Sign of Hope is committed to helping people in need and distress. The regional focus of our work is on Africa and West and South Asia. Learn more about our project countries.
The exclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, 99 percent of which is inhabited by Armenians - since 2017 the Republic of Arzakh - lies on the territory of Azerbaijan and is not recognized as a state under international law. Armenia itself does not officially recognize the Republic of Arzakh either, so as not to...
With around 15 million inhabitants, Central America's most populous state has experienced dictatorships and long-lasting civil wars in the 20th century. Gang crime, a low level of trust among the population in the young democracy, environmental problems caused by rigid mining, great poverty and...
The island nation of ten and a half million inhabitants, mostly of African descent, was the richest state in Latin America in the 19th century, independent of the colonial powers at an early stage and a pioneer in the fight against slavery. Today, it is one of the least developed countries in the...
The multi-ethnic Federal Republic of India is the second most populous country in the world with over 1.292 billion inhabitants. India is repeatedly hit by various natural disasters, especially floods, but also droughts, cyclones, earthquakes and tsunamis. India is one of the countries where there...
The world's largest island nation with the tropical, hot and humid climate is spread over 17,508 islands. The main islands are Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Sulawesi and New Guinea. More than half of the population lives on Java - this population concentration had been countered by resettlement, which led...
A country populated by more than 40 ethnic groups with a population of around 40 million. It is divided between prosperity and a modern economy and disastrous social and political conditions. Serious human rights violations, child prostitution, high infant and maternal mortality rates, ethnic...
Approximately seven million people live in the Near Eastern country. There are 18 recognized denominations - Christians make up a relatively high 30% of them. Lebanon is currently struggling with several challenges. The country is in the midst of one of the most severe economic crises, which has...
Madagascar is considered one of the ten countries most at risk from climate change worldwide. The second-largest island nation by area is frequently hit by natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods and droughts. These forces of nature destroy the livelihood of many inhabitants. Over 80% of the...
Inhabited by 14 million people, most of them Christians, this small landlocked country in southeastern Africa is characterized by low life expectancy (about 50 years), a high birth rate, high HIV infection rates, especially among young people, and low education overall. The country is making...
After years of civil war, the southeast African country is one of the poorest in the world. According to UNICEF, there are 1.5 million orphans in Mozambique, including 470,000 AIDS orphans. Child labor is a major problem due to poverty, as many families rely on the money their children earn. Only 6%...
The South American republic combines the driest desert on earth as well as coastal regions, mountains and rainforest. Rural exodus causes the strong immigration of Peruvians to the capital Lima, where currently about a quarter of the country's 30 million predominantly Catholic inhabitants live. A...
The Republic of the Philippines has about 100 million inhabitants, 11 million of them in the capital Manila alone. Despite considerable efforts by the government, 25% of the predominantly Christian population of the Southeast Asian island nation live in absolute poverty. Unemployment and...
Important issues on the domestic political agenda are the process of national unity and reconciliation and the implementation of the national poverty reduction strategy. The human rights situation for the approximately 12 million inhabitants has improved overall in recent years, but restrictions on...
About 18 million people live in the South African state. It has a mild tropical climate with three seasons: cool dry season, hot dry season and rainy season. Zambia has some water resources, including Victoria Falls. Nevertheless, many inhabitants do not have access to clean drinking water. (Sources...
About 95% of the roughly 16.5 million inhabitants of this landlocked southern African country are Christians. Hunger, unemployment, energy shortages, and internal displacement are widespread in Zimbabwe. Climate change impacts in Zimbabwe include a 5% decrease in rainfall over the past century...
Sudan was the largest country in Africa in terms of area until South Sudan's independence referendum on July 9, 2011. Since then, around 44 million people live there. It has a tropical climate with extreme periods of drought as well as a rainy season from April to October that repeatedly leads to...
High temperatures and a rainy season from April to October characterize the country's tropical, humid climate. About 11.3 million people live in the republic, which has been independent since July 9, 2011, 500,000 of them in the capital Juba. Two of the largest ethnic groups are Dinka and Nuer, and...
In Syria, ongoing conflict, destroyed infrastructure and economic challenges have created the world's largest number of internally displaced people. Access to basic needs such as water, electricity and healthcare is increasingly limited in the Middle Eastern nation. As a result, 15.3 million people...
The republic is the second largest country in Europe in terms of area and has over 40 million inhabitants. In February 2014, a conflict between Russia and Ukraine over the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea erupted that continues to this day. Since then, Crimea and parts of the Donbass have been under...