Our story
Hope has an address in Medellín.
TIKVA means hope in Hebrew — “hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Hebrews 6:19). We exist to be that anchor for women and children in crisis.
Where it began
Born in a crisis, built for the long haul
Colombia hosts more Venezuelan migrants than any country on earth, and Medellín’s hillside barrios carry a double weight: families displaced by conflict within Colombia, and families who walked across a border with everything they own on their backs. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, that fragile situation broke open — and the women and children surviving on the streets became impossible to unsee.
TIKVA emerged in that moment: first as hands-on community aid, then — as trust grew — as something more permanent. In February 2024 the weekly programs launched in earnest: a hot meal you can count on, training that builds a livelihood, tutoring that keeps kids in school, and a Christ-centered community that knows your name. A territory of peace for women and children in crisis.
How we work
From the street to standing on your own
Relief alone doesn’t end a crisis. Our four-step approach walks with a family from first contact to independence.
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01
Connection & invitation
We meet women and children right where they are — often in places of great challenge and despair — and invite them to a table where they’re known by name.
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02
Nourishment & community
Weekly hot meals for up to 100 women and children, alongside spiritual nourishment and activities built for them — because food opens the door, and community keeps it open.
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03
Empowerment through training
Sewing and artisan training for women, tutoring for children. True transformation needs skill and capacity, not only relief.
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04
A safe place to land
The TIKVA Care Shelter (coming soon): a 4-month residential program for 15 mothers and their children — from crisis to independence.
Comuna 13, Medellín — the kind of neighborhood TIKVA calls home. (Founder portrait coming soon.)
Meet the founder
Rebekah Slick
Rebekah’s story runs from the bustling streets of New York to the hillsides of Medellín. In 1999, at Times Square Church, she dedicated her life to Jesus — and has spent the decades since serving women, children, and overlooked communities in Harlem, Alabama, San Francisco, Africa, and Colombia.
She earned her Master of Divinity from Gateway Seminary (2008) and is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Intercultural Studies. But her deepest credential is simpler: she stayed. When the pandemic exposed how many mothers and children were surviving Medellín’s streets alone, Rebekah — a single mother herself, to her daughter Isabella Grace — started doing the next right thing, week after week. TIKVA is what that faithfulness grew into.
“We serve with love, build enduring connections, and pave the way for a brighter future — in a global family underpinned by faith.”
Trusted ministry partners
- Times Square Church New York, NY
- New Hope Community Church Clovis, CA
- Iglesia Transformación Global Medellín, CO
- Throttle Up Media Fresno, CA
Where your money goes — and who handles it
TIKVA operates under the fiscal sponsorship of New Hope Community Church in Clovis, California, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. That means an established US church provides the legal structure, accounting, and oversight — so a small ministry in Medellín can stay focused on the work, not the paperwork.
- Your gift is tax-deductible in the US — you’ll receive a receipt from New Hope Community Church
- New Hope covers all payment processing fees: 100% of your gift reaches the field
- Giving runs on Church Center, the secure platform by Planning Center used by thousands of churches
- Cancel or change a monthly gift anytime — no phone calls required