My H&H Story: Ally Browning
A Legacy of Love & Stewardship
Ally Browning has made a tremendous impact on Humanity and Hope over the past years through serving on staff as our Director of Engagement as well as an active volunteer.
Her special history with H&H all started six years ago when she made her first trip to Honduras. On that trip Riley announced that everybody was going to get a home loan, which was, of course, something to celebrate. However, the people in the community were not as excited as she expected. Riley later explained that many other organizations had made promises that never came to fruition.
“The humility of knowing that there was a trust to be built here and to be a part of that was really unique. I had never seen an opportunity like that before,” Ally said.
Ally also noticed during this trip that the secondary kids weren’t going to school.
“It was very common to see them carrying around babies and toddlers but at the same time voicing the hope and desperation of wanting to pursue their education. This was the source of our focus on an education program,” she said.
Because of this, a lot of people on the trip really took initiative on running their own campaigns to fundraise for education and continued to stay involved. This also fueled the volunteer portion of H&H which is an ongoing part of our community and organization.
Ally’s passion for getting and staying involved in H&H revolves around the impact Honduras has made on her heart.
“The awareness of the corruption in Honduras was something that I couldn’t know and also not be a part of making it better.”
Ally traveled to Honduras regularly and developed personal relationships with the people that live in the communities H&H serves. Through this she was able to hear and better understand their needs and help fundraise for them.
One of Ally’s favorite stories of transformation is when La Coroza received electricity. Ally helped lead a fundraiser for this project, and it was the first time the people in the community participated and actively donated. This not only showed they had developed a trust in H&H as an organization, but also that they were taking initiative in investing in their own community and own lives.
A year before this campaign, in December of 2017, a woman from La Coroza – Emerita Hernandez – told Ally with great confidence, “One day I am going to be able to have a bathroom and electricity.”
In Ally’s mind she thought through the difficulty of the logistics and cost associated which just seemed fairly impossible at the time.
But just one year later, Ally visited Emerita’s village in La Coroza, and together they hosted a movie night using their new electricity. She, of course, celebrated with Ally on the very thing she had proclaimed the year prior.
“She knew that one day she was going to have electricity and she wanted that for other people,” Ally said. “She showed great faith because it didn’t matter how long it was going to take or how much it would cost... but she had the faith that it was going to happen.”
In addition to countless stories of transformation she saw, Ally also recognized that being involved in H&H fueled her faith in a way that she never saw coming.
“It has surely built some of my testimony. I believe we are called to live simply so that others may simply live. Luke 12:48 describes it best: ‘To whom much is given, much will be required.’
H&H has given me the opportunity to see how much I have been given and how I am just a steward of that.”
Because of what she’s seen and experienced herself, Ally encourages others to find a place to serve, whether it’s with H&H or another organization.
“If you are already thinking about it, then you have been called to it. I believe that call is strong and works in alignment with the strength of the Holy Spirit. As a result, miracles follow movement. God doesn’t need you to do anything, he just needs you to show up.”
We are so grateful you answered that call, Ally! You have forever left a legacy at H&H of serving others with great love.
October 7, 2021
Written by: Sarah Garcia