Success Stories / College, not Sweatshops

Thanks to a successful campaign on The Point, Leiry Aleman does not have to work in a sweatshop. Instead, she can attend college and get certified as an accountant.

Aleman, a single mother in Nicaragua, was struggling to make ends meet when she considered going to work in a sweatshop. She wanted to get an accounting degree but couldn’t afford the tuition. She got involved with the Comunicada Women’s Foundation, which promised to help her raise the $1,100 she needed to cover tuition.

The Point was the perfect tool for Comunicada to use because not one pledge is touched until the amount needed to deliver on the promise, or tipping point, is raised. This is to say that if only half of the funds were pledged, Leiry would not have received the money, and that all or nothing challenge really inspires people to give in order to make the preceding pledges a realty. Further, when people pledged donations, they were assured their money would only be taken when it could actually make a difference.

When she graduates, she will be able to find a better paying job and, in turn, use her new skills to help other women in her village manage their finances and run small businesses.