Advertisement
Published: January 26th 2014
Lunch at 100% Natural
Thanks to Adriana the Franchisee of 100% Natural the owner of the Merida location provided lunch for 30 of us as a graduation to all the girls. It was the first time almost all of them had been to a restaurant. In fact, many were giggling hysterically because they had no idea how anything in the bathroom worked.What an amazing ride this week in Mérida has been. Tia and I feel unbelievably grateful for having such amazing hosts, we couldn't have asked for a more successful trip. Brian and Deyanira really went out of they way to ensure that we felt at home. "
mi casa es su casa". Tia and I both appreciate culture experiences and enjoyed the ability to participate in day to day life- when away from home. This always makes our work and experience more fulfilling.
Watching the girls blossom throughout the week was amazing. One girl even shared that she wanted the group to keep going because it was a safe place for her to be. Another shared she was grateful that she actually had the privilege of having the space to share her thoughts and ideas; something that is not common for girls here. Mexico was recently rated the 3rd worst place in the world to be a woman. The number of single mothers, poverty, and inability to live to their fullest because of their beliefs around needing a partner to succeed in life is very high. It was amazing to hear that three of the girls were sharing the information with
Carmen and I
Carmen wanted one last squeeze before leaving their mother. The ripple effect of that is huge and brings a smile to my face as it speaks volumes about their interest and intentions.
Yucatan women are warm people though almost all we met carried this sadness and pain of abandonment, abuse, neglect, and distrust of possibilities. All the girls we worked with went to school but the system does not allow room to think freely, exploring possibilities, and really taking accountability for their own success in life. It's very sad. That being said, I really believe the work we did here created the space for them to start to explore possibilities and rethink things a little more.
Throughout the week girls went from quiet and meek to full of laughter and loud voices. Girls who refused to share started to share proudly. In the next month or so the girls will start to create their community projects and we'll get updates along the way. We are so fortunate to have Deyanira who is an Engineer and Project Manager to support the girls moving forward as well as Patricia, a volunteer in the community. Deyanira will be our new Mexico Rep moving forward which is really excited.
Peer support
Cristi helping Rocio catch up as she missed three days from being sick She already worked her magic and I did an early more spot in Ch13 here in Merida. In addition thanks to 100%!N(MISSING)atural, a restaurant chain here in Mexico, the girls were being taken for a graduation lunch and we had two news crews (local and national) there to share about our work.
All in all, this trip was one of the best ones yet and I can only see things moving up from here!
Hasta pronto Mexico, Vancouver and San Diego we are coming home (For a short while!)
Loretta-- (on three hours sleep and 9 hours of travel- pls excuse typos 😉
BIG, BIG thanks and love to Tia for continuing to ride the wave of creating Global Sorority with me. You're dedication, passion, drive, and skills are sooooo valuable and I couldn't think of anyone else I would rather journey with!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.217s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 15; qc: 56; dbt: 0.0863s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Maverick
non-member comment
Inspirational
Loretta, Tia, the work you do is incredibly inspiring and necessary. Thank you for your commitment to making a difference.