Hope Transformation Center Empowers through Development

 

Hope Transformation Center
Image: hopeforthenations.com

The founder and president of Bergen Financial Group, Darcy Bergen serves as the senior financial advisor out of the firm’s home office in Peoria, Arizona. Outside of his professional pursuits, Darcy Bergen is the treasurer of his family’s nonprofit, Bergen’s Mission, a partner program of the organization Hope for the Nations, which works with aid agencies across Kenya.

Hope for the Nations launched Hope Transformation Center, located in Bungoma, a rural town in Western Kenya. The center’s mission is to improve economic opportunities for the residents of Bungoma and the surrounding areas and to help them achieve self-sufficiency.

In addition, Hope Transformation Center provides training on organic farming practices for various cash crops and connects aspiring entrepreneurs to mentorship, education, and financing opportunities to launch their own sustainable enterprises. In 2015 participants in the local palm oil industry were able to secure a microloan from the center to purchase a machine to boost production. This investment will benefit the community’s economy.

The center also runs several camps that administer medical treatment for common diseases like malaria and tungiasis.

Hope for the Nations’ Projects in Congo and Kenya

 

Hope for the Nations
Image: hopeforthenations.com

Darcy Bergen serves as the president of Bergen Financial Group, an investment advisory group that he founded in Arizona. Darcy Bergen applies his financial knowledge outside of the company as the treasurer of Bergen’s Mission, a nonprofit charity organization run by his parents John and Eloise Bergen.

John and Eloise Bergen were associated with Hope for the Nations, a Canadian faith-based nonprofit, which sent them to Kenya to assist local communities through projects tailored specifically for the locale. Despite being brutally attacked in Kenya, the couple wanted to continue serving communities in Kenya. To this day, Hope for the Nations maintains its projects in East Africa, including Justice Rising, the nonprofit’s project in Congo and Kenya.

Justice Rising’s goal is to build a foundation for long-term, sustainable growth in Congo and Kenya. To accomplish this, three schools have been set up in Congo to educated children and develop the next generation of leaders. Given the devastation and trauma caused by war in Congo, Justice Rising also implemented a story-telling movement to encourage children to speak up about their experiences, releasing them from their haunting memories.

In Kenya, education is also a key focus, and a partnership on the coast allows Justice Rising to sponsor early development education for 40 to 50 children. In order to tackle the issue of school-aged girls being sold for sex by their parents, Justice Rising has rescued, relocated, and educated many of these girls to give them better opportunities.

The Inspiration Behind Bergen’s Mission

 

Bergen’s Mission
Image: bergensmission.com

The president of Bergen Financial Group in Phoenix, Darcy Bergen dedicates much of his time to serve as the treasurer of Bergen’s Mission. As the son of the organization’s founders, Darcy Bergen works to support its continuing outreach work.

Bergen’s Mission arose out of a severe attack that befell its founders, John and Eloise Bergen. The couple had journeyed from Vernon, British Columbia, to Kenya to perform missionary work and had been serving through Hope for the Nations when the event occurred.

The attack took place at the Bergen’s home, where a group of eight invaders beat the couple and raped Mrs. Bergen. Drawing on the strength of her faith, however, she escaped her ties and found her husband, whom she then drove to Hope for the Nations’ central compound for help.

Since that day, the Bergens have recovered, and their attackers have come under arrest. The Bergens have publicly forgiven all eight perpetrators and fully intend to continue their work in Kenya, though with higher levels of security. They relate the full story of their ordeal and path to forgiveness in a full-length book.

Bergen’s Mission Turns Tragedy into Charity

Bergen’s Mission
Image: bergensmission.com

An accomplished entrepreneur and financial executive based in Phoenix, Arizona, Darcy Bergen serves as president of Bergen Financial Group and as an independent consultant for Bell & Associates. Active in several nonprofit organizations, Darcy Bergen is treasurer of Bergen’s Mission, a charitable foundation that supports children who have been orphaned and other Kenyan youth in need.

Founded by Canadian missionaries John and Eloise Bergen, the foundation raises funds to provide essential resources for orphanages in Kenya, as well as to support general development in the region. The founders established the foundation after a brutal home invasion by nine armed men left them severely injured. The couple, who had been working for the Canadian group Hope for the Nations, remained committed to serving as missionaries and improving the quality of life for Kenyans.

To share their own story of recovery and healing, the couple wrote Forgiveness in the Face of Terror, which is available on www.bergensmission.com or at www.amazon.com.