment, while restoration happens through the hope of the gospel.

Scale of the problem it addresses

The organization cites one billion people living in isolation from neglected tropical diseases like leprosy. That figure is the context for its work: the need is far larger than any single treatment program, which is why the model relies on local partners rather than a centralized clinical operation.

A concrete example of impact

The site shares the story of Renate, who seventeen years ago was in a hospital bed battling Buruli ulcer, a flesh-eating disease, with an uncertain future. Today she is a nursing school graduate caring for others in her community. The organization uses her story to illustrate the longer arc of its work — not just surviving a disease but returning to serve a community.

How to evaluate the organization

If you are deciding whether to trust or support Hope Rises International, these are the checkable points from its own materials:

For a fuller picture, review the organization's history and stories pages directly, and check how it reports on programs and partnerships. The site offers a newsletter signup for ongoing updates on how support is used.

American Leprosy Missions changed its name to Hope Rises International to reflect a calling that had already outgrown the word "leprosy." The organization states that its work now addresses neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) broadly, not leprosy alone, and that the new name captures its mission of "breaking down barriers to health, stopping disease in its tracks, and bringing light where darkness once prevailed." The mission itself is unchanged: Christ-centered medical care paired with spiritual and emotional restoration. The rename is a relabeling of an expanded scope, not a pivot in purpose.

What the old name no longer covered

The organization's own framing is that "true restoration goes beyond medical care." Its stated work includes:

• Physical healing through medical treatment
• Emotional and spiritual transformation
• Partnering with local pastors and faith leaders to care for communities "physically and spiritually"

A name built around one disease signals a single-disease charity. The organization describes its actual reach as extending to NTDs as a category — a group it says affects one billion people in isolation. The rename aligns the public identity with that wider scope.

What stayed the same

The continuity claims are specific and checkable against the site's own history section:

The site states plainly: "New Name, Same Mission." It also notes over 100 years of impact since 1906, positioning the rename as a step into "the next century of service" rather than a break from the past.

Why "Hope Rises" specifically

The name choice maps to the organization's stated theory of change. Its language distinguishes two things:

• Healing happens through medicine and treatment.
• Restoration happens through the hope of the gospel.

The site summarizes this as "Healing can take a lifetime, but hope lasts an eternity." "Hope Rises" foregrounds the second half of that pairing — the part the organization says a medical-only framing would leave out. The phrase "when hope rises, lives are renewed, communities are restored" appears as the stated outcome of the work.

A concrete example of the scope

The site features Renate, who seventeen years ago was hospitalized with Buruli ulcer, described as a flesh-eating disease, with an uncertain future. She is now a nursing school graduate caring for others in her community. Buruli ulcer is an NTD but not leprosy — which is exactly the kind of case a leprosy-specific name would obscure. The story is used to illustrate why the broader label fits the actual patient population.

What this means if you're evaluating the organization

If you knew it as American Leprosy Missions, the practical takeaways are:

• Same entity, same history. The 1906 founding and century-plus track record carry over.
• Broader disease focus. Expect communications and programs framed around NTDs generally, with leprosy still central given the organization's history.
• Unchanged faith orientation. The Christian framing and pastor/faith-leader partnership model are stated as ongoing, not dropped.
• Donation and contact channels are presented on the current site under the Hope Rises International name.

The rename answers a naming-accuracy problem, not a strategic reversal. If you supported the leprosy mission, the site's position is that you are supporting the same mission under a name that finally matches its reach.