Pro Mujer client Leonor Dominga Catacora Vargos and her daughter Casandra together operate a healthy snack kiosk at the Pro Mujer C.F. San Bernabé Health Center in Moquegua, Peru. In addition to increased income for Leonor’s family, the kiosk promotes healthy eating habits for all Pro Mujer’s clients at this particular center.
Poverty is a complex issue with no single solution. Pro Mujer approaches it by offering women an integrated package of services that can help improve their lives and lift them out of poverty that includes microfinance, business and empowerment training, preventive health education and high-quality, low-cost primary health care.
These services are delivered through communal banks, which typically distribute loans to groups of 20 to 30 women who guarantee one another’s loans. In addition to business training, Pro Mujer center staff educates clients on topics such as sexual and reproductive health, domestic violence, self-esteem and gender-related issues. Clients in rural areas receive medical and dental care through Pro Mujer’s health fairs, which bring medical staff and equipment directly to their neighborhoods. For specialized medical attention, Pro Mujer establishes agreements with local health care providers so clients can receive reliable care at a reduced cost.
Today, Pro Mujer is a leading women’s development organization that provides more than 286,000 women in Latin America with the means to build livelihoods for themselves and futures for their families. Johnson & Johnson has been partnering with Pro Mujer since 2009 to empower women by helping them generate much-needed income for themselves and their families, unlock their personal potential, send their children to school, care for their health, and make life-altering changes to improve their living conditions.
Related:
Blog - Empowering Rural Women, One Loan at a Time