Programs for 246 women and 380 children
The Garden Project was started through collaboration with the Center for Action and Contemplation.. It involves 24 women and their families. The are provided a 4'x6' garden box, soil and seeds and they can grow food year round. Inaddition to learning about the practical, hands on approaches to gardening, they are participating in workshops on eco-spirituality. Their desire is to become earth promoters in the community.
Valores, Fe y Vida continues to the base of the women's programming at Centro Santa Catalina, offering space for reflection and deep spiritual growth. The four groups total 110 women and all of the families that participate in the Garden Project are from this group of women.
Women who have graduated from Valores, Fe, y Vida are involved in a new Family Systems Course which includes private counseling. We are grateful to the instructors Louise Raseo and Ada Luisa Trijo.
The sewing group, Cooperative Las Mujeres de Esperanza y Fe, is working to achieve their goal of saving $4000 so they will not need money from the Center's operating budget or grants.
The Homework Help Program is for grades 1-6 whose mothers attend Valores, Fe y Vida. A small scholarship (beca) of $25 is also provided to help their parents defray the cost of attending public school. A group of 38 teens are enjoying a Youth Group led by two social work students from the University of Juarez.
Other programs offered include: Spanish Literacy, English as a Second Language, Friday Prayer, the Visitor's Program and on-going Leadership Developement and Education for the Leadership Team.
Reflections
Greetings to the many friend and family of Centro Santa Catallina! I have had the opportunity and the privilege to walk with the Center since 1999. My heart and my commitment to the center will always lie in the relationships and the stories the women share of their lives and their children's lives. They continue to humble me, challenge me and of course inspire me.
This advent season, a season so full of hope, I invite you to find time to sit with this newsletter, to read the words especially those of Saira and her life. (Please go to "Our Story" on this site.) Allow this story to inspire you as well. While all the women carry their own story full of twits and turns and heartaches and joys, there are undoubtedly similar currents running through these women's lives. So often they speak of coming to now Centro Santa Catalina while simultaneously coming to know themselves and the value they have for themselves as women of faith and women of dignity.
I am grateful for the many ways that I have been invited into the heart of this Center and I extend that same gratitude to those of you who keep Cnetro Santa Catalina close to your heart.
Kirstin Maanum, Board Member
