Global Aid Initiative Network

Today, there are 155 women in Paraguay who are feeling empowered and equipped to build a new future for themselves.

Women are selling food, clothing, perfume and cosmetics, styling hair, giving manicures and pedicures, and starting up several other small businesses because Global Aid Network (GAiN), through their partnership with Diaconia ADP (a nonprofit organization in Paraguay whose mission is to promote social sustainable development with those who live in poverty), has helped them get back on their feet.

For the first time, this group of women feel valued. They recognize that people are investing in them so that they can climb out of poverty and become independent.

The women first hear about Diaconia through one of the 357 nutrition centers, which are also in partnership with GAiN. Those that indicate interest and have been vetted are then connected to a local church and placed into a group with other women who are doing the same thing. Rooted in Biblical principles and values, these women experience a new kind of hope through these groups. There are 400 women in 34 different communities involved and many are in the second and third loan cycles. GAiN has agreed to provide small cap loans (through Diaconia) for 155 of those 400 women.

Split among 13 community groups, the 155 women have benefited from the financial literacy training, vocational training, and the micro-loans that were given to them throughout this past year.

Quite often, these women are the sole providers for their large families and because of this initiative, they are able to put food on their tables and send their kids to school.

To add to this impact, women are not only seeing their dreams fulfilled, but their lives are being transformed spiritually.

“The people at Diaconia have helped me to use the talents God has given me,” shares Giselle, a 26 year-old who has battled with a disability that limits both her body coordination and mobility. “They have also provided the money I needed to buy a package of cosmetic supplies from my provider. Now I have many clients who come to my home and who buy from me! There are no words to better describe the help we received than to say that the people at Diaconia have been a real blessing to me and to the Victory Community Group, giving us an opportunity to work and to provide for our needs."

These women have broken through both the physical and spiritual chains of poverty. A new hope has been given to each woman as well as an opportunity for them to provide for themselves and for their families, resulting in a life of dignity and freedom.

Are you interested in giving hope to one of these women?

If you want more information on the project, click here  or to give to the project, click here.