In light of Earth Day we want to recognize the efforts of the children (and their parents) at the Child Development Center to establish a connection with the planet and care for the environment. Programa Velasco is proud to support families at the ANADES Child Development Center by providing access to educational field trips that reinforce what the children are learning inside the classrooms.

“I wish I had known this before” said Araceli, a Programa Velasco intern, before making a list of things that she didn’t know before coming to El Salvador for the first time. Araceli thought that a good way to celebrate National Volunteer Month was to share what she had learned during her time as a volunteer this past summer. It’s also a way to encourage someone who wants to be a volunteer or an intern in El Salvador and prepare them for their stay in the country.

The WEP Team (left to right): Pamela Ramírez, Fernando Mendoza, Flor Castro, and César Gómez
The Women’s Empowerment Project celebrates five years with a fresh start!

The United Nations (UN) declares that February 20 is the “World Day of Social Justice”. The UN advocates that “The celebration of the World Day of Social Justice seeks to support the work of the international community aimed at eradicating poverty and promoting employment, fundamental principles and rights at work, gender equality, access to social welfare, and social justice for all. “

A group of Salvadoran women gifted with different talents, knowledge and skills, are willing to share them with graduated entrepreneurs of our Women’s Empowerment Project (WEP). These women are opening a path in their businesses and are taking every opportunity to acquire more knowledge and skills which they can implement to then improve their businesses.

Steffany is the newest addition to our Programa Velasco team! She is studying Social Communications at the Universidad Centroamericana “José Simeón Cañas”. Upon first meeting Steffany, she expressed her enthusiasm to start applying the knowledge she gained from her studies into a work setting like Programa Velasco. From that initial meeting, we knew that Steffany would bring her passion and knowledge into the role of Communications intern at Programa Velasco.

Fernando is the newest member of our team, and he will work hand in hand with Diego, our Strategy Coordinator, as a Program Monitoring and Evaluation Intern. Fernando is currently completing his third year in Marketing at the Central American University “José Simeón Cañas” (UCA). Fer is a cheerful, friendly, reliable, and empathetic person – all of which will serve him well when working with the women and children of our programs!

We are in the final stretch of the year. The entrepreneurs have spent a lot of time learning more tools and skills to grow their businesses so they can achieve more economic stability for their businesses and families. The Women’s Empowerment Project it is not just about PV facilitating workshops and finishing there, it is just as important to measure if the entrepreneurs have grasped and understood the most important issues. And if not, we give feedback to help reinforce certain subjects or skills.