8/22/2019 Mi Esperanza Summer 2013 Newsletter

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MIESPERANZAWHATSNEW Is

Mi EsperanzaWhats New

August 6, 2013

SUMMER2013COMPUTERSCHOOLGRADUATION

INTHISISSUE

Can you believe it is August already? We surecant! We have had a fantastic year so far atMi Esperanza! As manyof you know, wecelebrated our 10

thanniversary in December

of 2012. 10 years of educating, empoweringand enhancing the lives of the women of

Honduras. What a blessing these past tenyears have been! We hope the blessings willcontinue for many more years to come!

Because of your support and commitment tohelping Mi Esperanza, we have been able toaccomplish a great deal. Last summer, wewere able to purchase a washer and dryer, andour fifth cutting station for our cosmetologyschool. Additionally, we have updated all ofour computers in our computer technologyclassroom and each one is connected to theInternet. The classroom has also beenoutfitted with new desks and chairs.

Furthermore, we were able to purchaseseveral industrial sewing machines andsergers for our sewing school. Lastly, werenovated our office space, and purchased awireless printer! All of this was made possible

because of donations made by mission teams,monthly supporters, and individual donors.Thank you all!

GlobalGiving Campaign

Mi Esperanza has been accepted to participatein the September 2013 GlobalGiving OpenChallenge!! GlobalGiving is an online

fundraising platform that works withregistered organizations to raise money andorganize donors for their work in communitiesall over the world. GlobalGiving offersorganizations a unique set of online tools,

strategic support, and the opportunity toconnect with their vast network of individualsand corporations. A big THANK YOU toArlene Day, Mohammed Chaara, Kay Grose,Jessica Schroer, and Brian Feldmeier forwriting reference letters! Check outglobalgiving.org for more information on theOpen Challenge!

We Need Your Help!

During the month ofSeptember, MiEsperanza will need to successfully raise atleast $5,000 from 40 unique donors in order

to be invited to become long-term members ofthe GlobalGiving community. Once we are a

part of the GlobalGiving community, we willbe able to connect to corporate givingcampaigns at companies like Ford, NikeFoundation, Dell, and more. Look out formore information on our website andFacebook page! You can also check out our

GlobalGiving project page:http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/educate-honduran-women-living-in-extreme-poverty/

Update on StudentsWomencontinuetolineuptotakefreeoursewing,

cosmetologyandcomputertechnologyclasses!

Page

Update on Special ProjectsOurmaquilaisworkinghardonprojectsoutsideof

producingmerchandiseforourstore!

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Whats New in 2013

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Since January of this year, we have had 14computer technology students, 22cosmetology students, and seven sewingstudents. Additionally we have nine sewing

students at our Santa Ana location, and wewill be starting another satellite sewing class

in the Mololoa community. We have also hadtwo graduations this year! In March of 2013,13 cosmetology students graduated aftercompleting five months of in class training,and a one-month internship. At the end ofJune, 10 computer students graduated aftercompleting our four-month computertechnology course. This totals over 60 womenwho have come to participate in our program

so far in 2013! Graduation for our sewingschool students will be held later in the fallafter the ten-month course is completed. Ourcurrent cosmetology students will graduate inthe fall, and the next computer technologycourse will start in August 2013.

Mi Esperanza has also partnered with twoother nonprofits in Honduras: Casa de Estherand Breaking Chains. These two organizationshave sent several young ladies to our center totake our computer technology andcosmetology courses, and all of them have

been very successful. Recently, we have madea connection with the Childrens Village ofHonduras, which is located in Valley of theAngels. The Director, a psychologist and the

administrator all came to tour the MiEsperanza Center, and plan on sending severalgirls to our next computer technology classthat will be starting in August. We lookforward to continuing our partnership withCasa de Esther and Breaking Chains, andhope to work with the Childrens Village ofHonduras in the future as well!

For more information on the organizationsmentioned above, please see their websites.

Casa de Esther:

http://www.arrow.org/church/internationaloprationshonduras/Casa-de-Ester.html

Breaking Chains:

http://www.bchonduras.org

Childrens Village of Honduras:

http://www.childrensvillagesofhonduras.org

Over the past several years, our maquila hasbeen working on several projects along withproducing merchandise for our store. InFebruary of 2012, production started on

public school uniforms for Honduran

children. School uniforms can cost up to $25each, and families living in extreme povertydo not have anywhere near that amount ofmoney to pay for uniforms for their children.

Several different groups have graciouslydonated funds for school uniforms to be made

by Mi Esperanza, so more underprivilegedchildren have the opportunity to attend publicschool. Mi Esperanza has made around 300uniforms, and will continue producinguniforms as donations come in. We appreciatethe opportunity to be able to provideHonduran children with the necessary toolsneed to receive an education.

