Anastasia, 75, is a housewife in Concepción, Paraguay who lives from monthly government pensions. She dreamed of saving money to purchase a large rustic table to both feed her family and provide meals for the low-income children in her community.
Early this year, Anastasia heard about the opportunity to join a Savings Group in her church. In these groups, communities learn how to save and manage their money as well as how to borrow and lend money from one another.
“I was excited about this because I had never dreamed of having my own savings before in my life,” she said.
While her monthly government pensions were not much, she set aside a little each month to contribute to the Savings Group. Even when her pension payments did not come in time, Anastasia showed her commitment to the group by selling a few of her chickens so that she was still able to contribute and keep saving.
One month ago, Anastasia’s group completed their first savings cycle, and she was able to achieve her goal with the money she saved. She bought the table of her dreams!
Thanks to her Savings Group, Anastasia enjoys meals with her family and shows the children in her community the love of God through the food she provides. With a joyful heart, she now encourages other people in her community to start new savings cycles, invest in themselves and their community and work hard to achieve their dreams.
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