b'Soroptimist InternationalReport for the High-Level Political Forum Paulas StoryMy dream is to become a good doctor and help other women understand the great value of their bodies and health. BorninSaoPaulo,Brazil,Paulagrewupinable to stop working because I had my young son to householdwhichstruggledwithpovertyandraise. violence. After her father nearly beat her mother to death one night, Paula, her mom and two brothersStruggling to pay rent, she moved to another city in finally fledrunning from place to place for safety.Brazil where she focused on getting the education With her mother needing to work to support hershe missed out on as a child and creating a stable children, by age ten Paula became the primary care- homeenvironmentforherson.Throughoutthis giverforhersiblings.Despiteshowinggreatadversity, Paulas greatest ambition was to study at educational talents and teaching herself to read atmedicalschool.Gatheringthemoneyshecould four years-old, Paula had to leave school when shefrom working, she paid her way to a prep school to wasfourteentoworkfull-time.Butkeepingherhelp her study for the medical school entrance exam educationalambitions,shecontinuedvisitingthewhich she passed. Now she works several jobs to libraryandfoughtforimprovementsinBraziliansee herself through medical schoolwhile these schools.jobs help her support herself and her family, they prevent her from studying as much as shed like to Paula became a mother relatively young, having herso she can become the best doctor she can. The Live first child at the age of twenty. When I realized thatYour Dream Award that Paula received helps relieve I had become responsible for someone, I decided tosome of this financial pressure so she can focus on go back to school. I was able to get my high schoolher studies: The Live Your Dream Awards will help diploma. I wanted to be a doctor, but I didnt believeme finish my internship and only focus on medicine I could pass the entrance exam and I would not bein my last year, withoutworrying aboutbills and other external obligations.Why Cash Awards?We believe that the women who receive a Live Your Dream Award are best placed toknow how their award will be best spent. Too frequently educational support is dedicated to fees, when thebarriers to women accessing education may be the costs of childcare, transportation, safe accommodation,having a computer or simply paying bills. This cash-based approach, which has been long-used by the LiveYour Dream Awards is increasingly being proven as one of the most effective ways to provide support and aidthat ensures people are able to transform their lives (reference). Cash reaches people quicker, costs less todistribute, support local economies and most importantly, meets the needs of recipients more effectively.Fundamentally, cash awards are empoweringthey give women the power of choice and control over theirlives and how they want to live. This means that cash awards dont only fund education, they address otheraspects of underlying inequalities and ensures women have the resources they need to become leaders andto fully and meaningfully participate in political, economic and public life.23'