AF4SD

Empowering Vulnerable Women

The Arev Society supports women toward financial independence

Everyone will agree that women’s empowerment is essential for economic growth, social progress, and sustainable development.

However, many women face challenges due to their specific life circumstances.

This is particularly true for women who should cope alone with life hurdles.

They find themselves in a precarious position, ensuring both household responsibilities and the need for family financial stability.

Their vulnerability is worsened by social stigma and the lack of access to education and training.

The absence of relevant skills and education exclude them as possible candidates for employment and stable income.

To grapple with these requires a multifaceted approach that many beneficiaries cannot manage and assume alone.

For this reason, support from nonprofit organizations in building their financial independence could play a pivotal role.

Achieving this self-sufficiency through economic empowerment becomes easy when you are supported and motivated.

The Arev Society and the Armenian Fund for Sustainable Development have worked with vulnerable women since 2020 in Armenia when a terrible war shattered families and destinies.

Thousands of women became widows or found themselves with disabled husbands who were not in a physical capacity to work anymore.

Almost all the beneficiaries we met were in despair and dreadfully lost with a precarious present and an uncertain future.

How do they raise children and earn to meet ends when they lack professional skills and haven’t any savings?

To find the right actors, reinforce professional skills, and understand how small businesses should be run and managed, we equipped these women with the tools necessary to launch income-generating activities successfully.

We created a supportive environment through targeted interventions that built self-confidence and fostered resilience and belief in the future.

Financial independence for a woman is not just about earning money; it’s about gaining autonomy, dignity, and the capacity to support herself financially without relying on others for her personal and her family’s basic needs and well-being.

For vulnerable women, achieving financial independence has a life-changing impact on their lives.

It allows them to make informed decisions that benefit themselves and their families, breaking the cycle of poverty.

We provide them with financial support through in-kind contributions for launching small businesses alongside practical assistance to run them. We understood that empowering women whose husbands were killed and wounded is not just a matter of social justice but a strategic approach to make them confident and proud of their achievements.

by Arev Society