Elizabeth Roney has also sought MiEsperanzas maquila out for the past severalyears to help her produce garments for her

clothing label LizAlig. Her mission is toprovide consumers with clothing that is fairtrade, ethical, and fashionable. All of thegarments made for the LizAlig line are

produced using standards of fair trade whichmeans that they pay a fair wage, and they al

purposely choose to work with groups indeveloping countries and low income

communities to encourage their economicgrowth. Please visit her website atwww.lizalig.com for more information.

Update on Students

Update on Special Projects

Picturedabove:publicschooluniforms

madebyMiEsperanzafor

underprivilegedHonduranchildren.All

uniformswerepaidforbydonations.

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MIESPERANZAWHATSNEW| Issue1

Additionally, the popular youth event,Winterfest, has hired our maquila to produce

the bags that will be given to each leader atthe start of the conference. Our ladies inSanta Ana are busy sewing 500 bags fromlarge corn sacks by the end of July!

And finally, our former intern, EA WadeLepine, had our ladies make her wedding

dress, her bridesmaids dresses, the groomsand groomsmens suits that she designed for

her wedding last summer! They all turned outbeautifully! Mi Esperanza is open to takingon most sewing projects, so please contact usfor more information!

Cosmetology School Gradshesebeautifulwomengraduatedfromourprogramin

Marchofthisyear.Theyoungladyinthefrontrowon

herightcametousfromBreakingChains.

Social EnterpriseheMiEsperanzastoreislocatedatourCenterin

egucigalpa,Honduras,andwealsohaveanonline

tore.Ourwomenproduceallofourtextile

merchandise,andwealsosellproductsmadebyother

women-ownedbusinessesthroughoutHonduras.Allof

urprofitsgodirectlybackintoournonprofit.Checkout

urwebsite:thewomenofmyhope.org/shop.

Purchase with a PurposeManyvisitorscametoMiEsperanzathissummer!

Mi Esperanza Visitors inHonduras

We want to say a big THANK YOU to thefollowing groups and individuals who came tovisit us in Honduras and made a donation in2013! Since the start of the New Year, wehave received nearly $10,000 in donations!

Bobby Davis - Indiana Team - IndustrialSewing Machines

Brian Feldmeier & Jessica Schroer Group -Teacher's Salaries, Maquila Roof

Kelley Hicks

Northside Church of Christ

Aubrey Presnell School Uniform project

Terry Reeves Group Cosmetology Program

Larry Sawyer Group - Okolona & FarmvilleChurch of Christ

Partners of Hope

We have also received over $25,000 indonations from our supporters in the states!We would like to recognize our monthlysupporters, and large donors:

Monthly Donors:

AT&T United Way Employee GivingCampaign

Andrea Blaylock

Bernard Breaux Family

Richard & Amy Cashio

Gary & Emily Clark

Rebecca Epps

Mark & Michelle Fittz

Billy Lee & Denise Garner

Robert & Kea Hampton

Edwina Revack

Pamela Timmerman

Doug Townsdin

Marce Urbanski

Large Donors Over $500

John Janssen & Assoc., Inc.

Christopher & Louise Lischewski

Jim G. McLaughlin

National Park Church of Christ

John Parrish

If you are interested in becoming a monthlydonor, please sign up on our website:

thewomenofmyhope.org/donate

Monthly donations of any amount are greatlappreciated!

Donations, Donations, Donations

EALepine,aformerinternforM

Esperanza,designedherweddi

partysdressesandsuits,andh

MiEsperanzamanufacturethe

Formoreinformation,visitourwebsite

thewomenofmyhope.org

LikeusonFacebook!

www.facebook.com/MiEsperanzaHondura

FollowusonTwitter!@MiEsperanza2

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The Mi Esperanza ArtisanTraining Center and RetreatFacility

Mi Esperanza has been able to provide womenwith financial, educational, and motivationalsupport for over ten years. We continue to seethe need to help more women; therefore, we feelthat it is necessary for our organization toexpand our reach to include poor women living

outside of the capital city. The Mi EsperanzaArtisan Training Center and Retreat Facilitywill provide the surrounding community ofSanta Ana with a pottery studio, artisan

classrooms, day care, a retreat center, a MiEsperanza store, prayer gardens, a chapel, and aresidence for the director, which has already

been constructed.

Mi Esperanza will provide educationalopportunities to women in the areas oftraditional Honduran art craft: mosaics,weaving, pottery, jewelry, woodcarving, etc.The women will be taught to work with their

hands to create beautiful works of art that theycan sell to and earn an income for their families.Additionally, the Artisan Training Center willallow us to increase the Mi Esperanza retail lineof fundraising products handmade by Mi

Esperanza women. Furthermore, the RetreatFacility will be available for groups andindividuals who are interested in learning more

about the work Mi Esperanza does, and willhave opportunities to volunteer with our

program.

Mi EsperanzaWhats New

PO Box 1575Mandeville, LA 70471

thewomenofmyhope.org

Future Goals and Future Projects