“I never knew that I could make an impact in other people’s lives with the things that God has taught me and prepared me for,” Osmond, from Richmond, B.C., stated after his return from a GAiN LIFE Team trip to Paraguay in July 2017. “I knew in what areas we were going to serve but I didn’t know how God was going to use us, to be perfectly honest. We were just answering the call to go and we were just trusting that God would reveal Himself to us in new and exciting ways – and He really did. He changed my entire perspective on the concept of global missions.”
Typically, mission trips are perceived to have carved out specific roles for volunteers: the doctor, nurse or physician, helping aid and provide care for those without access to proper healthcare; the teacher, carefully loving on the village children and imparting their knowledge; the builder helping build schools, houses or churches. Among those roles, Osmond could not see where he fit in.
“I’m not a healthcare professional. I’m not a teacher. I’m not a structural engineer, I don’t build houses,” said Osmond, whose specific discipline in engineering is in control systems. “I wasn’t really sure how God was going to use me in this particular capacity other than an extra pair of hands. Through this trip, God made me realize that there is a lot of need in the world for the professional skills that I’ve learned over the years and that I’m able to bless a lot of people through that.”
Despite his preconceptions about mission roles and his skill-set, Osmond was able to make a difference in the lives of a group of women in Paraguay. It was his 20-year business experience that was of value to the women at Diaconia, GAiN’s Paraguayan partner.
The majority of impoverished women in Asunción, Paraguay are stuck in a cycle of poverty that traces back to the Paraguayan War in the 1800s, in which the country was defeated, along with the majority of its male population. The devastating consequences of this war still impact Paraguay today.
Osmond learned that post-war, the country’s top priority was re-population, creating a culture where men were encouraged to have multiple partners. This practice stuck around for centuries and has had ill effects on Paraguay’s family structures. It is culturally acceptable for men in this region to not be involved in the family, leaving women as single parents, struggling to get by in an already desperate economy.
That’s where Diaconia, GAiN’s Paraguayan partner, comes in. Diaconia provides micro-loans to women, encouraging them to take vocational classes and start their own businesses. With financial literacy training and other business classes, women in the program have access to education that empowers them to pay off their debts and help them get out of poverty.
As a business professional, Osmond’s expertise allowed him to do a presentation for Diaconia loan recipients, sharing his knowledge on small business and entrepreneurial best practices and principles. The presentations were restructured to address the unique challenges these women face.
“I would have never guessed that [my business knowledge] would be useful at all, but yet God did a completed 180 on me. I never realized how needed it was because many of these ladies never had the opportunity to learn anything about basic business practices before.”
They finished the workshop with a talk on sustainability and creating a long-term business – something that is a foreign concept to the locals in Asunción, whose immediate concern is day-to-day survival.
“I had a lot of people come up afterward, thanking me for everything that we shared with them,” Osmond recalled. ”We talked [and] we prayed with the women. They seemed so encouraged by that. Seeing that light and that spark in the ladies that were there… Many of them indicated they were excited to be able to go back [to work] and start implementing things they learned from the seminar. They wanted to take advantage of these new ideas presented, that they could see tangible uses for. It was so exciting.”
There was story after story of women whose lives had changed because of the program. One, in particular, stood out.
Amalia had a lifelong dream of owning an empanada shop. The shop was initially run from a small tent outside of her home. With the help of the loan, she was able to build a permanent building structure, complete with electricity and plumbing. Customers are welcomed with an awning and the store is furnished with stools.
“She opened the store early [one day] so that we could sample her empanadas. We were glad to purchase them, they were amazing!” Osmond raved.
“[These women] started with nothing and there was no way to break the cycle of poverty without this type of an opportunity. To have a business idea and be able to do something that removes them from the need to scavenge day by day for their basic necessities – it was so inspiring.”
Close your eyes and journey with me as we travel down a dusty, red dirt road in rural South America – a road unmarked and impossible to find to the untrained eye. After half an hour of twisting, turning and bumping along, the road becomes impassible by car and the journey must be continued by foot.
Makeshift households are sparsely scattered, with laundry strung on lines; chickens, pigs, and dogs running around; and residents going about their daily lives. Around a few more corners and we reach a household where 15 ladies gather outside, weekly, in what is known as a Diaconia Trust Group.
