Why Women?

GENDER INJUSTICE

Globally, women suffer, simply because they are born girls and equal opportunities are not a given. Issues are compounded as inequality keep women from realizing their full God-given potential. Whether it is discrimination, exploitation, or “traditional” gender-roles, women face numerous barriers that keep them from thriving.

We call this gender injustice.

Rising Above Circumstances

REWRITING THE NARRATIVE

Tirzah is providing opportunities for sisters to rewrite the narrative and rise above their circumstances. Our on-the-ground leaders work in various sectors—government, nonprofit, relief and development organizations, and ministry—each empowering women who have been marginalized. These Global Leaders are stepping in and stepping up to share that their sisters are truly beloved which opens the door for hope and opportunities for sisters to rise.

Breaking Poverty

THE PROBLEM
Poverty is multidimensional and relational. As the Chalmers Center shares, “Poverty isn’t just a lack of stuff. It’s the result of broken relationships with God, self, others, and the rest of creation.” Poverty leaves women and girls more vulnerable to other forms of discrimination and exploitation.

OUR SOLUTION
Tirzah’s Solution Initiatives create social structures for women to restore relationship. They are connected to community which brings healing, confidence, and hope to rise above circumstances. Physical poverty is alleviated through small-business training which focuses on vulnerable women. This program allows them to develop and launch a business and earn an income. In addition, partnering artisan co-ops offer consistent work for more than 200 artisans. 

Rising above HIV/AIDS

THE PROBLEM
HIV/AIDS continues to impact women around the world. According to the UN, every week, around 4,900 young women aged 15–24 years became infected with HIV globally in 2021. The majority of new infections occur in sub-Saharan Africa where girls and young women aged 15–24 years are three times more likely to be living with HIV than young men of the same age.

OUR SOLUTION
Tirzah works with women rising above their HIV-status, refusing to let it define their lives, and support them to holistically build their dreams into reality. Many of the woman in our Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and India programs are impacted by HIV. Through community, they receive physical and spiritual support. As artisan partners, they earn income. The terracotta beads in the Tirzah Bazaar is a result of these incredible women.

Extending Education

THE PROBLEM
The benefits of educating girls have a lasting impact on their families for generations to come. Those who stay in school longer get married later. They delay having children. A child born to a mother who can read is 50 percent more likely to survive past the age of 5 than a child born to an illiterate woman. Yet women make up more than two-thirds of the world’s illiterate population. For each additional year of primary school, eventual wages are 10-20 percent higher. All these factors reduce violence, increases awareness of HIV and other diseases, and improves the environment.
*UN Women, PRB

OUR SOLUTION
Tirzah’s small business training is designed for any level of education. The Get HOPE curriculum is filled with stories and images. Women who once had very little opportunity, are now starting their own businesses. A priority for these moms is to make sure all of their children are in school. In addition, Tirzah’s leadership development program is raising up the next generation of women who are confidently stepping into their God-given potential in all sectors of society.

Conquering Slavery

THE PROBLEM
Trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery where individuals are recruited or obtained and forced to work or provide services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Women and girls represent 65 percent of all trafficked victim globally with 90 percent of those cases were for sexual exploitation. A recent increase in trafficking has been driven by global crises.

*HHS, UN Women

OUR SOLUTION
Tirzah’s Global Leaders are advocates and preventative partners. Their efforts support rescued women through counseling, community, and small-business training. Artisan programs build up skills for dignified work and a consistent income. This keeps women and girls from being revictimized. Together, we’re conquering slavery.

Preventing Violence

THE PROBLEM
One in three women over their lifetime will experience physical or sexual violence. It is pervasive in every country and culture but disproportionately affects women in low- and lower-middle-income countries. Violence in all forms negatively impacts women’s health and wellbeing.
*WHO

OUR SOLUTION
Preventing violence means addressing economic and social inequalities. Tirzah’s longstanding relationships with local female leaders has proven that cultural shifts in the treatment of women occurs when women become respected leaders in their families, communities, and nations. Extending education and providing safe and dignified work is part of this. Developing strong servant leaders also shifts culture as we work daily to ensure safety becomes a reality for all of society.