How Virtual Reality is Fighting Poverty 

HOPE International CEO Peter Greer shares how the ministry is using virtual reality to impact the mission field.

One non-profit is using cutting edge technology to bring the lives of impoverished people right before your very eyes.

Imagine waking up in a modern-day southern Africa. You are in a rural community in Malawi. You are an average carpenter with a family and no food to eat.

This is a story depicted all the time by non-profit organizations, but often it is difficult to convey the dire situation of these families unless you are there.

Now, ground-breaking technology is making that possible.

Pennsylvania-based HOPE International is using virtual reality headsets to let every day people visit some of the world's most poverty-stricken countries without ever leaving their homes.

HOPE is currently stationed in 16 different countries and has provided over $800 million in micro-loans to needy families since 1997.

CBN recently spoke with HOPE CEO Peter Greer about the how the ministry is using virtual reality to impact the mission field.

For Greer, allowing people to see extreme poverty with their own eyes has made all the difference.

"It is an emotional experience when you get to see what so much of the world lives like," he said.

HOPE International is working to have as many people see these lives by hosting special events around the country where people are able to look into the eyes of individuals who are suffering through virtual reality headsets.

Greer hopes this model can be the future of missions.

"I believe this technology is rapidly increasing and a lot of missions organizations will be able to use a new tool to more effectively communicate what it is that they do," he said. "My hope is that over time we will be able to capture the stories from around the world that won't just be going to Malawi, but that we will be able to go to multiple countries where we serve."