Written by Gabi Keenan
GSWW is changing what seems impossible… generational poverty.
………..
Poverty is something that many families struggle with in Paraguay.
For some families, survival means making an impossible choice.
Keep their children in school.
Or take them out to care for siblings and work to help their family survive.
In Paraguay, 1 in 4 kids do not attend secondary school.
Almost half of all children do not finish 6th grade.
And when a child is pulled out of school, the impact can last far beyond one generation.
“Lack of access to education is a major predictor of passing poverty from one generation to the next, and receiving an education is one of the top ways to achieve financial stability.”
– Global Citizen, an advocacy program committed to ending extreme poverty
When education becomes inaccessible, the cycle of poverty continues.
Education is something everyone needs, especially young children.
But for many families, education is not as simple as sending a child to school.
In many rural communities, parents may make only 75 cents an hour.
After working for 12 hours…
They have only made $10.
That is not sufficient to survive.
And when there is barely enough money for basic needs, education can become another impossible choice.
Unfortunately, many of these communities do not receive the same funding as larger, more developed areas. In order to break the cycle of poverty, financial support for education is essential.
GSWW is providing support for these families, creating an opportunity for their children to continue learning.
This is the story of Isla Alta.
Before our visit, the community had not received assistance from an outside organization or government official. Many families had felt forgotten. But because of Girls Soccer Worldwide, communities in Paraguay for the first time felt seen.
Delivering backpacks may seem simple.
But a backpack can be the beginning of something much bigger.
It is a way to connect and partner with schools in need.
It opens the opportunity to talk about the importance of education.
It gives GSWW the opportunity to meet girls who could become future ambassadors.
We met 75% of our ambassadors through a backpack delivery.
When visiting these schools, GSWW identifies girls with leadership and academic aptitude and is able to help them by offering a scholarship to school.
These girls are not only continuing their own education.
They are paving the way for other girls in the future to continue in school, too.
You don’t become what you don’t see.
When generations have lost the value of education, it can be hard to imagine the possibilities.
But when one girl continues her education, another girl can begin to see what is possible for her, too.
These backpacks provide real change for these children.
We are planting seeds for the future while focusing on what is needed today.
Being able to deliver these backpacks felt so empowering.
Children are gaining the opportunity to receive an education.
It’s not only about what’s inside the backpack.
The pencils.
The notebooks.
The school supplies.
It is about the relationships built by delivering them and the scholarships that come out of them.
By providing children with the supplies needed to attend school, you are making more opportunities for them to succeed in life.
Help these children get the education needed to break the cycle of generational poverty.
By donating a backpack, girls are becoming the first in their families to attend 7th grade.
By continuing their education, they are changing the course of their lives.
They have a chance to go to college.
A chance to gain financial independence.
A chance for their own children to grow up without experiencing the same cycle of poverty.
It may seem impossible.
After all, it can take three generations to break a cycle.
But change has to begin with the first.
By supporting this first generation, GSWW is pacing the way for that cycle to be broken.
A backpack may seem like a small beginning.
But what comes from it can reach far beyond one child.
One education.
One family.
One generation.
HELP BREAK THE CYCLE
A backpack is more than school supplies.
It is access to education, opportunity, and a future that once seemed impossible.
With a $50 donation, you can provide a backpack and help open the door for a child to continue their education.
Be part of changing one life, one family, and generations to come.
