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Welcome to the page of Fundación Paraguaya
Fundacion Paraguaya
CentreDescription
Fundación Paraguaya is a self-sustainable, non-governmental organization. Since its foundation in 1985, it has spearheaded microfinance and entrepreneurship in Paraguay.
With more than 300 staff in 28 offices across the country, Fundación Paraguaya... <show more> Fundación Paraguaya is a self-sustainable, non-governmental organization. Since its foundation in 1985, it has spearheaded microfinance and entrepreneurship in Paraguay.
With more than 300 staff in 28 offices across the country, Fundación Paraguaya develops and implements practical, innovative, and sustainable solutions to eliminate poverty in order to create decent conditions for all families using four inter-related strategies:
- A microcredit program, which serves more than 78.000 small and emerging micro-entrepreneurs who are largely ignored by other microfinance institutions;
- A program of entrepreneurial and financial education for children and youth;
- A program of financially self-sustainable farming high-schools that train the sons and daughters of poor farmers to become their own “rural entrepreneurs;”
TeachAManToFish, a separate NGO established in London that helps spreading the Fundación’s financially self-sufficient school model around the world.
The educational model we propose undertakes a different path in the struggle to eradicate poverty. We work with poor rural communities to transform their youth into rural entrepreneurs.
In addition to high quality education, self-sustainable productive business units, which cover 1005 of the School’s operating costs, are incorporated. This model uses the “Learn by Doing, Selling and Earning” methodology that has a curriculum based on theory classes complemented by hands-on field practice.
With this innovative approach we seek to make a difference, and above all ensure that more youth at risk acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to begin their own rural enterprises, access a decent job in the agriculture/livestock sector or continue studying. Moreover, it is a school model that can be replicated anywhere in the world thanks to its social franchise based on entrepreneurship.
We are using our microfinance program to eliminate the poverty that affects the families of our more than 57,000 clients, from rural and urban areas. 86% of these clients are women. To do so, we have developed a practical methodology which, as a first step, allows poor families to self-diagnose their own poverty, and then permits to develop personalized strategies that help families to permanently pull themselves out of poverty. We call it the “Poverty Stoplight” approach created to eliminate multidimensional poverty.
This methodology makes poverty “visible” by dividing the model into 6 dimensions and 50 indicators, so that a poor person can visualize the ways in which poverty affects their own family. As the name suggests, our tool uses stoplight colors: Red (for Extremely Poor), Yellow (for Poor), Green (for Not Poor), as well as photographs, maps, tablets, and a visual survey to create innovative plans that enable the poor communities to better understand and visualize the ways in which they are affected by poverty.
Working with Hewlett Packard (HP), we have developed a 20-minute visual survey that uses photos to simplifies the gathering of data on poor families while encouraging them to focus on filling a much-needed gap.
We compete in the microfinance industry, however, unlike other microfinance entities, which only offer “financial inclusion”, our value proposition is – like Aladin- to unleash the “genie” within each family by giving them the tools and motivation to overcome their poverty. We are not seeking to alleviate, reduce or combat poverty; we plan to eliminate it! This innovative strategy makes us different.
We measure our impact by the number of families that overcome poverty every year thanks to our project. For example, in the last 3 years, we have enabled 16,000 families to overcome poverty with respect to their level of income, but what we really want is for microfinance institutions all over the world to adopt the Poverty Stoplight methodology. Latin America count up to more than 11 million clients of microfinance institutions. Therefore, we are working to create a better awareness and understanding of this methodology, so the microfinance institutions can adopt it and empower millions of families to overcome poverty all over the world.
MissionTo achieve 100% employability of our graduates through a 100% market-based entrepreneurship curriculum which allows our school to achieve 100% financial self-sufficiency, and to disseminate lessons learned in Paraguay and the world.
ObjectivesAs part of the Strategic Plan, we have set the following goals for the period 2012-2017:
- Pull 30,000 families out of poverty in increasing their income to above the national poverty line and help 9,000 families to overcome multidimensional poverty.
