In a society where a son is considered an asset and a daughter is considered a liability, a woman’s education changes everything.

In South Central Asia, daughters are often considered less valuable than sons due to the dowry system, which creates an economic hurdle for their families. Parents must pay a steep price to the family of the daughter’s future husband, and they expect that their daughters will care for their in-laws in old age, not carrying on the family name and inheritance as sons do. This perceived financial strain reinforces an underlying belief that girls are burdens.

Tragically, this mindset sometimes pushes families to avoid having a daughter altogether through sexselected abortion and female infanticide. While many families don’t go to this extreme, they may still attempt to reduce the future debt of having a daughter by not investing in her education — neglecting the very opportunities she needs to flourish in society.

For 14 years, a learning center in South Central Asia has been addressing these educational disparities by offering free vocational training to young girls. Overseen by a dedicated local pastor in a small, weathered house, they are taught nursing, English, computer skills, tailoring, and fashion design.

These classes empower them with practical labor skills and knowledge to provide for their futures — but the most valuable thing they walk away learning is the Gospel. Especially in a region of the world that is 95% unreached.

Our local partner explained that even amid challenging family circumstances such as the death of one or both parents, “they would bring these girls to the school and help them go through courses to understand their capabilities and train them accordingly.”

Once ICM learned they needed more adequate space to continue equipping women, ICM began the process of providing the necessary resources to build a permanent school. However, since this was during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, donor support for the project seemed unlikely.

Little did we know, God had been working in the hearts of a couple from Texas who had been searching for this exact cause to give to. And then, another couple from Australia gave funds for the land. The Lord provided through the generosity of our donors, and soon enough, construction was underway.

Eager with curiosity, the girls regularly gathered together on the grounds of their soon-to-be new school. Unseasonal rains poured down and delayed construction, but progress continued and the school was complete.

“[Previously], they were able to have around 30 to 40 girls a year, but now with this new facility, they can have 150 to 160 girls a year,” the local partner said.

Now, education is giving even more girls a new trajectory. Literacy rates are increasing, poverty cycles are breaking, and more young women are meeting the God who defines them not as a burden, but as chosen, precious, and worthy of his Son.