Oruro, Bolivia — In December of last year, our incredible allies proved that #GivingTuesday really could be just as big as Black Friday and Cyber Monday by surpassing our fundraising goal and raising over $11,000 in less than 12 hours!
The campaign, #ProjectEmpower, was to help a church in Bolivia launch a sustainable microenterprise called a librería. We are excited to share with you that the church selected to receive these funds is Jesús es el Señor Church in Oruro!
Jesús es el Señor is a small church on the outskirts of the city, pastored by Arturo Cayetano. Pastor Arturo has always had a heart for vulnerable children, and actually started his church through reaching kids. He began by providing a place where children in the community could come to play and learn about Jesus, and soon they began inviting their parents and family members.
Now his church has grown to over 100 members, and he continues to work with children from the community through an after-school program serving 60 children. With all this growth, Pastor Arturo was searching for ways to generate income and sustain the ministries and outreach of the church. That’s when he came to Bright Hope with the idea to open a librería, and God began to work in amazing ways!
It may not look like much yet, but Pastor Arturo has big plans to turn this empty space (see below) into a storefront and provide Internet access, school supplies and photocopies to the local community. He also plans to give youth leaders from the church the opportunity for part-time work in the librería to help cover the cost of their studies. And with time, the revenues earned in the store will go to support their after-school program with the hopes of becoming self-sustainable.
Pastor Arturo shared, “As a pastor I’ve dreamt about a project like this to better serve my community, and now you are all helping make it possible to reach my dreams. Thank you so much!”
We are so excited about this project and want to keep you updated every step of the way. Stay tuned for more updates and photos as we watch this church and community transform!
