Esp'errance

We started our journey in Armenia, which is a small country landlocked in the Caucasus. Armenia has 3 million inhabitants and shares its borders with Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia and Iran (only the borders with the last two are open).

Independent since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the history of Armenia is in fact thousands of years old. Quite a few Armenians will remind you that their country was the first in the world to adopt Christianity in 301 A.D. thanks to Saint Gregory the Illuminator.

The symbol of Armenia is Mount Ararat, the famous biblical mountain…located in Turkey. In fact nowadays, Armenia consists solely of the area formerly known as oriental Armenia. Mount Ararat is located in occidental Armenia, a much larger area, which belonged to the Ottoman Empire and was emptied of its Armenian population during the genocide of 1915. Since Noah’s Ark ran aground on Mount Ararat, we are told here that the whole of humanity is de facto from Armenian roots.

Economically, Armenia suffered a lot from the fall of the Soviet Union and from the war that followed with Azerbaijan for the control of the Karabakh region. The Armenian diaspora, past and recent (it has been estimated that about one million Armenians left the country since it became independent), is an important support for the country.

Lastly, French people who go to Armenia are reminded of the connections that unite their two countries. France was the first country to welcome the survivors from the genocide of 1915. But already in the Middle Ages, the last King of Little Armenia, in Cilicia, was a Frank prince named Leon de Lusignan. He reigned over this kingdom until 1375 after having married an Armenian princess. 
 
François
(Translation: Yolène Dabreteau)

As a preview, we are introducing you to some of the ‘bringers of hope’ we will meet during our journey.

If you have heard about interesting initiatives taking place in the countries we will visit, or if you personally know people who take action against the problems surrounding them, please do not hesitate to share your suggestions with us: contact@esperrance.org.

 Armenia and High-karabakh

SPFA (Solidarité Protestante France Arménie)  
Optimisation of the drinking water network in an area of Gumri, carried out in collaboration with Aquassistance.
Contact given by ‘Reporters d’Espoirs’

India

Opur – IIM (Indian Institute of Management)
Dew factory intended to provide the inhabitants of an arid region of Gujarat with water.
Contact given by ‘Reporters d’Espoirs’

Filles du Cœur de Marie   
Educational action, economic and social development throughout India.

Missionaries of Charity  
Association founded by Mother Teresa to help the destitute.

Bangladesh

Grameen Bank
Micro credit bank founded by Muhammad Yunus, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his actions.

Cambodia

Les enfants du sourire Khmer  
School of Carpentry and Forestry where young Cambodians learn how to build more permanent housing and how to manage the forest resources on a long-term basis.
Contact given by ‘Reporters d’Espoirs’

Entrepreneurs du monde
Micro finance institution working in collaboration with the online microfinance website Babyloan.org.

(The icons legend is on the ‘Bringers of Hope’ page)

Gabrielle and François
(Translation: Yolène Dabreteau)

First blog entry…first words to make you want to follow us in our adventure, to bring you, during a year-long journey through Asia, in search of people who all have one thing in common: the will to take action by facing the problems surrounding them, and the courage to do it.

Amidst the stream of alarming and discouraging news about the state of the world, their answers to biggest challenges of our time are bringing hope. When combining efficacy with the respect of mankind and its environment, these concrete answers prove that alternatives exist to build a more united and fairer world.

In each country and whatever their origins, a few men and women have at some stage decided to take action with whatever means, be they modest or consequent, at their disposal. They have done so despite the sometimes difficult contexts. We salute these “bringers of hope”. They show us there is neither a unique profile nor only one way to make things happen. At the same time, they seem to be driven by the same state of mind. What drove all these people, that are so different, to put all their energy into serving the general interest? What are the essential steps for their actions to bear fruit?

We wish to pay tribute to these people and make their initiatives known through our website. We hope that our account will have a very positive effect for them and will give them additional means to pursue their actions.

This project was born from the desire to go and explore the world, to meet its inhabitants while leaving us time for discovery. We want this journey to have meaning and be useful to us as well as to others. We will live this adventure with our desires, our convictions, and probably our weaknesses too.

By bringing to light all the diversity of existing initiatives, and those who make them happen, we want to give everyone the chance to identify themselves with these initiatives, and to believe in their own ability to take action. If, for example, these “bringers of hope” can pass on to others the desire and courage to try, the goal of our journey will have been achieved.

‘Those who live are those who fight’ Victor Hugo

Gabrielle and François

(Translation: Yolène Dabreteau)

You can read a small description of our plan on:

English Esperrance

Do not hesitate to tell others about our website if you find it interesting

François