Each lady exhibits hope and joy, as she describes her dreams of building a business for herself. The possibilities seem endless: a bakery, a cleaning business, a dressmaker, and even a pizzeria. She dreams this business will bring a better future for her children, as there is likely not a father figure in the household.
In the first meeting, earlier this year, each lady received a loan equivalent of approximately $30 USD – which will be paid back over the course of 12 weeks.
As the present meeting commences, the appointed group leader starts things off. All 15 ladies are called by name, one at a time, to walk up and make their loan payment in cash, into the cardboard box. A payment is in the range of 15,000 Guaranines ($2.70 USD). The ladies are also required to pay group designed penalties for late payments from previous weeks. The group secretary dutifully makes note of the payments by hand in the book, as the loan steward stands by.
Following this initial round of payment, any ladies who received additional loans from group savings (for special projects) are once again called to the front to make their cash payments, as the secretary takes note.
Once these debts have been paid off, the ladies request any loans from the group savings for special projects. The group then approves these requests and the loans are issued.
Upon completion of the meeting, each lady returns down the dusty road by foot, as she continues to work hard building her business, and in turn, restoring hope for the future of her family and the future of Paraguay.
Want to help empower women to change the future of Paraguay?
On their first day in Asuncion, Paraguay, during a nice stroll along the Paraguay River, the LIFE Team was exposed to the stark reality of inequality. High-rises towering over the floodplain slums revealed the intense economic disparity of the city. When heavy rain pours and the river rises, squatter homes – made of cardboard, metal and tarp – that line the shores are subject to flooding, forcing people to leave their makeshift homes until the flood subsides.
A far way from home, the LIFE Team spent two weeks in 2017, serving communities in Paraguay, alongside our local partners. The team was made up of families from the Richmond, B.C. area, ranging in age and consisting of adults, teens and children. They got to teach workshops, visit an orphanage, prepare food and distribute goods, as well as spend quality time with children in the community.
In Paraguay, the pit of extreme poverty is so deep that those in the gutter feel hopeless to escape.
More than a third of the population live in poverty, especially those in rural areas.1 Because the burden of poverty usually falls on women, Diaconia (our partner in Paraguay) provides micro-loans to poor women who are trapped in debt, empowering them not only through opportunities to start a career and earn money to pay off their loans, but to also build a better future for their families.
Rufina was one of those women. She received an opportunity to create a new life. As a wife and mother of five, Rufina now had hope that she could provide for her youngest adopted daughter, Anita.
She had always fought to overcome the many obstacles in her life, but it wasn’t until she joined Diaconia, that she received an opportunity to move forward.
“Two years ago I joined Diaconia with the hopes of growing financially by investing into my clothing store,” Rufina shares. “We were struggling to put food on the table and were having a difficult time with my daughter. I was taking medication to sleep at night, which made me very exhausted throughout the day. I was struggling and my family and friends were worried about me. I started to work with our micro-finance Trust Group each week. Today, I am off sleeping pills and my business is thriving. My daughter’s life is also improving. I can only say that Diaconia has brought a change into every area of my personal and family life!”
Marta was another woman impacted through Diaconia. As a single mom to one son, Marta was struggling to make ends meet. Selling food on the streets was her only way to make a living. But this all changed when she got involved.
“A year ago I was struggling to make ends meet,” shares Marta. “I was living in a constant deep sadness due to the passing away of my father who had always been such a support. I heard of Diaconia and joined. Before I knew it, I was cooking and selling meals from home on a consistent basis and making really good money with it. Today, I don’t have to go out on the streets anymore to sell food. Through my Trust Group, I was able to hear about God’s love for me. Today, I am free from the sadness that had overtaken my life. I have been blessed above and beyond what I hoped for!”
The micro-enterprise program also provides workshops and vocational training for these women, something that the LIFE Team was able to get involved in. A highlight of their time was leading workshops where they taught the women how to make something many of them had never even tasted before – Chinese fried rice. Some team participants also got to use their skills to lead workshops and speak on business-related topics such as marketing and budgeting, helping empower the women to develop the skills to grow businesses.
On their sixth day there, the team got to visit our other partner Jesus Responde, a Paraguayan non-profit that developed a strategy to connect local churches to build Community Centres across the country. With soup mix from the Fraser Valley Gleaners, a partner of ours that is based in Abbotsford, B.C., over 400 Community Centres are able to feed approximately 25,442 impoverished children each week.
