Get to know our Board Chair!

Our Board Chair, Ty Hopkins, and his family have been investing in HopeCo since 2011!

Ty and his wife, Joi, have been involved in international missions since 2000 when Ty graduated from medical school. After spending years traveling to Africa for three-month stints while teaching for different organizations, Ty and Joi were burned out. One day Joi said to Ty, “I wish we could find an organization that is built on African ideals but doesn’t have struggles of ‘ownership.’”

Five years later, the dean at a medical school where Ty was teaching met Dr. John Chacha, our founder, who said, “We need a doctor - can you send one?” The dean introduced Ty to Dr. Chacha, and soon he and Joi found themselves in Tanzania! “We realized that we had finally found an organization with African ideas and a national team,” Ty said as he reflected on his first connection to City of Hope.

Married for nearly 25 years, Ty and Joi have four kids who have spent time at City of Hope. For five years, the Hopkins family spent nearly four months each year in Tanzania!

“City of Hope isn’t just a children’s home or a medical center, it’s a little bit of everything. That is one of our strengths, and that is how Jesus did things. Jesus was holistic in his approach,” Ty said as he reflects on HopeCo’s work.

Ty’s biggest dream for City of Hope is when he can say, “I am totally unnecessary.” He is excited for the day when he can see money coming from kids raised at City of Hope who are now following Jesus and giving back to the next generation: “The strategy at City of Hope is a long game that will play out over generations. And that is how the gospel works. God isn’t in a hurry. I believe that a way to deeply impact a culture for Christ’s kingdom is to teach leadership for generations,” he says.

When asked which of his life experiences had contributed to our programs, Ty didn’t talk about his medical expertise or professional accomplishments. Instead, he talked about his mentors. “I’ve been blessed with amazing mentors, Dr. Chacha being one of them. Those mentors taught me what kingdom servant leadership looks like. That is the best thing I can try to sew into HopeCo - it’s all about mentoring and raising up Christian leaders,” he explains. His biggest hope for the legacy he wants to leave behind is to have deeply impacted people’s lives through mentorship and Christ’s love.

“HopeCo is not just another children’s home in Africa, or a school, or a medical center. We are doing cutting-edge stuff and it is built around African ideas and holistic goals. One of the things I am most proud of is how City of Hope is not fully relying on money raised in America. Half of our operating expenses come from our own operations. It is foreseeable that eventually, our programs will be even more self-sustaining. We are unique in that way…I haven’t found anything else like that where an organization is taking care of orphans and paying for half of its expenses at the same time.”

There are countless ways to get involved in HopeCo and to serve children and communities in East Africa! Become a Hope Ambassador and help rescue women from violent situations in Kenya. Pay for medical care for a family, or give a child the gift of a new school uniform. Sponsor a child, and change a life forever. Whatever you are passionate about, there is an exciting opportunity to get involved!