Yesterday I visited El Refugio (The Refuge), a shelter for abused women and their children. Located on the outskirts of Guatemala City (artfully hidden in plain sight), the shelter serves women who have faced abuses that many people could not imagine; violence from spouses and family members to being passed around their own communities like property.
While this shelter is mission based, they promote what they refer to as a "personal relationship with God rather than relying on the church". This is in part due to the sad fact that often times when women seek help from their community or church, they are turned right back over to the same hands that have hurt them.
In Guatemala, domestic abuse and violence against women is widely accepted and rarely prosecuted. Shelters like El Refugio meet a critical need.
Many of the women who come to El Refugio are desperately trying to survive and provide for their families, but lack the education and resources they need to get out of their situation. Since opening in June of 2008, El Refugio has assisted over 60 women and their children as they escape violent situations and look for protection, healing and hope for the future.
The shelter provides multifaceted services to these women including shelter, counseling, legal services, job training and small business loans. Currently, women at the shelter are being taught to make unique jewelry using coffee beans. This venture has been so successful that their only problem to date has been keeping up with demand. They are also learning to sew aprons made from local fabrics. The primary goal in the development of micro-enterprise is providing income for the daily costs of running the shelter. The secondary goal is teaching the women a job skill with which they can provide for themselves and their children in the future.
To learn more, visit the Emmanuels Heart web site
No comments:
Post a Comment