Face To Face: Praying with the 2007 CWS Calendar

HOPE FROM DISASTER
Tucked in among the women of her Pakistani village, eight-year-old Rani feels protected. And CWS, along with the Lower Sindh Regional Development program, is working to make the future safer and more secure for her and for the women she relies on. Through a micro- loan program, some 500 women in 26 villages in the area are better able to support themselves and their families by raising and selling livestock products or setting up small shops that function as cooperatives. These women sell their intricate embroidery. Each woman must show that she can save for six months before she is eligible for a loan.

Though the loans are small -- about 5,000 rupees, or $80, on average -- and the village elder must approve a loan before it's given, the credit has a powerful, and empowering, effect. "I used to go out every day, searching for work in the fields," one of the women involved in the embroidery cooperative explained. "Now, I can work near my home and my granddaughter."

"Initially, after the quake, people were depressed, but most are much better now. They have coped well."

Saimi Abbassi, CEWS Mansehra office, Pakistan

Facts of Life:
Literacy rate in Pakistan for men: 61.7

Literacy rate in Pakistan for women: 35.2

	HOPE FROM DISASTER Tucked in among the women of her Pakistani village, eight-year-old Rani feels protected. And CWS, along with the Lower Sindh Regional Development program, is working to make the future safer and more secure for her and for the women she relies on. Through a micro- loan program, some 500 women in 26 villages in the area are better able to support themselves and their families by raising and selling livestock products or setting up small shops that function as cooperatives. These women sell their intricate embroidery. Each woman must show that she can save for six months before she is eligible for a loan. Though the loans are small -- about 5,000 rupees, or $80, on average -- and the village elder must approve a loan before it's given, the credit has a powerful, and empowering, effect. "I used to go out every day, searching for work in the fields," one of the women involved in the embroidery cooperative explained. "Now, I can work near my home and my granddaughter." "Initially, after the quake, people were depressed, but most are much better now. They have coped well." Saimi Abbassi, CEWS Mansehra office, Pakistan Facts of Life: Literacy rate in Pakistan for men: 61.7 Literacy rate in Pakistan for women: 35.2
	Where did you feel safest when you were a child? How is CWS seeking to make the lives of Rani and the other women more secure? What are your hopes for Rani's future?
	As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you. Is 66:13
	Loving God, the eyes of this young girl touch my heart. May Rani and the thousands of other young girls whose lives are uprooted by natural disaster, warfare, and disease find the security and care they need to thrive. In this season of light and hope, mend their broken lives and communities.
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