Diaconía is an organization that currently serves as our local partner in Paraguay. Together, we seek to empower women to flourish in all areas of life – economically, relationally and spiritually. Antonia joined one of Diaconía’s very first trust groups more than 12 years ago with a friend in her community. At the time, she had only one small table top sewing machine and was making jackets to sell at a local market.
She took out her first loan for approximately $60, sold her small machine, and bought a larger industrial sewing machine. Five years later, Antonia began working with a chain of supermarkets in Paraguay providing clothing to sell in their store locations. Over the years, she has made several different clothing items for the store. Currently, she is dedicated to making pajamas and nightgowns.
Antonia also makes scrubs for medical professionals. While visiting Diaconía, one medical student asked her to make him personalized scrubs for his upcoming residency.
“I’m so excited that my product was taken to another country thanks to the opportunity that Diaconía gave me,” Antonia commented. “I always tell the other women in my group to persevere in what they start because that’s how we get ahead and it’s a beautiful thing. I may not have a big workshop, but I dream with my eyes open!”
With the help of a micro-loan, Antonia has already fulfilled so many of her dreams. She expanded her sewing workshop, put her son through university and built a small roofed area off of her house where she can provide meals for the children in her neighborhood despite her own needs. Through Diaconía’s chaplaincy program, Antonia also had the opportunity to hear about the love of God and be mentored and encouraged one-on-one and in a group setting.
Antonia’s generosity has inspired a pay-it-forward movement in her community, in the Diaconía team, and, we hope, in the lives of each one of our readers and friends all over the world.
It’s amazing the change we can make in the lives around us when we take on a spirit of gratitude and turn it into outward generosity. We continue to thank God for our incredible team, the health and protection He grants us every day and the humbling work He has entrusted to us.
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.
Meet Miriam Segovia, a manicurist and merchant in Paraguay. For a year she has been taking out loans with Diaconia and using them to buy materials and products for her business. She is also part of a Trust Group, led by her chaplain, Miguela, where she receives encouragement and support through the ups and downs of life.
After being with Diaconia for only a few months, Miriam was confronted with an alarming setback. She started to feel immense pain in her heel.
“I asked my daughter to check it . . . we were surprised to discover that I had a glass stuck in my foot,” Miriam said.
They went to the hospital but the situation quickly took a turn for the worse. The infection spread and her foot refused to heal, forcing Miriam to stay in the hospital for over a month. One day, she thought of her chaplain Miguela and decided to reach out to her. Miguela came right away to visit along with a group of other chaplains who took time to pray for Miriam.
“When I was discharged, the doctors forbade me to walk to prevent the wound getting worse,” Miriam said. “So the chaplains filled out an application and I received a wheelchair from Diaconia to be able to move around.”
When Miguela’s church heard about Miriam’s condition, they began to pray for her and the pastor paid her a visit. Sometime later, and to many people’s astonishment, the wound began to miraculously heal! The doctors were shocked because the only solution had been to amputate her foot. After eight months, Miriam was able to wear shoes again.
Miriam’s healing has brought immense joy to her life! This joy has not only rippled out and touched the lives of her family, but has given her a beautiful story to share with everyone she meets. Her experience serves as a profound reminder of the deep need we have for our communities to surround us and support us in our moment of weakness.
Miguela is one of the incredible chaplains that volunteers with Diaconía, GAiN’s partner organization in Paraguay. The chaplaincy program is designed to provide spiritual support and leadership to female clients who are enrolled in Diaconia’s microfinancing program. By meeting with these clients in both a Trust Group and one-on-one setting, Miguela encourages them that they are loved.
However, her journey as a chaplain hasn’t always been easy.
“When I became a chaplain at Diaconía, I was going through very painful processes in my personal life,” Miguela explained. “My marriage was struggling and my mother had recently passed away.”
Despite these personal hardships, Miguela still wanted to serve the women of Diaconía and walk alongside them as a source of mentorship and companionship.
“When I started going to the Trust Groups with the women, I felt a lot of empathy because they all go through different, difficult situations,” she said.
Although Miguela could emotionally connect with the women right away, she wasn’t able to engage the group on the spiritual level.
“The first group I went to was very reluctant to listen to me and, for a while, I wanted to give up…,” she shared.
Miguela’s perspective was transformed one day when she received a call from one of the group members, Miriam, who asked her to come and pray for her in person. This unexpected breakthrough in a time of disappointment and doubt served to majorly bolster Miguela’s faith.
“This filled my life with hope and once again I realized that God works even when we cannot see,” Miguela shared. “He makes a way even when all we can see is wilderness.”
Currently, there are 211 chaplains volunteering their time with Diaconía. Because of their steadfast and prayerful commitment to the women in their Trust Group, many of these women’s lives are being impacted. Miguela’s story is a powerful reminder that we will face trials and hardship, but we will never go through it alone. Even in moments of doubt, God already has an active hand in the lives of the women in Paraguay.
A summary of our Economic Empowerment fundraisers in Alberta and BC
Over the past month, our GAiN team hosted several fundraising events showcasing our Economic Empowerment strategy in both Alberta and BC. Our guest speaker, Adela Braun, came from Paraguay to share at these events and give first-hand insight to the transformative work that is going on in Paraguay through our partner, Diaconia.
Adela and our team presented on the mission of GAiN’s Economic Empowerment in several unique settings, including a charcuterie evening, craft evening, breakfast and dessert fundraiser, and a yacht cruise. The people that attended each event were full of warmth and curiosity and asked many insightful questions.
Every event included an overview of who GAiN is and our mission, an interactive activity to help people better understand the concept of microfinance, an interview with Adela to hear a few stories as well as time for a local guest speaker to share about their experience as an entrepreneur.
One of the attendees shared, “The activity (game with the boards) at the beginning was really good. Most understand microlending but the game made it more visual and the perfect relaxed way to start the night.“
Monique Lieuwen, Program Manager of GAiN’s Water for Life Initiative and one of the coordinators of the events commented, “The events were so encouraging and incredible to be a part of! It was exciting to have new audiences come and hear about the ministry.”
Our team is full of anticipation for the direction that God is leading GAiN. We are hopeful that through the awareness and support raised by these fundraisers, the mission to empower women living in generational poverty will continue to expand and grow.
