Bilingual Ben Bock of Convoy of Hope – a humanitarian organisation – shares how they help thousands of people around the world, how paper republic's custom leather journals for business and companies came into the picture, and how people can help their own community, if they have the desire…
You work for Convoy of Hope. What do they do?
Convoy of Hope is an international faith-based humanitarian organization, founded over 30 years ago. We have two different focuses: firstly, we respond to disasters around the world. For example, in Spain, six months ago, we were one of the first on the ground in Valencia after the major flooding there. And just this morning, we finished unloading some of our equipment that was used as part of the cleanup operation.
Secondly, we work on long term community transformation. In Europe, and around the world, we partner with local community leaders to improve lives in three areas:
Nutrition of children - providing daily, nutritious hot meals for kids who otherwise wouldn't be getting them.
Empowerment of women - we run courses to help provide tools and knowledge for women, whether that’s for starting a business, finding other ways to provide for their family, or learning about motherhood.
Agriculture - we help people in impoverished communities find alternative sources of income through agriculture, so they can help lift their community out of poverty.
Our goal is to give the tools to these communities to help them sustain themselves, without our assistance in future.
Sounds very constructive and worthwhile. How did you get involved?
I've been with Convoy of Hope a few years now. I started with volunteering. I'd been a translator for the director who came to do an assessment after Spain had an earthquake, some 13 years ago. It was always something I wanted to be part of. Finally, the stars aligned, and a role as an Engagement Manager for Europe opened up, which was a great fit for me.
One of the things I do is take the stories of the transformation we see happening on the ground, and communicate that to our donors, prospective donors and corporations. We've been in some of these communities for years, and it’s very rewarding to see real transformation.
How do paper republic journals come into play?
Every year we have a gathering where all our staff in Europe come together. As part of this, we give every staff member a gift; something that will last a long time, that has meaning, but also something that's practical.
Part of my role is to select the gift each year. I’d heard about paper republic and thought that a leather journal with our logo on would be ideal. The fact that we can keep using the same leather cover and keep refilling them with new paper notebooks was a major selling point.
I pitched the idea and the team loved it. Of all the gifts we've given over the years, it's still the one that people are most grateful for.
How do your staff use their paper republic journals?
Our coordinators use them in the field. Our designers use them to sketch out designs. We have people who write curriculum. We are also using them when we’re on monitoring trips, taking notes of what we find.
We'd love to use them as thank you gifts for our corporate sponsors as well - our big donors. We love the subtlety of the paper republic journals, the way the logo just really blends in.
I also use a journal outside of work to keep track of family life. I don't have a sharp memory, so if I don't write it down, I'm not going to remember those special moments. I'm also a spiritual person, so I use it for spiritual thoughts and prayers that I like to write out.
Why do you use a journal rather than a smartphone or computer?
I have to travel a lot, and it’s just much easier to have a journal than a computer. Also, I recently started using a nice pen instead of cheap ballpoints. It’s so much more enjoyable to write with it. And with the journal, my kids and I often flick back through the pages and look back at pictures, to see what we did. That just doesn't happen when you record things digitally. I think the memories that we go back to most often, are the memories we can touch and feel.
What's the best thing about working for Convoy of Hope?
Recently, I’ve had a lot of community leaders reaching out, saying that they want to meet the needs of their communities, but they're struggling. They're not asking for money. They're just asking for training.
To me, that's really cool. Obviously, as a humanitarian organisation, we get a lot of people requesting financial help, and that's part of what we provide. But people requesting training so they can help their communities themselves – which lets the good work spread so much faster – is one of the best feelings for me.
Finally, what’s your advice to people who would like to help Convoy of Hope, or just help make the world a better place in general?
We are all capable of improving the lives of others. You don’t need money. You don’t need much time. What you need is a desire to help; that’s by far the most important thing.
You need to be able to meet a need. Something we teach in our community work is that every person has assets. And we’re not talking only of money. Those assets can be one hundred different things: your skills and talents, resources you have access to. It could be connections and people you know.
And people can help others with the smallest actions. For example, just talking to the homeless person on your street. Most people just walk on by. But just greeting them and treating them like a human, goes a long way.
I think everyone has value, everyone has worth. Obviously, you can get involved with Convoy of Hope – or other similar organisations – through volunteering, donating, or following our socials. But the biggest asset is having the desire to see people in your own communities meeting their needs.
And you don't need an international NGO to do that.
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