“I feel moved and confident, it is not necessary to have many experts…the students, the microentrepreneurs themselves show us that they are the true experts,” said the CEO of the Fundación Paraguaya, Martín Burt, during the launching of his book: “Who owns poverty?,” in the Bicameral Hall of Congress. The ceremony was attended by national and international authorities, such as the head of Congress, Blas Llano, and the Minister of Agriculture of Ecuador, Xavier Lazo, whose government is applying the Poverty Stoplight in rural areas.

In this book, the CEO of Fundación Paraguaya recounts the change in culture generated within the organization, to make it the first non-profit institution in Latin America to provide technical assistance to countries like China, in addition to replicating its programs in the United States, United Kingdom, Mexico, and over 30 countries around the world. The programs of Fundación Paraguaya are: Microfinance, Self-Sustainable Schools, Entrepreneurial Education and the Poverty Stoplight. “With this book, we seek to position Paraguay at the conversation table on poverty elimination worldwide,” said Martin Burt.

The book was also presented at Harvard University and in Washington D.C., with a format based on experiences and practical tools to improve people’s quality of life. In our country, it was declared of cultural interest by the National Secretariat of Culture of Paraguay. A compendium of wishes for a more hopeful future is not given in this material, but rather, it addresses real stories, failures that happened, victories that were celebrated, families that remain below the poverty line and families that have managed to overcome multidimensional poverty.

“Looking back, I still get surprised at the strength passed on by over the 60,000 women who make up our Committees and how they have helped us build this path,” reflected the Director of the Fundación Paraguaya at some point, referring to the brave clients of the organization, whose inspiring stories are also reflected in the book, a text that undoubtedly will bother the developers and implementers of public policies of conditioned assistance, because the model proposed by the author (validated in 5 continents) is very distant from what the National Government understands today as a fight against poverty. A material to reflect; but above all, that invites us to act.