Guest Blogger Patricia Devereux Asks, “How Do You Break the Cycle of Poverty?”

By Patricia Devereux, Group Head of Corporate Philanthropy and Citizenship for MasterCard Worldwide.

By giving people  opportunity, tools, knowledge, and support to create a better future for themselves and their families.

Through a grant to Pro Mujer, MasterCard is helping to do just that for women and their families in Milpa Alta, an impoverished community outside of the center of Mexico City.

I was fortunate enough to be in Milpa Alta for the opening celebration of Pro Mujer’s newest center, their 44th in Mexico.  These community centers provide a safe, supportive space along with access to financial services like small loans, savings accounts and insurance products,  business trainings and health education, to name a few.

Patricia Devereux and Leila Freedman, Pro Mujer’s Director of Development, Strategic Partnerships say hello to a client’s infant at the new Milpa Alta center.

The center was full of women and their children who were there to celebrate the opening.  They brought along many of the products they make and sell and talked about their businesses that ranged from food and catalog sales, to clothing and shoes to handicrafts.  Several of the women expressed their gratitude for the trust that Pro Mujer has instilled in them by giving them loans to manage their businesses. It was truly inspiring to hear these women’s stories and their determination to create a better future for themselves and their families.

At MasterCard, we believe in the power of financial inclusion to build brighter futures for families and stronger communities.  We are proud to support Pro Mujer to help transform lives of the people who need it most.

On April 18^th, MasterCard helped Pro Mujer open our latest center in Mexico City’s Milpa Alta neighborhood. Click here to read Pro Mujer’s President and CEO, Rosario Pérez, talk about igniting the entrepreneurial spirit of women in Mexico.