... <show more>
As part of the Strategic Plan, we have set the following goals for the period 2012-2017:
- Pull 30,000 families out of poverty in increasing their income to above the national poverty line and help 9,000 families to overcome multidimensional poverty.
- Consolidate and strengthen the microfinance model of Fundación Paraguaya.
- Consolidate 5 Self-Sustainable Schools in Paraguay.
- Increase by at least 2.5 times the programmatic capacity (total # of clients) of Fundación Paraguaya.
- Have at least one national government to adopt one methodology to combat poverty.
- Consolidate the financially self-sustainable school model in Africa.
Regular Tasks- To implement classroom and practical training sessions and train adolescent boys and girls from vulnerable and poor backgrounds
- To provide education not only to Paraguayan stuents but also to students from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and H... <show more>
To implement classroom and practical training sessions and train adolescent boys and girls from vulnerable and poor backgrounds
To provide education not only to Paraguayan stuents but also to students from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and Haiti, as well as indigenous nations from around Paraguay
To provide students with opportunities to see how education relates to the job market in general and to income generation in particular
To train local and international visitors
To provide microfinance loans to graduating students so that they can implement lessons learned in the school with their family farms or in their communities
To provide technical training to students in how to develop business plans for their future businesses
To execute a USD 350.000 budget on the school enterprises
ContactHead:
CEO Martin Burt
Coordinator:Luis Cateura
Department: Escuelas Autosuficientes
E-Mail: *****
[Full contact information only for logged-in UNEVOC Network members]
Address: Fundacion Paraguaya
Escuelas Autosuficientes
Manuel Blinder 5589
Teniente Espinoza
1887 Asuncion
Paraguay
(local time now ~18:45 - not accounting for daylight saving time)
News
Centre Website
News and Documents
| 12 September 2018UNEVOC Latin American Network Strengthens Ties During its annual REDITEC meeting in Brazil, the National Council of the Federal Network of Vocational, Scientific, and Technological Education Institutions (Conif), jointly with UNESCO-UNEVOC, organized a UNEVOC Network cluster meeting for Latin America. ( more) |
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| 15 July 2018The UNEVOC Network celebrates World Youth Skills DayOn the occasion of World Youth Skills Day (15 July), more than 30 UNEVOC Centres celebrated the importance of Skills for Youth, through conferences, workshop, skills exhibition and promotional campaigns. Discover our interactive map to learn more about those initiatives. ( more) |
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| 17 March 2017Supporting entrepreneurship through self-sufficient schoolsThe UNESCO-UNEVOC Promising Practices database presents inspiring initiative tackling key-themes in TVET. Fundación Paraguaya not only educates rural and low-income youth, but transforms them into entrepreneurs who can potentially lift themselves and their families out of poverty. Find out more about this innovative practice. ( more) |
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| 28 July 2016UNEVOC Centres celebrate World Youth Skills DayOn the occasion of World Youth Skills Day a number of UNEVOC Centres and TVET institutions organized activities which raised awareness of the importance of investing in youth skills as a means of promoting employment and sustainable development. ( more) |
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| 3 December 2015UNESCO-UNEVOC at the TVET Forum for Latin America in Montevideo, UruguayFrom 23 to 25 November, 2015, an expert meeting in Montevideo, Uruguay, convened 40 technical and vocational education and training (TVET) stakeholders and ministry representatives from Latin American countries to discuss the challenges TVET faces looking towards the implementation of the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the period 2015-2030. ( more) |
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| 18 September 2013 Education That Pays For Itself 2013From 22 to 24 October 2013, the San Francisco Agricultural School Paraguay, which is run by Fundación Paraguaya, will host the 7th Education That Pays For Itself 2013 conference with the theme “Linking Education, Employability and Enterprise in Cerrito, Paraguay. ( more) |
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Cluster Latin America
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| 31 August 2018Shaping Transformative TVET Leaders in Latin AmericaThe UNEVOC TVET Leadership Programme for Latin America took place in August 2018 in Panama City. Jointly organized by UNESCO-UNEVOC and the UNESCO San José Office, and hosted by INADEH of Panama, the regional UNEVOC TVET Leadership Programme aims to help those in change agent positions become transformative leaders. ( more) |
