Celebrating the Luchadoras of 2022
Happy New Year to all our partners and friends! In 2022, Footprints with Hope celebrated many exciting accomplishments. We hosted our second group of women in the Luchadora Program, and we added ten women to the program, roughly a 20% increase! In the program, we were also able to include the salon skills of nails and facials, which was an addition to simple hair skills taught in year one. The program is proving to be quite successful, and we are so excited to watch these women grow! You can watch testimonies here.
Palmito Projects of 2022
In July, Restoration Park Church took a team of 4 to the village of Pueblecito (aka Palmito). During the week the team met with village council leaders to continue discussions of how to best partner with their village. They also provided funding and began a construction project for a new kitchen area for the village. The church in that community hosts people and children through the week and having a space to adequately cook will make a large difference! The team began that project and the community finished it roughly a month later. In the span of 2 years, with the partnership of RPC and Footprints with Hope, Pueblecito has gained clean water, a safe and large space for the women to make the artisan bags/hats, and a kitchen, covered with a roof and with walls. The partnership has been beautiful and we look forward to returning in 2023!
Looking into 2023
Can you believe we are already halfway into month one of 2023? As we celebrate what we accomplished in 2022, we are excited about the goals of this next year. So, what are our 2023 goals? Here are a few to list them out:
- Increase the amount of women who can participate in the Luchadora program by another 20%.
- Inside the Luchadora program, we hope to introduce drawing as an element to the program. This will allow the women another reflective tool to help work through the difficulties they have faced, provide confidence building, and a potential way of income to sell their drawings.
- In addition to the women learning the drawing techniques, we would like to provide this same opportunity to the children of the women who attend. When a child can obtain this skill, they have the potential to change their future in multiple ways.
- We will be adding massage to the list of vocational skills the women will learn, so when they graduate, they can have a full working spa/salon for hair, makeup, nails, facials and massage! The women who graduated in former programs will have the opportunity to come back to learn this skill
- We continue to want to bring clean water to more villages. We have the goal of one village this year! The estimated cost is between $10,000- $15,000.
- Lastly, years ago, the Colombian Methodist Church began a church build in the community of Brisas del Mar. This year we hope to raise $10,000 to complete (in steps) the construction process. Phase one costs $10,000. The building, when complete, will serve as a gathering place, have a miniature apartment for the pastor quarters, and host class room space to teach the youth entrepreneurial skills.
Partner with Us!
In our goal to grow our programs, we are looking for more partners like YOU! It is because of the generous donations that we are able to help the women and children of Colombia. Remember: 80% of the 7 million displaced people of Colombia are women/children. Your simple donation carries the ability to change one woman’s life! That, in turn, changes the future for her children as well.
We are seeking five new monthly donors! The donation amount can be small or large, every dollar makes a difference. You can partner with us here. If you sign up to become a monthly donor for 2023, we have a handmade gift from Colombia we will send you, made by the women in the indigenous community.
We look forward to sharing updates with you through the blog, newsletter and our facebook page! Happy New Year, friends!
