El Salvadorian Testimonials

---

 Ana Luis lives in extreme poverty. She can’t afford extra things like sanitary products for her own monthly cycle, so using the products herself is a great incentive to be involved in MePower. She’s also excited about the opportunity to create a business. She doesn’t know much about sewing, but through the donations from MePower, she has the opportunity to participate in a sewing class. The skills learned through that class can then be used to make reusable pads for her own use and also as a product that she can use to start her own business and generate income to help her economic situation. We help them learn how to manage a business with additional classes in pricing, money management, and setting up bank accounts. 

 Laura lived on the street but is off the streets now, working hard for a new life for herself and her four kids. She is the primary breadwinner for her family and supports her children and her aging mother. She has never learned to read and write, but she is clever, funny, innovative, and a hard worker. She is excited about MePower and has been practicing on the fabrics and learning to sew the pads. She’s looking forward to selling them and making additional income for her family.  The women are required after they sell their first batch of supplies to pay a small amount back to MePower to support additional women to participate and teach them to manage expenses. 

Fidelia is an older woman who is new to the program. She found out about the sewing project, and she jumped at the chance to try the products out. Surprisingly, older women use the pads for urinary incontinence, which is common because most women have many children. Fidelia also loves using sewing skills to generate a product she can sell with flexible hours. She lives in a very precarious housing situation with no good options for income. Because of her age, few options or social safety nets are available. She is grateful for the MePower project!