“Caritas has been a blessing for us,” says Jessica Moreno, a young single mother who for six years has been part of Hilando sueños , an embroidery business with which she and twelve other women get ahead along with their families, in a small rural town in Ecuador, with just over 2,200 inhabitants.

Children are also part of the entrepreneurial ventures

Jessica, who lives in the Ganaderos Orenses area, shared with ACI Prensa that the venture “started with a small idea, with a small desire and dreams” during the time of the pandemic.

It's becoming increasingly difficult to find Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channels today:

Two years ago, she continues, “Caritas came into the process. We needed machinery to give our hand embroidery a better finish. And then little by little we started creating new things.”

Hilando Sueños (Weaving Dreams) began by making embroidered cards for Mother's Day. Now it produces bags, pencil cases, cushions, caps, and tablecloths, among other items. "Caritas has blessed us and supported us because they trusted in us. They have supported us immensely, and we are very grateful for that," she commented.

Regarding the embroidery, Jessica emphasizes that it allows her to express her connection with creation, "because we identify with and base our work quite a bit on what has to do with birds, with nature."

The aid project

Weaving Dreams is one of the 60 ventures financed by the Entrepreneurial Families and Sustainable Lifestyles project , managed and coordinated by the Social Pastoral Caritas of the Diocese of Santo Domingo, with the support of Caritas Ecuador and Caritas Korea, which is implemented in the canton of San Miguel de los Bancos, in the province of Pichincha.

In this project, Caritas collaborates with local businesses by providing small animals, seeds, plants, and other resources. It began two years ago and benefits nine communities: 23 de Junio, Los Andes, Río Macas, Amanecer Campesino, Nuevo Mundo, Ganaderos Orenses, Mirador Lojano, Unión Bolivarense, and Bernardo Valdivieso.

“We learned more things, we gained more practice, and we grew in knowledge. Our group continued to strengthen, with ups and downs, with good days and bad days, but we kept going,” emphasizes Jessica, who also finds time to study Basic Education with a specialization in Psychology at the University of the Americas.

“I have a nine-year-old daughter who is also part of the ventures; specifically, she participates in one of the gardens, which has to do with caring for the environment,” she emphasizes.

Her daughter is one of more than 90 children from eight schools who are also part of the 60 initiatives and who receive training in financial education and a culture of saving, as well as training for a culture of peace.

Caritas has also provided financial training to the entrepreneurs. “We learned in the workshops as well, which helped us a lot, not only in embroidery, but also in how to manage our project financially. Caritas has helped us tremendously in that regard.”

For all of this, she gives “thanks to God and to the bishop who also shared with us, with our group, with other women entrepreneurs like us.” “I am very proud to be part of Hilando Sueños ,” Jessica affirmed.

New paths of hope

On August 26, the Bishop of Santo Domingo, Monsignor Bertram Wick Enzler, presided over a Mass for the two-year anniversary of the project, concelebrated by Fr. Euclides Carrillo, executive secretary of Caritas Ecuador; Fr. Segundo Merizalde, director of Caritas Santo Domingo; and local priests.

In his homily, according to Caritas Ecuador, the prelate spoke of “the path traveled, the work of the families and the fruits achieved during these two years, recalling that the mission of the Church becomes concrete when it remains close to its people, accompanies their efforts and opens, from solidarity and fraternity, new paths of hope.”

The work is hard, but Caritas also provides spiritual and moral support.

Lorena Alarcón, a 36-year-old mother, produces semi-hard cheeses with her husband to support herself and her two children.

He confesses that the work “is very hard and at one point I wanted to quit,” but Cáritas “has been encouraging us, giving us moral and spiritual support as well.”

By participating in the project, she says, she has been able to visit different places where fairs are held in which she and others offer their products; and she has felt encouraged by different people, something that has made her see "the love of God", especially when sometimes there is not much sales.

Lorena explains that her project, Quesería Alarcón, produces about 60 cheeses a week, always made to order, and that Cáritas helped her not only with training but also with a freezer to preserve her products.

Dreams are possible if we "remain constant"

When asked about her faith, Jessica Moreno told ACI Prensa that “we couldn’t say that we were far from God because we are believers, but I do believe that we are an example that a dream could be realized because we remained constant, even though it wasn’t easy.”

“We remain united and that has helped us a lot. Our faith has increased. This has brought us much closer to Him.”

In a statement sent to ACI Prensa, Caritas Ecuador specifies that now “the project has an important foundation to continue strengthening entrepreneurship, family production, women's participation and educational processes.”

The organization emphasizes that all of this serves to "ensure that the learning and skills developed can be maintained and generate sustainable lifestyles in the participating families and communities."