Empowering Poor, Rural Girls in Paraguay

Three graduates of the Educational Center Mbaracayú were honored by the U.S. Embassy in Paraguay, in MUJERES PARA EL CAMBIO #‎SheRocks. In commemoration of the Paraguayan Women’s Day and in the framework of the International Women's Day, the American embassy in Paraguay has awarded recognitions to women who have, from their positions, broken barriers and managed to excel through social projects, innovative ideas and community development. The graduates are Palmira, Neida and Numila.

Palmira, one of the youth recognized by the U.S. Ambassador in Paraguay, Leslie A. Bassett, in the framework of the campaign "Mujeres para el Cambio" 2016, also formed a part of the campaign driven by the Embassy, called #SheRocks. They had chosen a photo of Palmira for one of their posters that are displayed alongside the Kubitscheck avenue, next to the Embassy; enormous murals with a message written by Palmira, among other girls who were selected, dedicated to them and other women who broke barriers and have shown us, with their experiences, that every sacrifice has its reward. 

Twenty five second year students of the Centro Educativo Mbaracayú (CEM) are the winners of the second edition of the Stoplight Olympics, a competition aimed at students from public and subsidized schools from across the country, that become promotors for their families and the fight for the elimination of poverty.  As a prize, the students from Mbaracayú traveled to Camboriú, Brazil.

This year, the competition involved more than 2,200 students from 67 educational institutions, which competed using the dynamic Poverty Stoplight methodology that intends to help families eliminate their own poverty.  The students first guided their families through a self-evaluation of the family situation of poverty and then créate a plan to solve specific indicators, such as: family savings, insurance (medical and life), diversified sources of income, capacity to create a budget, access to communication and social capital.