BACKGROUND: In 2021, the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, began a special grant initiative entitled “Sisters Supporting Women for a Better World”. Because women are at the heart of their communities, the demands that they face are many as are the challenges they encounter. For women living in economic poverty, the resources they need to succeed are often beyond their reach. These include education, economic opportunity, personal safety, health care and social services. Our educational ministries were asked to consider how they could make a difference in lives of women and in their communities. Projects were requested from student teams in the United States and Mexico with assistance from a faculty mentor in this new initiative. In Peru, projects were requested from areas served by Sisters.
The purpose of the grant initiative is to provide funding to develop and implement a project to serve economically poor women. These projects were asked to incorporate providing direct services for women, or advocating for policy change on an issue that direct impacts women.
Utilizing financial revenue from the investment funded by the Women’s Global Initiative, for the first year, 2021-22, 11 grants were offered in the total amount of $20,950, 4 in the United States, 6 in Mexico and 1 in Peru. A total of 23 applications were received from the schools and from Peru, and 11 were awarded grants.
CURRENT GRANT YEAR: For the current grant year, 2023-2024 (funded in 2024), 13 applications were received, and six grants were approved by a review committee composed of CCVI Sisters. Three grants were given in Mexico, one in Peru, and two in the United States.
SUMMARY: In summary, we are happy to report that since 2021, 27 grants have been provided to our schools in Mexico and the United States, and for projects in Peru. Total funding from 2021-2024 has been $51,250. We feel that the communities supported by these grants have been enhanced by the work provided by student teams throughout the last three years.
Sisters Supporting Women for a Better World
Grant Summaries,
2023 – 2024
MEXICO
Colegio Mexicano, A.C., Monterrey, N.L., “Free of Violence, NO means NO”
This project has worked toward recognizing environments of violence in childhood and adolescence, providing different teaching areas for their personal safety. Mental, physical and verbal skills will be addressed through self-defense empowerment for women in workshop training occurring May- June 2024.
As background, in 2021 according to research, the State of Nuevo Leon was the sixth entity with more cases of children and adolescents (NNA) treated in hospitals for violence. This year, 1,825 allegations were filed, which is the year with the highest crime rate since the pandemic. During the last school year, 2023-2024, the eighth-grade students of the Colegio Mexicano were exposed to some of the problems that women face today. They stated that violence is one of the issues that can be observed in daily life or on social media. For this reason, the team decided to work so that the school’s boys, girls, and adolescents would have the essential tools to recognize when they are in a situation that puts their lives and the lives of others at risk.
The Mexican School in the City of Monterrey is one of the first places in Latin America to implement the NO means NO program, which aims to promote cultural change in favor of violence prevention through socioemotional education. NO means NO is an initiative created by the international organization NO MEANS NO WORLDWIDE, a non-profit organization whose mission is to end violence against women and children worldwide. It works with children and adolescents from 10 to 20 years through a curriculum of 10 or 15 modules, separating the groups by gender.
Sixty-one high school students enrolled in the NO means NO project funded by the CCVI grant, and 36 students between the ages of 11 and 15 years of age, 29 female and 7 males, completed this project. Contact and teamwork were developed with the government of the city of Monterrey, and alliances were established with the associations of CreeSer, Supera, and Casa Leona. Ten preparation modules (cognitive, verbal, and physical skills) were completed, and the graduation ceremony held by the Colegio Mexicano and the City of Monterrey was held for 36 students prepared to carry the message of non-violence towards women in our society.
At the beginning of this project, some parents were a little suspicious about discussing these types of topics with the students since the curriculum talks about all kinds of violence, including sexual attacks that may exist in children and adolescents. Because of this, some specialists in the subject, psychologists, coordinators, and instructors of the program attended an introductory talk where they clarified their doubts and concerns to decide to enroll their child in the project eventually, and the team was grateful for the involvement of the students.
