Brenda’s blooming piñata business
Brenda lives in the rural town of Tepecoyo. She owns and runs a small piñata making business in the center of town. Brena started the Women’s Empowerment Project in February of 2023 and since then she’s shown a passionate commitment to participating in the activities and has expressed how much she’s eager to learn. Brenda started […]
Remembering and recognizing our personal history is the first step to empowerment
Our history begins before we are born. We are marked by various factors that happen during gestation, as well as our genotype. Our adventure begins when we are conceived, and from there, we begin to establish who we will be in the future. Thinking about our history is not an easy task. While some events […]
Meet our newest 3 staff members!
Our work continues to grow and significantly impact more Salvadoran families and, as we move forward in the creation of new projects, we are happy to share that the Programa Velasco family is also growing. Today we introduce you to the 3 newest members of our team: Wendy, Ricardo, and Aida. Wendy is the new […]
Breaking the Bias: “There’s no way a woman can work and give her family the love and attention they need. It’s not possible.”
“She should always choose their family” This is something that Salvadoran women hear during their lives. In the Women’s Empowerment Project (WEP) we have the opportunity to witness how many women prove this wrong. One of these women is Veronica, back in January 2021 who during a visit from the WEP staff, Veronica stated how […]
Breaking the Bias: 42.85% of our women entrepreneurs in Tepecoyo dropped out of elementary school to focus on household chores.
The United Nations has been commemorating International Women’s Day on March 8th since 1975. This day is linked with the feminist movements during the Russian Revolution of 1917. This means that for over a century, women have been advocating for their right to vote, equal working conditions, and equal pay, among other demands. Today, […]
The Strength of Women: More Real Than Ever
Founded in November 2019, “The Strength of Women” (La Fuerza de las Mujeres) is a Savings and Lending Group (SLG) made up of twelve entrepreneurs who graduated from the Women’s Empowerment Project (WEP). When they started, none of them could have imagined what they were going to confront and achieve. The goal of the Savings […]
NEW: Families United Project in Tepecoyo
Programa Velasco’s goal has always been to create a positive impact in the lives of Salvadoran families, aimed at breaking the cycle of violence, gender inequality, and poverty in which they live. With the new Families United Project in Tepecoyo, PV is building on its strong history of social impact work and commitment to the […]
Meet Raquel
My name is Raquel Torres and I am a rising sophomore at Marquette University, double majoring in Political Science and Latin American Studies. I have spent the summer virtually interning for Programa Velasco, and the experience has been something that I will forever be grateful for. I was born and raised in Chicago, but my […]
The challenge of coloring and drawing for Salvadoran rural women
For a lot of people, coloring and drawing can be a very natural, relaxing, and even therapeutic activity almost like any other, if we are familiar with these actions. Other people may feel insecure because they don’t know if they’re doing a good job or they consider it to be an activity only for children. […]
How do the WEP Self-Saving and Lending Groups work?
As a part of the Women’s Empowerment Project(WEP), participants create self-savings and loan groups, called GAAP for its meaning in Spanish, in the communities of Tepecoyo and San Ramon since 2019. The methodology was inspired by a community initiative made by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and it involves making savings and loans with funds from […]
