Transforming Leadership in Central America
Grassroots organizing is a demanding, time-intensive job, and too often goes unpaid. Across communities, women step up to lead because they care about their communities and the dignity of other...
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Economic Power and Emotional Healing in Central America
At Mary's Pence, we believe in women's power to shape their futures. Through the ESPERA program, women across Latin America are building economic independence and creating community-led financial systems. Whether...
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ESPERA Program on the Global Stage
In March 2025, Mabel, the ESPERA Program Lead at Mary’s Pence, and Katherine, our Executive Director, traveled to New York to participate in several UN activities to celebrate International Women’s...
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How ESPERA Group Leaders Are Redefining Leadership in El Salvador
Follow up committee going over evaluations in 2023. Guadalupe (also known as Lupita by her colleagues) loves to take advantage of any karaoke sessions as the rest of the...
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Cultivating Community and Knowledge: Concertación de Mujeres de Suchitoto Annual Report
We are pleased to share with our Mary's Pence community the annual report of Concertación de Mujeres de Suchitoto. Concertación de Mujeres de Suchitoto is the largest of our ESPERA...
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ESPERA Program Celebrates 15 Years of Improving Women’s Lives
This year the ESPERA program celebrates 15 years of improving women's lives across Central America and Mexico. ESPERA began with the simple notion of a lending pool. If communities of...
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Mary’s Pence Supports Lenca Women’s Move to Sustainable Coffee Farming in Honduras
One of the newest partners of the Mary's Pence ESPERA program, the Grupo de Mujeres Lencas (GML) from Honduras, is a group of Indigenous women who are small coffee producers...
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Mary’s Pence is Building Bridges Across Countries
At the end of June, our ESPERA partners in Nicaragua received a special visit. Mabel, our ESPERA Team Lead, visits CEPROSI a couple of times per year, but this time,...
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How María Rebuilt Her Bakery After Surviving Cancer
María Transito and her husband run a small business together in a rural area of Tonacatepeque in El Salvador. Their house is divided into two parts: a bedroom and a...
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Organic Gardening Emerging in El Salvador
An increasing number of communities, including our ESPERA partners in El Salvador, have turned their attention to organic farming as a sustainable alternative amidst challenges posed by climate change and...
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