Instituto America, Chihuahua, Mexico, “Support to Mothers of Darenka 2024″
This project provided support for low-income mothers whose children are undergoing cancer treatments. In this solidarity effort, help is being provided through the distribution of Ensure Pediátrico, a nutritional supplement that allows children to recover the nutrients lost during the chemotherapy process. Ensure Pediatrics not only serves the purpose of strengthening the nutrition of children undergoing treatment, but also has a positive impact on the overall well- being of families by reducing the financial pressure associated with the costs of these supplements.
Chemotherapy treatments often cause weight loss and malnutrition in oncological children, which severely compromises their well-being and the efficacy of medical treatments. With its specialized formula, Ensure Pediátrico provides the essential nutrients these children require to maintain optimal nutritional condition, directly influencing their ability to fight the disease and improve their quality of life. In addition, for each medical consultation, the mothers of these children come from various parts of the state and, in many cases, are forced to stay on-site for more than a week, which implies a significant economic expense and considerable emotional wear and tear due to the difficult situation they face. Thus, the support they receive through Ensure Pediátrico not only alleviates the financial burden of these mothers but also gives them the peace of mind of knowing that they are providing their children with the necessary nutrition to face their treatment in an optimal way. This intervention becomes a fundamental pillar in improving the quality of life of pediatric cancer patients. It provides essential support to mothers who courageously devote themselves completely to the care of their children in this battle against the disease. Ensure Pediátrico or PediaSure is extremely effective in helping these children recover from their nutritional losses. Some of them even need up to two daily doses of this product. Each product container includes 16 units and costs $817.37, covering a patient’s nutritional needs for only eight days.
The team worked with the Darenka, A.C. organization which offers support for chemotherapy treatment to approximately 128 children from low-income families living in various locations in Chihuahua. January 9 and 10, 2024, were dates set aside for purchasing the “Ensure Pediátrico” and then for delivering them to the association with the group of students selected on behalf of our institution on January 15, 2024. Therefore, this project helped 16 children and their mothers during a week of treatment. The families have limited resources, mostly from the Sierra Tarahumara in Chihuahua.
A difficulty encountered was reaching all of the mothers consistently. Since the mothers are constantly on the move (and come from different parts of our state), scheduling a meeting or event where they are all congregated (this case could occur only by chance) is impossible. It is important to know that some mothers do not have only one child. Therefore, it should be considered that in addition to the Ensure donation, sometimes part of the budget and/or donations are used to buy medicines, food, toys, etc. Thus, it is important to have the participation or support from other organizations that do similar work.
Through the Social Projection program, high school students of Instituto America met and worked hand in hand with the Darenka association; location: Avenida Pascual Orozco 2303, Chihuahua, Mexico
Colegio Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra, A.C., “Social Intervention Project to Create an Environment and Contribute Through Education to the Eradication of Child Pregnancy and Reduction of Teenage Pregnancy”
Research by this school found that the most worrisome problem in their area is pregnancy among girls under 15 years of age. This project was designed to create a group of students, teachers and parents to provide, through social service and the educational ministry of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, support for girls and adolescents who have an early pregnancy, taking care of their physical and mental health issues.
A social intervention project was developed to create an environment and contribute through education to the eradication of child pregnancy and reduction of teenage pregnancy. The most significant progress was the female students’ awareness-raising which involved visiting the community to learn about the context.
The impact has been of the project has been positive. In this second intervention in the community of Xoteapan, pregnant girls and young women are more accepting of the care provided by the Casa de Salud professionals. Because of the community´s traditions, girls and young women were able to complete elementary school and then become pregnant at an early age. Because of the same customs, they do not accept medical attention. 27 people were served and will benefit from medicines for pregnancy and clothes for their babies. The health center will have a Doppler to monitor the baby’s proper development during pregnancy. Even though the health center depends on the Ministry of Health and Assistance, it does not have the medicines to care for pregnant girls.
The main challenge for this project has been time. The community served is Xoteapan, but other smaller communities depend on the health center. The team responded by approaching Texcaltitlan and Puerta Nueva communities to prevent the girls and young women from spending money on tickets since they depend on their in-laws and have limited economic resources.
