Christopher Hoffman
on Genuine Partnerships and being an Atypical Humanitarian
“Sempre chegamos ao sítio aonde nos esperam.
We always arrive at the place that has been waiting for us.”
José Saramago’s quote perfectly describes Christopher Hoffman’s life. The place he arrived at was not just a place, but something that led him to find an inspiring love, a purpose, his calling. He is not the usual humanitarian. A great storyteller and speaker, Christopher is a human who understands that it is precisely humanitarians who often do more harm than good, largely because they are not feeling well themselves.
Born in Ohio as the son of a teenage mother, he grew up looking for solutions. At the age of 13, supported by his local community, he decided that it was time to see if his mindset could help others globally: "All of the churches, the people and friends chipped in for me to go. When you say it takes a village, I'm living proof that it takes one to help a kid and get him out to see the world and be able to change things."
Christopher moved to Zimbabwe to live with missionaries in the bush of the Kalahari. A year later, he realized he needed more expertise, so he went to Brazil to work with indigenous orphans. By the age of 16, he moved to Mozambique to help start a school for adolescent orphans. That’s when we got to see the international humanitarian functions in action and found his mission.
He joined the US Peace Corps and worked in Kenya, followed by travels with the United Nations and World Vision across continents to provide solutions to the most difficult situations in the world: from the Haiti Earthquake to Typhoons Alia and Ketsana, building displacement camps in Sri Lanka after the war, travelling to Malakal Sudan by road to map out return areas for South Sudanese, responding to the migrant crisis on the borders of Yemen, Chad, and Nigeria or coordinating the evacuation of citizens from Afghanistan.
Helping those in need was the spark that led him to start Humanity Link, which addresses a key inefficiency within the humanitarian sector: customer service. Humanitarian organizations respond to the crisis, they react, but they don’t interact. He also designed Empowerlink, an interactive platform that allows those in vulnerable situations to interact with humanitarian organizations to express their needs and have those needs serviced directly.
Christopher is all about genuine partnerships, which is reflected in the relationships he has with his four “global children” and his inspiring partner, Wakanyi, the love he found on a sunny Sunday in the place that was waiting for him.
Read Christopher Hoffman’s answers for Inspirators and discover the unique power that lies in genuineness, in living, breathing and loving in the way you preach!
Thank you, Christopher, for being an Atypical Humanitarian!
#INSPIRATORS QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Christopher Hoffman
Company / Institution: Humanity Link
Title: CEO/Founder
Website: www.humanitylink.org
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishoffmandrm/
Country of origin: USA
Country you currently live in: The Netherlands
Your personal definition of Regeneration: The ability to build upon what has been done and learned in the past, pass it on and construct upon it.
Main business challenge you face: Transformation in any sector is difficult to manage! Our work is to help those that help others….and sometimes the organizational cultures and dynamics make change very difficult to foster and grow.
Main driver that keeps you going: My family and the change we are all trying to make in this world. I’m inspired every day by every member of our family.
The trait you are most proud of in yourself: Openness.
The trait you most value in others: Thinking beyond themselves, seeing the bigger picture and understanding the impact we all have on each other.
Passions & little things that bring you joy: Cooking; Playing the drums; Scuba diving.
The Inspirators who determined you to take the regenerative path:
Mahatma Gandhi
Henry David Thoreau
Barack Obama
A hint or starting point for companies or professionals that are taking the first steps in the regeneration journey: Know that the battle is going to go uphill. Understanding the balance between efficiency, the environment, and being a good ancestor will always be a give-and-take, arduous and slow process.
Most used and abused clichés in sustainability that bother you: "Green"; "Eco Friendly"; "Sustainable Development".
An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope: Life is the long game! Ups and downs will come, so find happiness in both!
Books that had a great impact on you:
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
Scattered Minds by Gabor Mate
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall-Kimmerer
Thomas Covenant and the Adventures of the White Gold Wielder by Stephen Donaldson
Must-reads for any regenerative professional:
The Good Ancestor
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall-Kimmerer
Movies or Documentaries you would watch all over again: The Princess Brid; Our Planet; Cowspiracy; Star Wars (A New Hope).
Blogs / Websites / Podcasts you visit frequently:
The Good Life Project podcast
Eckhart Tolle: Essential Teachings podcast
Untangle. Podcast
Music that makes you (and your heart) sing: Robert Glasper; Chick Corea and Return to Forever; Zero 7; A Tribe Called Quest; Chicago.
Places you travelled to that left a mark on you: That’s a long list! Kenya; Timor-L’este, Zimbabwe, Chad, Ethiopia, Austria.
Global Regenerative Voices you recommend us to follow:
Masanobu Fukuoka
Nipun Mehta
Eric Martin
Tony Rinaudo
Trends in Regeneration we should keep an eye on: Valorization of Waste.
Co-operative growth across the global North. Broad Prosperity philosophy.
Best places for business networking (online or offline): That’s a tough one….there is so much out there! Davos and MWC (for me at least).
Events we should attend: Ashoka Changemaker Summit; COP; UN GA.
Associations, business clubs, tribes you belong to – and why:
Grey Swan Guild
Tech to the Rescue
Sustainable Development or Regeneration courses, trainings, or certifications that really teach us how to have an impact:
Reasons to feel optimistic about our future in 2030: We are all human and always adapt, so I fully believe we will slowly take the bull by the horns on the impacts we have on the climate and our environment and things will change for the better (unfortunately while they are getting worse)!
Reasons to feel pessimistic about our future in 2030: Power dynamics in the world are shifting and I worry about where we will be on a geo-political level in 2030.
Regenerative Leadership qualities much needed today: The openness to try, the will to change, and the wherewithal to stick to it!
The Inspirator you are endorsing for a future edition of the newsletter is:
Eric Martin
The quote that inspires you:
Confucius said: "To know that we know what we know, and that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge!” (Henry David Thoreau, Walden)
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” (Barack Obama)
Your own quote that will inspire us:
