Your Grassroots Dollars Support Organizations Addressing Many Issues
In the past few years, our Grants Program in the United States has experienced a notable increase in funding applications. The rising number of requests reflects the growing need among women-led grassroots organizations. This increase and our expanding visibility highlight the trust organizations place in us and the urgent need for greater investment in women-focused […]
What Mainstream Feminism is Missing
Let’s not forget that feminism is “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.” Feminism is not trying to make yourself the woman who’s on top, it’s about striving for equality for all.
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Where Have All the Children Gone?
The Baltimore Sun paper recently reported that there is no longer a surge of minors crossing into the U.S. So, where are they? On a recent trip to El Salvador, my friend and I discovered that these children and adults are still heading north for the same reasons.
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Humanizing Mothers & Daughters of Incarceration
We challenge stereotypes about who goes to prison and why. Conspire performer Marianna Marchesini is a single mother of two sons. She says, “Like most of us who have found ourselves in jail or prison, I’ve lost a great deal of self-confidence.”
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Meet Mary’s Pence: Nadine
Throughout her life, Nadine never believed she was limited because she was a woman, and it was with this attitude that she came to Mary’s Pence in 2011. She was especially attracted by our organization’s roots in Catholic Social Teaching and feminism – a combination you don’t see very often!
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What One Bequest Can Do!
Because of her bequest to Mary’s Pence earlier this year, we were able to move forward with a long-held dream: to help the women involved in our ESPERA loan pools improve the financial and marketing skills necessary to ensure the success of their small businesses.
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Violence in the Northern Triangle
A farming issue in El Salvador has been the use of genetically modified seeds. Monsanto owns the seeds, and farmers have to buy new ones for each planting season. If they should blow onto a neighboring farm, that owner can be sued.
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ESPERA Assembly in Suchitoto, El Salvador
During the assembly, the women broke into small groups based on the kinds of business they run. Together they brainstormed ideas to improve their business and different ways to create economic solidarity.
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Social Justice: A calling for Sister Patricia Ann Hurley.
She was the steady, quiet rock who created a foundation in the home office so Maureen (Mary’s Pence foundress) could do her amazing work organizing, speaking, meeting — ever tilling the fields across the country. Together they built the legacy we all inherited.
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Exploring Economic Injustices: Guest Reflections on Visiting ESPERA Groups in Mexico
I visited the home of Letty in Cuentepec, a small indigenous village in the rural outskirts of Cuernavaca. It was the feast day of St. Sebastian, the patron Saint of their town, and following their custom, each family welcomed us with an edible feast of chicken mole with all the trimmings.
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