“We don’t want to give handouts to women in poor communities. We strive to give them their own dignity. We want to empower, impact, and love them well. In that goal, we teach them skills in order for them to create jobs for themselves by starting their own businesses.”
Our host said something along those lines. It was only a few sentences in an entire introduction to the core of their ministry purpose. I could feel my excitement level quickly rising watching the passion play on her face and come out in her voice.
The ministry we are partnered with this month is called Transforma and is located in Costa Rica. It’s a ministry about equipping and serving women in communities of extreme poverty. Their mission is not simply to provide a means and skill in order to make profit but impact and transform the women in a holistic way. They pay $2 to enroll.
Our host and director put it this way,
“In a society that is struggling financially we need to accompany the poor and needy to strengthen their identity, discover their potential, fulfill their destiny, and leave a legacy to their children in the following generation.”
A neighborhood called Triángulo Solidario we visit. Some women that go to Transforma live here.
All of this is propelled and influenced by Christ. The entire ministry runs off of complete faith such as not always knowing where the rent money for the building will come from each month but it always is provided.
In many pockets of the story behind Transforma, you can find God working.
This week is the beginning of the new semester which means new and established women will be attending classes like massage, manicure/pedicure, soap making, haircutting, sewing, and entrepreneurship. This last week the classes were not happening which meant my team took on several projects many of which involved media.
I like to write. Sometimes I have trouble concentrating enough to squeeze out one decent sentence but I do enjoy story, words, and creating something that could mean something to someone. The ministry on the first day said that they prayed for someone that could write some of the women’s testimonies.
I jumped at the opportunity.
I’ve heard different stories of how Transforma changed their lives but every lady interviewed also told me about how God was a part of it whether that means they met Him for the first time or were kept encouraged in their faith being here. With the help of my teammate’s Megan’s fabulous Spanish skills, we’ve translated these stories to be understood in multiple languages and to be shared.
I’ll be immersed in that project until the end of this month. Since there were no classes the last week, my team prayed into what our schedule should look like. Our choices ranged from creating a recycling and compost system to setting up opportunities to visit the communities the women live in.
While some opportunities fell through, it was a good week of being challenged, resting, and seeking the Lord. This next week will be insane with the new semester starting and it being our last week. My prayer is we don’t see laziness and apathy as our go-to attitude but instead have the desire to encourage these women towards Christ and discerning what we are meant to do.
