By: Liz Ha, Five Talents USA CEO

Lent began this week and International Women’s Day is tomorrow.

The combination has me reflecting… women were the last to remain at the cross during Christ’s time of deepest anguish, and the first to arrive at the tomb to hear of His glorious resurrection.

The role of women in the early church was critical to its countercultural outreach and growth. Disregarded and dismissed, women not only found a welcome home amidst the vagabond recruits of the early church, they helped amplify its mission at a seminal time of growth.

Similarly, in the communities we serve, the church is often the first to respond to human suffering—and women are at the heart of this response. Arguably, they are both the ones who suffer most due to the many drivers of extreme poverty, but they are also primary agents of ministry to those in crisis.

Research supports this. Studies show that maternal income boosts family nutrition by four to seven times more than paternal income, and that a mother’s unearned income has a 20 times greater impact on child survival than a father’s (Duncan Thomas, Intra-Household Resource Allocation). Simply put, when given agency, women are a powerful multiplier of blessing.

One of the most memorable quotes I’ve heard was from a woman who graduated from a Five Talents program who said, “I have been transformed from a beggar to a giver.”

Reflecting on her words, I’m filled with joyful hope that God’s redemptive work often unexpectedly flips the narrative as “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).

In that spirit, thank you for walking with the women we serve to bring about God’s restoration and shalom. Your support has made all the difference, now more than ever.