The Impact of Investing in Women and Girls

Laying on the grass, gazing into the night sky, my dream was to be an astronaut. Some girls want to be nurses,  lawyers, moms, or missionaries. There are so many possibilities. But this is not true for every woman or girl, especially in countries where poverty is overwhelming.

Did you know that more than two-thirds of the world’s people live on less than $10 a day? About 2 billion of them survive on less than $5 a day and another 750 million eke out an existence on less than $1.90 a day. God sees their struggle to survive and desires that we take up the cause of the vulnerable in prayer and action. Your support of this year’s Alliance Women projects will make a positive impact in the lives of women and girls. For more information, visit www.alliancewomen.org/give.

International workers often see communities caught in cycles of poverty that lead from one generation to the next. Breaking these cycles can be accomplished through partnering with communities to provide clean water, job training, and educational opportunities.  One of the best ways to impact poverty is to invest in women and girls. When we do, we see the transformation of families and communities.

Women are vital to families and communities around the world. Lack of education for girls brings negative effects not only for the girls themselves, but for their children, families, and communities.

• A startling fact is that children who have mothers who can read have a 50 percent better chance of living past the age of five.
• Women make up 65 percent of those who are illiterate and will be joined by the 130 million girls who are not in school today.
• Currently, only one out of three girls finish secondary school, but for every year a girl remains in school she will earn 12 percent more income.
• Women spend 90 percent of their income on their families compared to the 40 percent that men likewise invest.

Bringing the whole gospel for the whole person means helping in tangible ways in the name of Jesus. Your support of this year’s Alliance Women projects will

• provide transitional housing and employment opportunities for released women prisoners in the Philippines;
• offer mental health workshops and micro-enterprise investments including beehives, sewing machines, and greenhouses to wartime rape survivors in Kosovo;
• meet West African immigrant women’s critical needs including ESL classes and housing; and
• give food, shelter, and medical care to Venezuelan refugees in Latin America.

Investing in women and girls is answering God’s call to act for the vulnerable, whose dreams result in hope and help for everyone in the community.