Message from the Executive Director

Friends,

In October, ten Americans rode their three-wheelers around a bend in northern Ghana, red dust rising behind them. Some were seasoned riders; some had never ridden long distances before that week. They were tired, joyful, a little sunburned. The inaugural Tour de Ghana — more than a year in the making, thanks to Keith Swanson and our team in Ghana — was real. And as I watched footage of their journey, I thought about how much that scene mirrors the work we do every day: a long road, a varied group of people, and a shared commitment to keep going.

Self-Help International’s work isn’t done in sprints. A young woman in Ghana clears a single acre of her father’s land, applies what she learned in the Youth Agriculture Club, and harvests 28 big bowls of okra. Eight years after installing its first water chlorination system, a rural community in Nicaragua adds water meters to conserve the resource for the next generation. A teenager who studied by lantern between household chores when our Teen Girls Club came to her village in 2016 is, a decade later, a college graduate teaching kindergarten. This is what going far together looks like.

In 2025, we partnered with more than 225 communities across Ghana and Nicaragua, directly serving more than 6,300 individuals. An estimated 37,800 lives are better off today than they were a year ago because someone in their household participated in agricultural, nutrition, financial, or after-school training led by Self-Help or accessed a loan to put what they’d learned into action. A further 64,105 people drank cleaner water daily through community chlorination systems we helped install. Countless more were nourished by the food grown by parents, neighbors, and local farmers trained through our programs.

Farmers such as Erick, who heard about the gains other producers in his region were achieving, then asked to participate in Self-Help’s programs so he, too, could help himself. He has now more than doubled his corn yields on the same plot of land, and feeds the same nutritious corn to his family, his chickens, his pigs, and his cattle. When we can say yes, the results are extraordinary. When we can’t yet, the wait is heavy.

I think often of the families still waiting. The mother whose infant remains malnourished. The widow who won’t be able to grow enough to feed her family without access to mechanization. The community whose water is still making their children sick. Every “yes” we say is the result of partnership; every “not yet” is a reminder of how much more is possible when more partners join us.

Both country teams faced real challenges in 2025, and still delivered. In Nicaragua, when new regulations on non-profit organizations created uncertainty, our country team navigated the environment effectively and continued to deliver program services — a reminder that long-term presence and local relationships are what make our model durable. In Ghana, the sudden closure of USAID didn’t change the need, it just left fewer organizations to meet it. We rose to the demand by expanding our microcredit portfolio for farmers in the Upper West Region and scaling our investment against malnutrition. Both teams delivered results that any larger organization would be proud of.

This past year, our Board of Directors set bold goals for 2030: to reach more farmers, more women, and more children, going deeper in the communities we already serve and broader into new ones. The goals are ambitious; they have to be, because the need is great and the window for action narrows with each passing season. They’re also within reach. We know what works: a proven model, dedicated local staff in Ghana and Nicaragua, a committed Board of Directors, and a community of donors and partners who keep showing up. And we’ve already begun: in 2025, we grew both our investment in program services and service delivery by 55%.

Reaching those goals will take all of us: the two dozen active and emeritus board members, the 45+ staff carrying out the mission day to day, the 50+ volunteers sharing knowledge and expertise, and the 650+ households and organizations who choose, year after year, to invest in this work. It will take new partners we haven’t met yet, and old friends who continue to walk — and ride — beside us.

To everyone whose name appears in the 2025 Impact Report (which can be downloaded here), and to the many whose names don’t but whose support shaped every page: thank you for choosing Self-Help International as your partner in alleviating hunger by helping people help themselves.

The road to 2030 is long. It is also clear. Please join us for the next mile.

With gratitude,

Nora Tobin,
Executive Director

P.S. Self-Help relies on individuals like you. As America’s investments in alleviating global hunger continue to shift, your gift is more vital than ever, it’s your commitment that turns a “not yet” into a “yes” for rural families in Ghana and Nicaragua. Will you commit to helping another family this year? Visit our Donate page to learn about ways to give.

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