T-minus 6 hours til the launch of Regional Identity!!!! # 
REDA women help domestic violence victims
by Iris Smith
April 2, 2010
Because of El Paso’s close relationship with Juarez, immigration has always been at the forefront of local politics. One connected issue is domestic violence in immigrant households, especially towards immigrant women.
Recently, five women, Maria Elena Garcia, Mayela Lopez, Isabel Aleman, Samantha Gomez and Melissa Batista Limon formed BELLA (Benévola, Exitosa, Líder, Libre, Apasionada) with the goal of fighting domestic violence and empowering the women affected by it. The group offers classes every Tuesday to two shelters, Dame la Mano and La Posada. The classes encompass a variety of subjects, such as leadership, self-esteem, nutrition, and beauty. The women of the Regional Economic Development Association signed on with BELLA to teach a basic finance class in the two shelters.
On Tuesday, March 30, Alejandra Hernandez, Elisa Samaniego, Margarita Ortega, and I taught the first financial literacy class in Dame la Mano. Accompanied by the women of Bella, we were allowed entry into the shelter. The curriculum for the class is divided into three parts. The beginning consists of basic bank terminology, such as the different types of bank accounts. The second part was budgeting with the essentials of making of budget. The final part reviewed the pros and cons of debit and credit cards and demonstrated how to balance a checkbook. As a supplement to our discussion, we provided handouts for the women, including checkbook transaction registers.
When we arrived at the shelter, we first intended to teach the class as a whole and ask for questions after each section. However, the class began with about six women, so we divided into groups so we could answer more personal questions and help at different paces. This way, we could also speak English or Spanish depending on what the women wanted. Because women came and left, it became more of a counseling session than an organized class.
Since there were also many children, we took turns helping with childcare and entertaining the children so the mothers could have more time to themselves. With our first class being a success, we plan to have our next one on Tuesday, April 6, at La Posada shelter.
BELLA is constantly looking for volunteers to help look after children and for monetary and materials donations. To learn more about BELLA, email malena@las-americas.org or call (915) 544-5126 Ext 28. You can also join their Facebook group BELLA to learn more.
Print
Richard Sapien April 2, 2010, 8:29 pm
Great job girls. These are the types of community service projects are college students should be engaging in.
Alejandra Hernandez April 7, 2010, 2:35 pm
I must admit although we were set up to work in an environment we neither truly knew nor had been in before, the cause was all but worth it. I hope to follow a partnership with organizations like such and to really find ways in which to give back to the community.
Shannon Osborne April 8, 2010, 11:17 am
Ladies,
What a wonderful program! I have visited Dame La Mano last year and I’m sure they were very grateful to have dynamic young women support them. It is great to see young women helping other women who are in need in the community.
I would like to share with you a program that is taking place during the month of April. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and the UTEP – Women’s Resource Center is planning several activities throughout the month to speak out against assault against women, children and men.
We have several events posted on our website, http://www.utep.etu/wrc, but I’d like to encourage REDA to attend Take Back the Night on April 29, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. at the Union Cinema. Survivors will talk about their experiences, create awarenes and hopefully empower others to speak out against violence that is affecting our students and community.
Thank you for all the great work that you do! Keep it up!