How Can We Help Women in Poverty?

Women in poverty face many challenges as they struggle to care for and provide for themselves and their families. Poverty is defined as subsisting at or below $1.90 a day.1 Many of us can hardly imagine a life like this when we can spend almost three times that much on one cup of coffee.

However, there are ways to help that address the issues faced by women worldwide.


1. Education

Education has long been understood as the number one way to fight poverty. However, receiving enough education simply to read and write is one of the toughest struggles women face. The levels of female illiteracy in South Asia alone are 57%.2 One of the ways you can help is by giving to GFA’s Women’s Literacy Program. Women in places like South Asia gather for literacy classes to learn reading, writing and math skills. When a woman completes the course, her life is changed. She’s finally able to read things like labels for safety and contracts for fairness. She won’t get cheated at the marketplace because she will have learned how to add. And she can read God’s Word for herself and teach it to her children.


2. Vocational Training

A woman in South Asia will most likely learn the domestic skills of cooking, cleaning and caring for children, all important and needed duties. However, she will often lack the marketable skills that can make the difference between living in poverty and giving her family the hope for a better future. Donating to GFA’s initiatives, like vocational training or income generating gifts like sewing machines, helps people to learn marketable skills and be given the means to earn a higher income.



3. Family Support

A woman’s children are continually on her heart and mind, and she worries for their future. If she lacks the means to provide, she may be forced to pull her children out of school so they can work too. By sponsoring a child through GFA, you can alleviate some of the burden she feels. Child sponsorship provides children and their families with things like school supplies, nutritious food, clean water, tutoring and much more. With these burdens lifted, a mother can focus on improving the family’s situation through gaining better employment.


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