Caring Report 2025—Self-Reliance
Becoming self-reliant isn’t only about meeting your immediate needs; it’s about building your capacity to thrive, be independent, and serve others. It reflects a divine principle: that each person is capable of growth, learning, and making a positive contribution to their family and community.
2025 Self-Reliance Efforts
Changing Lives through Self-Reliance Courses
In 2025, the Church helped 142,494 individuals in more than 100 countries through free in-person and virtual self-reliance courses. These courses are available to anyone and are designed to help individuals start and grow a business, learn English, improve personal finances, and more.
In New York, both youth and adults are learning to manage money early through a personal finances class. By teaching principles like budgeting, avoiding debt, and understanding interest, the course helps individuals develop good financial habits that can lead to lifelong self-reliance.
A missionary couple in Zagreb, Croatia, noticed that displaced individuals were eager to work in the tourism industry but lacked English skills. The couple introduced the individuals to EnglishConnect, a free English class provided by the Church. With support from local organizations and missionaries, 11 classes quickly launched. These classes helped many people in Zagreb gain the confidence and skills they needed to pursue jobs in tourism and in other fields.
Read more self-reliance stories from 2025:
Strengthening Communities
In Detroit, Michigan, the Church worked with Zaman International (a nonprofit rooted in the Arab and Muslim communities) to support women, children, and displaced people. Together, Zaman and the Church provide education, workforce development, and health services that help individuals move from crisis to stability and from dependence to self-reliance.
Read more about how the Church strengthened communities in 2025:
A New Start Toward Self-Reliance
Before enrolling in the Starting My Business self-reliance course, Christina* struggled to make ends meet through minimum-wage jobs in the Philippines. “I decided to join the Starting My Business self-reliance class because I knew it would be a huge help to both my husband and me,” Christina says.
In the course, Christina learned how to start and run a business. She now uses the skills she learned to run her own chicken-selling business. She provides for her family and even employs others in her community. She says, “My goal is to become financially free and to create job opportunities for others who need them.”
*Name has been changed