Peruvian Congress Recognizes ADRA Peru’s 50 Years of Service
LIMA, Peru—Last week, Peru’s Congress recognized ADRA Peru for 50 years of humanitarian service to the country. ADRA Peru marked half a decade of work with a full day of celebrations.
The ceremonies included distributing 50 wheelchairs to children in need at Plaza José Faustino del Congreso and ADRA receiving governmental recognition for its 50 years of work in the country, first as the Seventh-day Adventist Welfare Services (SAWS), and then as ADRA. The day concluded with a thanksgiving ceremony at Miraflores Seventh-day Adventist Church.
ADRA Peru’s largest and longest-running program boasts more than 17,000 beneficiaries and has been running for 19 years. It started with a matching grant from USAID and has since been empowering women all over Peru to build their own businesses, while providing literacy, business, and leadership classes.
“They are the number one microfinance organization in all of Latin America (independently monitored and ranked by the Microfinance Information Exchange and the Multilateral Investment Fund,” said Jonathan Duffy, ADRA International President who attended the celebrations. “Their work here in Peru is greatly appreciated and acknowledged by the government.”
One entrepreneur, Hermilia Quispe Ramos, purchased a copy machine and a few other supplies with her microloan and opened a shop. With the money she put herself and her son through law school. Both finished and today Hermilia is a successful lawyer in Juliaca, fighting for the rights of poor women and children in her city. Read more here.
The program not only trains women in sound business practices, but also teaches the importance of savings by requiring that the entrepreneurs save a portion of the loans they are provided. The program brings 15-35 women into a “community bank” who receive a collective loan. The women themselves then distribute the loan among each partner.
Through this program the entrepreneurs are able to improve their financial situation, as well as improve the lives of their families and communities.
About ADRA
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) International is the humanitarian arm of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Its work empowers communities and changes lives around the globe by providing sustainable community development and disaster relief. For more information, visit ADRA.org.