The team collaborated with the Secretary of Health and Assistance in this program for pregnant girls. The students’ intervention was to work with the health promoters. A previous meeting was held with the promoters, who guided them on how to approach and reassure the pregnant women.
In the promoter’s work agenda, the team included the following: Talks about healthy eating during pregnancy and health care during pregnancy. The students participated in several activities and talked about violence since they are victims of different types of violence when they are in the hands of their baby’s father’s family.
AWARENESS-RAISING STAGE, First Visit to Community of Xoteapan
ATTENTION OFFERED TO TEXCALTITLAN COMMUNITY
ATTENTION IN THE UERTA NUEVA COMMUNITY
BAZAAR ORGANIZED BY THE STUDENTS WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS AND PASTORAL AGENTS.
PERU
Asociados Comunidad Miguel Ángel, Urbanización Villa sol Distrito Los Olivos – LIMA – PERÚ, “Empodérate: Mirada de Mujer” (Empower Yourself: In the Eyes of a Woman)
This project consisted of sessions designed to encourage, guide and train low-income women from New Chimbote to start or improve their own business ventures. Combining tools and methods, where the participants are considered as the key players and central axis of learning, rescuing their personal, community and entrepreneurial experiences in the training process. Funding included roundtrip airfare to Chimbote, aid materials and office supplies, snacks, certificates, etc.
After working with the women, a more consolidated group was formed and the team developed more trust with the women. As topics developed, the women showed greater interest and the wish to learn more. The team saw their appreciation of the value of their businesses, and how they were content with only selling to make money. The area served is a growing settlement with a lack of drinking water and electricity, and families with a high percentage of women as the heads of households, who are engaged in selling in marketplaces or small stalls in their homes. Twenty-five women benefitted from the entrepreneurial skills and empowerment workshop provided by the team. In general, many families within the settlement can benefit from this knowledge, since these initiatives are an example for other women to begin small businesses in an innovative and positive way.
The team believes that they have had an impact within the community because the women were able to understand the quality of the product they have in their hands, and they actually produced an income by advertising, being innovative, choosing to serve with a positive attitude that invites their buyers to come back or to recommend them.
UNITED STATES
University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas “Cycle of Empowerment: Ensuring Educational Access for Ugandan High School Young Women”
For the last four years, a UIW team of female volunteer doctoral candidates have mentored women and young women in San Antonio, Kosovo, Turkey, Kenya, and Uganda in a gender-specific leadership development and global education program. Through research and lived realities with their mentees and realizing the many needs of the students, the UIW doctoral candidates developed a project to assist in creating a sustainable solution to help the young women stay in school.
The Ugandan high school young women have the capability to produce quality shoes to sell in the market. In the past, the shoes were built by hand; however, with the proper equipment, tools, technology and materials, the process could be more efficient, giving the young women more time for school work, family time and rest. Funding from this grant resulted made this process a reality and made a significant impact on the young women and adult mentors. The young women serve as role models to younger girls in their school and demonstrate their leadership skills outside of school, such as in their homes and in church. They are better equipped to mentor their peers in their schools and community with the skills obtained and the leadership and entrepreneurship development skills they will receive.
Because of a different school schedule, this project was actually implemented from June 28th-July 8th, 2024. Leadership lessons (workshops) were developed for the young women to create a sustainable plan for the Shoe Project. A business plan was outlined, and information was provided to approximately 600 students and administrators. Holy Cross Lake View Catholic Secondary School (HCLV) was visited in Jinja, Uganda, and young women were taught leadership lessons for 2.5 hours each day for four days. The workshops were implemented with the leadership team and collaboratively with the mentors located in Africa. The grant’s impact is significant. First, the workshops drew an average of 30 (or more) young women each day (four total workshop days), and the assembly talks (two times a week) impacted over 1,400 students, not including administration and teachers.