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| 26 January 2018International Summit on Education 2018On January 11 to 12, 2018 Duoc UC (Chile) organized the Inter-American Conferences on School Leadership and Management, which combines experts and leaders in the formulation and management of initiatives that seek to develop leadership skills in schools and colleges; and the Conferences on Higher Education Management. ( more) |
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| 6 December 2017Mainstreaming Entrepreneurial Skills in TVET: Engaging key global stakeholders UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre and DUOC UC – a UNEVOC Centre in Chile, together with UNESCO’s Youth, Literacy and Skills Development Section, and UNESCO Santiago, are organizing an Experts Consultation Meeting on mainstreaming entrepreneurial skills in TVET. This meeting is underway in Santiago from 5-7 December 2017, with the discussions involving various UNEVOC Centres and other key stakeholders. ( more) |
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| 5 October 2017Capacity Development for Green ChampionsWorkshop to develop Green Champions in TVET Institutions in West, East and Southern Africa, to be hosted by Rift Valley Technical Training Institute (on invitation only). |
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| 1 March 2017Fundación Paraguaya’s Self-Sufficient Schools Under Fundación Paraguaya's the Self-Sufficient Schools model, students learn the skills, knowledge and attitudes to become entrepreneurs and they also apply what they learn in a real-life context.The incomes generated in this way go towards school operating costs, thus enabling the schools to become self-sustaining. ( more) |
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| 1 March 2017Elements that motivate school dropouts In CONALEP 2016This study investigates the motivation for dropping out of school. Recommendations and suggestions are generated that help to reduce school dropout rates in the CONALEP System. http://www.unevoc.unesco.org/network/up/Abandono_Escolar_2016.pdf (Spanish) ( more) |
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| 31 January 2017Laboratoria, code that transformsIn Peru, a web development company became aware of the lack of female software developers in the country and decided to set up a six-month training course for disadvantaged women. Graduates find employment and see their income sensibly improving. ( more) |
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| 31 August 2016CONALEP in Mexico publishes studiesThe National College of Technical Professional Education (CONALEP) in Mexico, UNEVOC Centre since 2015, has published a number of studies which sheds light on the situation and performance of TVET in Mexico. All reports are in Spanish.
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| 5 April 2016Workshop for TVET institutionsThe Technical Secretary of the National Qualifications and Vocational Training System in Ecuador has started offering workshops to TVET institutions with the aim of providing information on how to register programmes. The workshops also give an introduction to a procedure related to the Recognition of Personnel Certification Bodies. ( more) |
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| 30 March 2016Registration for TVET institutions begins!As of 22 March, SETEC has made available a web application that enables TVET institution to take part in a registration process, with the aim of obtaining information regarding TVET offers, location of TVET institutions, type of TVET programs offered and areas where TVET programs are focused on. ( more) |
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| 18 August 2015WorldSkills competition and conference in São PauloMore than 1500 people from over 70 countries met in São Paulo, Brazil, from the 11 to 16 August for the WorldSkills competition and conference. UNESCO-UNEVOC contributed to a very stimulating programme which showcased the next generation of youth skills. ( more) |
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| 30 July 2015UNESCO and UNEVOC participate in WorldSkills São PauloFrom 11-16 August 2015 the WorldSkills competition takes place in Brazil. Running in parallel to the competition a Conference programme brings together leaders in the field of TVET to discuss current global skills issues. ( more) |
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| 1 January 1970Chile Joven - Reducing Youth Unemployment through short-term training programmes in Latin AmericaThis Promising Practice describes a programme in Chile targeted at the young, low-income, poorly educated population (hence why the name Joven – ‘young’ is used in countries such as Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Uruguay and the Dominican Republic). In most cases, the programmes introduce targeting tools or eligibility criteria that limit service provision to the more disadvantaged youth, including age, being unemployed or underemployed, and not being enrolled in the formal school system. ( more) |
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