JustHope Update

Dear Friends of JustHope,

 

Over the past few years JustHope activities have been in transition. During 2025, several JustHope partners visited Chacraseca, Nicaragua to continue our collaboration.  We celebrate that we saw continuing success and growth of the microcredit women’s groups, ongoing commitment of the Stitching Hope women; and impressive progress of the scholarship students!  Clearly, JustHope continued to generate creative blessing in 2025.

 

The biggest change we now face is one we’ve been working toward for years - the transition from being a North American based non-profit to becoming a truly local Nicaraguan organization led by Nicaraguans!  This transition includes endings and beginnings, with reasons to celebrate and also to grieve. The Nicaraguan political system and international relations with the U.S. government have continued to deteriorate, making travel and organizational partnership more difficult. Although we have generous and faithful donors who continue to share financial resources, our mission and model must adapt to the changing context on the ground.  Therefore, we will be closing down the Tulsa-based operations by July 1, 2026 and transitioning operational and administrative leadership to the new independent organization established by the women who have been leading JustHope’s micro-credit program for the last 17 years.

 

These amazing women have been in the complex and rigorous process of legalizing their own indigenous organization for over two years.  And have continued to embody stubborn hope in the face of numerous road-blocks!  Now they are ready to take on the hard work of not only managing their highly successful microcredit program, but also supervising the scholarship programs they are inheriting, managing the 8 acers that served as the model farm, welcoming friends and groups from the US, and pursuing other ideas and projects toward the dream of a thriving Chacraseca!

        

As part of the legal transition from being US based to being Nicaraguan based, we will be transferring all donated project funds to this new Nicaraguan-led organization.  We ask you to please continue your financial support of JustHope through June of 2026 to make it

possible for us to complete the legal and ethical obligations in both countries to make this transition successful.  Beyond June, the new leaders in Chacraseca will treasure your ongoing support.  We will provide more information in the Spring about the ways you can continue your support.

 

Leslie Penrose wrote these words that appeared on the JustHope website for years:

 

“JustHope’s mission is to create long-term global partnerships between Nicaraguan

and U.S. communities in order to combat extreme poverty and increase global understanding.

By engaging one another in cultural exchanges, cooperative learning, mutual dialogue, and sharing resources, we work collaboratively to develop local leadership, empower self–determination, and embody our core values of collaboration, solidarity, mutuality, and sustainability.

 

    Indeed, across the past 19 years, JustHope has lived out its mission.  Together with all of you, we have coordinated long-term partnerships that have resulted in lifle-changing cultural encounters and will continue to develop in new ways going forward.  And hrough our programs in agriculture, health, education, and social enterprise we have made a significant contribution to the present and future well being of people who live in Chacraseca and La Flor. We celebrate the rich relationships and sacred encounters we have shared in both countries, and look forward to watching how the work we started grows and develops in the hands of new indigenous leaders.

 

    THANK YOU for your part in JustHope’s story!  We hope friends of JustHope will continue to form teams and travel to Nicaragua in future years.  If you have questions or want to discuss these changes, please don’t hesitate to reach out to one of our board members. (listed below).  We will update you again in the Spring as the transition progresses.  In the meantime, please continue to share generously as you are able. Your donations are still changing lives!

 

With Sincere Joy and Hope,

 

 

Kathy McCallie,                                                         Leslie Penrose                                    

Board President                                                          Founder of JustHope and Board Secretary

Kathy.mccallie@ptstulsa.edu                                     Revlesliepen@gmail.com

           

Michael Quintin                                                          Lynne Bradley

Board Treasurer                                                          Board Director

T150scouter@gmail.com                                           lbradley93168@gmail.com

  • Find your trip on our list and click on the link to register. Registrations must be completed online by the participating individual or their parent/guardian. If you are not able or do not wish to complete the forms online, please contact our office for paper forms.

  • Participants should be sure to register three months before their trip, and complete all of their paperwork and payments no later than two months before their trip. Each trip's information page will have specific due dates. If you need to register late, we may allow it, provided you can supply the needed information very quickly.

    Any participant who does not provide their paperwork by their trip's due date may be assessed a late fee of $50. If you are still waiting for a passport renewal or have other reasons why you cannot provide the needed information, just let us know. We're quite nice about it.

  • Yes. We require that all participants create a login account for JustHope.org. This will enable you to access and update your personal information (passport, health insurance, etc.) and keep track of your payments. If you are a repeat participant, it will also allow you to maintain the same information from year to year.

  • You'll need to have current health insurance, as well as medical evacuation (medevac) insurance. General health insurance does not include evacuation from foreign countries due to medical reasons. Medical evacuation insurance has very reasonable costs and protects you against potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars should you need evacuation. If you are traveling as part of a school-sponsored study-abroad trip or a medical rotation, your institution may carry evacuation coverage for you. You can shop for policies at SquareMouth.com. Do not to check "trip cancellation insurance" which is not required and raises the costs considerably — unless, of course, you want cancellation insurance.

  • Here it is:

    • Online trip registration
    • Payment
    • Basic health insurance information
    • Medical evacuation (Medevac) insurance information and confirmation scan/sheet
    • Copy of the photo page of your passport
    • Flight information
    • For physicians on Global Health trips: Credentialing information

  • Please read our Trip Participant Refund Policy.

  • Children as young as 11 have joined their parents on JustHope trips. For all children and youth, we expect a parent/guardian to be along with them. We set no age requirement, though we would discourage participation by very young children.

  • If you have already registered, please mail us a check (JustHope, PO Box 4542, Tulsa OK 74159) or use this page to pay your balance online. If someone else is making a payment on your behalf, be sure they indicate who and what trip their check is for, or fill in the appropriate information on the online form.

    If you aren't sure how much you've already paid, you can check your dashboard to see what completed contributions you have made. If others have made payments on your behalf, you'll need to contact us directly.

  • The short answer to this question is "maybe." It depends on what your accountant says. The IRS allows for deductions for travel in order to do "charity work" (not the language we use to talk about our Nicarguan partnerships, but that's the language the IRS uses). Some of your trip fee is related to your travel expenses (room, board, in-country transportation), some provides support for the specific projects your group is working on, and some provides administrative support for JustHope. If you would like to deduct your trip fee, talk with your tax professional about it. JustHope provides email receipts for trip fees that can be used for tax reporting.

  • Attending physicians need to provide the following in order to be credentialed to practice in Nicaragua. Each item must be notarized.

    • Medical diploma.
    • Any specialty certificate (family practice, pediatrics, radiology, etc).
    • State medical license. Must be valid through the duration of your trip. If you are waiting on a renewal, please send the other documents now with a note as to when you expect your new license to arrive.
    • Basic professional information. DO NOT simply send in your CV. Please use the online form (you must be logged in OR use the link sent to you by email) OR complete this form on paper.

    About notarizing these documents: In some states, notaries are not permitted to notarize copies of official documents. If you run into this issue, ask the notary to attest to an affidavit of your statement that it is a true and exact copy (rather than attesting to the copy itself). See an example here.

    Mail all of these notarized documents to

    JustHope
    PO Box 4542
    Tulsa OK 74159

    If you use a delivery service that requires a street address, use

    JustHope
    c/o Fellowship Congregational Church
    2900 S. Harvard Ave.
    Tulsa OK 74114

    All documents need to be physically in the JustHope office no later than two months before the trip.

    If you have questions or difficulties, please contact us.
JustHope
2900 S. Harvard Ave., Tulsa OK 74114
office@justhope.org
918-932-3209

© JustHope, Inc.