Standing For Women
Lori Connell
Jeremy and his wife Melodye
For a long time I was ignorant to the issues that women around the world face regarding equality and opportunity. While my mother was very involved in my life I grew up in a male oriented environment, and to further compound my disconnection, I was blessed with three sons of my own. The saving grace in my life to helping me understand the world from a woman’s point of view has been my wife. She is able to point out injustices that I may not perceive and lovingly corrects me when I am living in my world of male privilege.
Mother’s Day was on Sunday and we celebrated my wife, Melodye, and the other mothers in our lives who have made such a deep impact on who we are as people. Motherhood can look so different and take on many forms but the constant is a deep, deep love and concern for children. Frequently those children are of their womb, but often that love reaches beyond blood and touches those that become family. Mothers stand and fight for their children, but often, especially in underdeveloped nations, there is no one to stand for the mothers. This is where Mi Esperanza thrives. Our organization is able to stand alongside the women with whom we serve, to offer education, training, loans, and work that create opportunities. Mi Esperanza stands with them not only to allow them seek opportunities for employment but also to empower them and lift their spirit. The programs offered through Mi Esperanza connect the mind and spirit which lift the entire person.
Jeremy checking in on a production job.
The significance of what Mi Esperanza does escape me sometimes. I get caught up in the operations of the organization and my mind wanders into the details of budgets, numbers, sales, production, and the list goes on and on and on. There are moments, however, when God allows me moments of clarity and the vision to see the magnitude of the work and the ripple effect that Mi Esperanza is having, one woman at a time. There are children who will have food, clothes, and an education, but behind them is a woman who is standing taller, feeling prouder, and inspired by the future she is creating for the generations to come. Jeremy