On Friday, July 5, 2024, the sewing machines, sole roughner machine, tools, and materials, were purchased with the grant funding, brought to the school and demonstrations took place on how to make the sandals. It takes 3 hours to make one pair by hand. Before having the machines, the young women would have to outsource the sewing of the soles – taking money from their profits. In addition to this, the process to sew the shoe takes less time allowing the young women more time for their studies, chores, and rest. In addition, the young women now have their own laptops to work with that will help keep track of essential items such as their billing, marketing, and correspondence. The HCLV students do not own laptops or cell phones nor have easy access to computers at school, so owning their laptop for the project is extremely helpful. The money made from the shoes provides essential school needs for the UIW YWGLP young women. Here are some of the critical impacts of the grant:
Leadership Development: The leadership workshops funded by the grant have equipped young women with essential leadership skills, such as decision-making, conflict resolution, and effective communication. These skills have empowered them to take on leadership roles within their school communities, fostering a sense of confidence and responsibility. One notable success story is that of Tyra, a young woman from our program who won an election, demonstrating exceptional leadership and dedication. She now serves as the Assistant General Secretary for the Uganda National Students Association. Her journey from a participant in our UIW YWGLP program to a respected leader in her school community, predominately dominated by young males, is one of many inspiring examples of the transformative power of your support.
Entrepreneurial Skills: The shoe project itself has provided a hands-on, practical entrepreneurial experience. The young women have learned how to manage a business, from production to marketing and sales. This experience has taught them the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and business management. This has also taught them to work as a team.
Economic Empowerment: The income from the shoe project has financially benefited young women, empowering them to purchase essential school items and personal hygiene products that their parents might not have been able to afford. This economic empowerment fosters a sense of belonging in their school community, where they spend nine months yearly. These young women recognize that while they may not need the money, their participation in the project helps support their peers who do.
Community Impact: The project has had a ripple effect within the community. The young women have become role models to both male and female students in their school. Most importantly, they inspire other young girls to work on their talents and skills and take on leadership roles. The project’s success has also highlighted the potential of young women as contributors to the local economy and community development.
Personal Growth: Participation in the shoe project and leadership workshops has fostered significant personal growth among young women. They have developed greater self-esteem, resilience, and a sense of purpose. The project successfully met (and will continue to work on) the objectives and project goals the young women have set for themselves:
Objectives:
- To see that every girl child has all the basic needs to keep them in school.
- To raise awareness about the importance of young women’s involvement in leadership.
- To impart skills that will help them to survive in life beyond future employment.
- To instill a sense of belonging and care for others among the young women.
Overall, the grant has successfully fulfilled its purpose of fostering leadership development and skills among young women in Uganda. It has also established a sustainable and empowering environment, enabling these young women to take pride in their talents and abilities. Through their leadership and educational initiatives, they are making a lasting impact in both their home and school communities.
Incarnate Word Academy, St. Louis, Missouri, “Connecting with Our Family at Good Shepherd”
“YOU ARE MORE… Walking Together” (Eras Mas)
This grant was designed to provide needed items for the young mothers and their children who are in residence at the Good Shepherd Center in Saint Louis for children and family services to enable the moms to feel affirmed, more independent, and prepared for raising their children both now and as they leave this program. The mothers served by Good Shepherd are approximately 12-21 years of age and reside at Good Shepherd.
In consultation with the administrative staff at Good Shepherd, the student Mission Committee from IWA determined the items most needed by these new mothers. Funding from this grant was used to purchase 14 strollers, 5 sets of towels, and Dove lotions for the moms in residence, and these items were delivered to the Center. The student Mission Committee members from Incarnate Word Academy also participated in writing encouraging notes to the mothers.
A letter of appreciation was received from Kathy Fowler, CEO of Good Shepherd, who stated: “The generosity and kindness will be appreciated and utilized by mothers and their babies served in our maternity shelter and through our pregnancy and parenting support program. Your generosity inspires us to continue to work with dedication and passion.”
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