The team got to visit one of the Community Centres, where they were able to eat with the children and spend time playing games with them.
For many team participants, the most heartbreaking experience happened at the end of the trip, when they drove across the country to Ciudad Del Este (City of the East) to visit a children’s centre. Though it was called Hogar Transitorio y Abrigo “Nino Feliz”, which translates to Happy Child Transitional Home and Shelter, according to Lily Kwok, GAiN’s LIFE Teams Manager, it was anything but happy.
The centre is a government facility that provides temporary shelter for children who come from abusive homes. Although Jesus Responde has been working with a local partner to help the shelter, and the children are no longer in abusive homes, their new temporary home still needs a lot of help.
“We were told the kids there are from broken homes, have never known structure and deeply craved love and affection,” explained Kwok. “Honestly, we felt overwhelmed by the situation and were deeply saddened by the conditions of these kids. They ate so fast and wanted more! It was hard to leave.”
Feeling the heaviness of the situation, team participants did their best to bring as much joy as they could in the time they were there. This came in the form of balloons, skipping ropes and groceries to prepare a meal for the kids.
Kwok comments, “It was a challenging but impactful two weeks. The group definitely grew in their knowledge of poverty and were challenged in how they are to respond going forward.”
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Maria lives in one of the poorer communities of Asuncion, Paraguay.
When our partner, Diaconia, arrived at her house, she warmly invited them in and started to share about her work.
“I heard about Diaconia in a time where I was desperately looking to grow my decorating business. When I started with Diaconia a year ago all I did was curtain decorating. Since I received a loan and training from Diaconia, I have been able to add new products that I now provide as a decorator. This allowed me to grow my business and make a better income for my family. One of the biggest miracles though in this past year is the change that has happened in my sons life,” shares Maria with tears in her eyes.
She expressed that decorating for parties is not only a job for her but she finds joy in her work.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP MORE WOMEN EXPERIENCE THIS SAME FREEDOM, JOY AND INDEPENDENCE?
Meet Marta, a single mom to one son.
A year ago, she was struggling to make ends meet. Selling food on the streets was her only way to make a living.
But this all changed.
This month marks one year that she has been with Diaconia, our local partner in Paraguay.
“A year ago I was struggling to make ends meet,” shares Marta. “I was living in a constant deep sadness due to the passing away of my father who had always been such a support.
I heard of Diaconia and joined.
Before I knew it, I was cooking and selling meals from home on a consistent basis and making really good money with it.
Today, I don’t have to go out on the streets anymore to sell food.
Through the chaplain that visits my Trust Group, I was able to hear about God’s love for me. Today, I am free from the sadness that had overtaken my life,” shares Marta, “I have been blessed above and beyond what I hoped for. God has been good to me!”
With tears of joy, Marta thanked Diaconia for creating an opportunity for her to have a better life, meet Jesus and for being a catalyst of change in her life.
Proudly Marta showed others how the walls were going up in her new home. As she expressed: ”I have been blessed above and beyond what I hoped for. God has been good to me! Thank you Diaconia!”
WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP MORE WOMEN EXPERIENCE THIS SAME FREEDOM, JOY AND INDEPENDENCE?
Rufina received an opportunity to create a new life.
As a wife and mother of five, Rufina now had hope that she could provide for her youngest adopted daughter, Anita.
Rufina had always fought to overcome the many obstacles in her life, but it wasn’t until she joined Diaconia, our local partner in Paraguay, that she received an opportunity to move forward.
This is what she shares:
“Two years ago I joined Diaconia with the hopes of growing financially by investing into my clothing store.
We were struggling to put food on the table and were having a difficult time with my daughter.
I was taking medication to sleep at night, which made me very exhausted throughout the day.
I was struggling and my family and friends were worried about me.
It was during this time that a Diaconia chaplain started to work with ou micro-finance Trust Group each week. I began to build a relationship with her and she led me to explained how God loved me. Since the chaplain lived in my community, I would go over to her house whenever I could and we would spend time together.
Today, I am off sleeping pills and my business is thriving.
My daughter’s life is improving as a result of knowing Christ.
We now attend a local church and I can only say that Diaconia has brought a change into every area of my personal and family life!”