Female community leadership: an inspiration for life!

What does one do when a community suffers from poor infrastructure and the lack of basic services, among which running water, sanitation, and electricity? Fortunately, given situations like these, many people have within themselves an indispensable factor: entrepreneurship. When added to technical knowledge, financial support, and appropriate follow-up, it becomes a real driver of change.

In this context, the Legion of Good Will (LBV) develops the Solidary Society Network program, which works directly with local representatives, such as social leaders or social managers, to help them solve fundamental issues where they live. Read below inspiring stories of women who became leaders.

A SOLIDARY INITIATIVE

Vivian R. Ferreira

Imagine the following scene: a woman is walking past a shack and hears a child crying. When she gets closer, she sees a 5-year-old boy who, having been left alone while his parents were out working, had burned himself while heating up his food. What could she do? Act with solidarity was the response of Maria de Lourdes dos Santos Silva, 62, one of the many migrants who left Brazil’s poor regions to find a job in the city of São Paulo (Brazil). This sad fact led her to act so that incidents like this one would no longer occur. Moved by the boy’s case, she offered to supply him with food so he would not burn himself ever again.

Other parents who experienced similar situations were soon asking to leave their children at her house. Her home ended up being transformed into a daycare, the first maintained by the Associação Creche Imaculado Coração de Maria [Immaculate Heart of Mary Day Care Association], which she founded to help and house these children.

Maria de Lourdes changed the lives of many people with this action. Roselita Vitor da Silva is one of them. From the state of Ceará, northeast of Brazil, when she arrived in the city of São Paulo as a newly-wed she turned to Lourdes for help. She brought up her only son in the daycare and today she helps other others by working in the Association. Currently, Roselita is who takes part in the meetings held by the Legion of Good Will through its Solidary Society Network program. “We receive this support from the LBV as well as courses on how to qualify, put together, and run an association . . . This is fantastic!” she said.

“WITH THE LBV I LEARNED TO SUCCEED AS A WOMAN.”

In the Villa Angélica settlement in Lambaré, Paraguay, anyone looking for assistance seeks out Elsa Raquel Morel Callante and the LBV. Six years ago the community leader managed to get several improvements for the location, among which electricity, running water, and one of the streets is now asphalted.

Raquel Diaz

Mother of ten children, Elsa lost one of them at birth and another when he was four years old, hit by a stray bullet. Despite her domestic chores, she alternates between looking after her own children and her recycling work, with which she manages to help her husband financially at home. She also actively looks for solutions to the problems of her community.

Four years ago the LBV became part of Elsa’s life and of her community, in which she is a leader. “From then on we achieved a lot; we matured as people, as women; our self-esteem improved; we learned how to get along better with our neighbors; we benefit a lot from the LBV, not only the women, but the children too” she stressed. Comprised of approximately 140 families, which have in all more than 300 girls and boys, the settlement receives food baskets every month from the LBV. The Organization is also constantly carrying out social and educational programs and campaigns aimed at discussing preventive measures and raising awareness concerning health issues.

Elsa recently concluded a secretarial course and even increased her family income by selling items she made with handicraft techniques she learned in the LBV’s Strengthening Lives group. The Organization’s initiative has been of benefit not only to Elsa, but also to other mothers in the community. “Thanks to everything we learned in the group, we grew. Some of the products we produced we’ve already sold and this gives us an income. We work at home and so we can look after our children,” she said.

What about you? Do you know any other story of community leadership? Share it with us! Do you run an organization and want to join the LBV’s Solidary Society Network? Check out the countries in which the Organization operates and write to us at english@boavontade.com.