Pastoral de la Mujer

I realized that I have not blogged about Pastoral de la Mujer and what exactly we do. Pastoral de la Mujer translates as Ministry of the Women, which is a program of the Catholic Church. The objective of Pastoral de la Mujer is to instill self-confidence and values into women. To help them recognize their own worth, and to realize that men and women are all equal. There are 3 women, plus myself who work in the main office in San Marcos. There is Elvia, Eluvia, the coordinator, Judy or Judith, who is a Maryknoll nun from the States, an intern called Veronica, and me. Then we have two members of our team that work solely with our scholarship program in Tajumulco. There is Sister Carmen, and Guatemalan nun who is also a teacher in the high school, and Willhem. Then there is another team who works with all the communities on the Pacific Coast.

We work within each parochial in San Marcos, and within each parochial there are multiple communities. Every month, or every other month, we visit each parochial to give a workshop, and the women travel to the central parochial house or central church. Many of these women walk for up to 5 hours to come to the workshops. I think they like them, but they have also mentioned the workshop is their ¨vacation¨ for the month. The workshops vary depending on the community and their needs and wants. When we enter new communities, or groups we have not worked with much, we give very basic workshops that also allow us to learn about the lives of the women. We talk a lot about domestic violence and the distribution of chores and work around the house. We also give workshops on the rights of women and try to improve the women´s self images and boost their confidence. In reality, many women do not have self-confidence and have never been told that they have value. In the beginning we work on really basic things, and as the community grows and develops we develop our workshops. Often the parochial or the women ask us to give certain workshops, like herbal medicines, environmental issues, and health in general. We also talk a lot about education and the importance of educating ourselves and our children. We also try to tell the women that changes begin with them, and they must pass confidence and feelings of value on to their daughters.

Then we have our Tajumulco scholarship program, which is funded by a single family in the United States through Catholic Relief Services. We have about 120 scholarship recipients in 4 communities in Tajumulco, and are about to add 2 additional communities. Families can only have one scholarship recipient, but there are a few families with two. I am not sure why they were allowed. Then the parents of the recipients have to study too, completing 6 primeria, which is essentially 5th grade or elementary school. If the parent has already graduated from 6 primeria, they have to bring us a copy of their graduation certificate. The way the parents study is slightly complicated. Some study through a radio program called IGER (which I am still confused about how IGER works) but each grade decides on a weekly meeting time and another nun, Sister Doma, works with the IGER students. Then there is a scholarship recipient assigned to each grade, and they also teach the classes.

Pastoral de la Mujer, here in San Marcos, tends to be more progressive than many organizations working for women´s rights, especially in the religious sector. I personally attribute this to two reasons. One, or coordinator and founder is an American who was raised in a more progressive culture and was educated in the States. I don´t mean to say that Americans are more able to be progressive, but there is something to be said for being raised in a culture where you are told you are valuable, and the educational system is just better in the States. Then the second, and more important reason, is the Bishop of San Marcos, Alvaro Ramizzini. Monteseñor is the most progressive Bishop in all of Guatemala, the most radical and outspoken, and fights the hardest for justice. Having his full support is a tremendous asset to our work throughout the diocese.