A Vision of Hope

Mi Esperanza means “My Hope” and began in 2002 with a vision to provide assistance for women in the villages surrounding Tegucigalpa, Honduras. This is done by providing micro-business loans and skills training. Poverty throughout the world has a woman’s face. Of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty, 70 percent are women. Many of the women are single mothers living in extreme poverty who are supporting their families without assistance. Their lives are about survival and trying to meet the most basic of needs like food, clean water, and shelter. Through Mi Esperanza, women are finding a new sense of hope and self empowerment. Through this they are able give their families stability for generations to come. Their futures are changed forever.

Since its conception the Mi Esperanza Project has continued to grow. We have given business loans to over 50 women to begin a variety of small grass roots businesses. Tortilla making, small home and traveling stores, sewing businesses, and peanut roasting are some of the businesses our participants have started. These businesses take women from no income to providing adequate food, clothing, and shelter for their families.

The Mi Esperanza Training Facility, centrally located in Tegucigalpa, is the heart beat of our training program. It is here students can receive training in sewing, computers, and cosmetology. With hands-on classrooms and an on-site salon, our instructors prepare our students to enter the work force, for many, for the the first time. All of our students and loan recipients also receive inner personal skills training to prepare them for owning a business or seeking employment in the work place. The training facility will also house our future projects of a literacy program and pregnancy prevention education. Our project manager Leo Silva oversees the daily operation of the Mi Esperanza House and loan program. Leo joined our team in May of 2004.
In June of 2006 the Mi Esperanza Program began a sewing co-op program. The co-op employees our graduates of the Mi Esperanza sewing program. It is in our two co-op centers that Mi Esperanza product are made. The women work and earn a wage to support themselves and a small amount is made to run the sewing co-op. Our newest employee Christina Cundiff manages productions of the work. Not only does the co-op sew Mi Esperanza products but co-op is receiving jobs from companies in the city.