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Description of Project Mana
The Leadership
Retreat
For over 15 years Mujer,
Inc. has facilitated an annual Leadership Retreat for
young Latinas based on Mujer, Inc.’s Core Values of:
Mentoring (respecting and valuing other Latinas through
individual choices); Modeling (reflecting inner wisdom
and sacredness); and, Mirroring (through “LOVE”
‘Learning, Observing, Validating, and Engaging’). The
annual leadership retreat emphasizes these core values
and each member of Mujer is committed to these core
values of mentoring, modeling and mirroring as the
overarching theme at each of these Leadership Retreats.
The Annual Project Mana
Leadership Retreat promotes leadership and self-esteem
in young Latinas. Its emphasis is to help young Latinas
sustain themselves educationally and spiritually, and to
develop a strong sense of self-esteem, self-respect, and
cultural pride. The purpose of the Leadership Retreat
is to provide participants with an experience to learn
about themselves as females, to delve into issues of
self-identity, and, to get a clearer picture of what it
is to be a Latina. The Retreat exposes the participants
to various issues affecting their lives on a daily basis
and assists them in raising the bar on their own
personal expectations. The Retreat provides for
horizontal leadership; it provides tremendous skills and
experiences for young women to draw from and it enhances
their knowledge of their rich ancestry and culture.
The first Project Mana
Leadership Retreat was held in 1995, at that time Mujer
hosted approximately 30 young Latinas. The number of
young Latina participants has since increased to
approximately 100 participants per year. In 2010, the
fifteenth consecutive year, 101 Latinas in grades 8-12
attended the retreat. Whereas the first participants
were from the greater Phoenix area, the attendees now
come from throughout Arizona—from Winslow, to San Luis,
Casa Grande, Nogales, Tucson and Phoenix. Six young
ladies from Las Vegas, Nevada also applied this year and
found transportation impossible to arrange and therefore
did not attend. The Project Mana Annual Leadership
Retreat is conducted over one weekend in the fall, and
is held at the Chapel Rock Conference Site in Prescott,
Arizona, for many of these girls this will be their
first experience outside of their local cities and/or
communities.
With the exception of a
$20 Registration Fee, which is waived based on financial
hardship, Mujer’s Retreat is free to the girls who
participate. Mujer does not wish to leave out any young
Latina who is interested in attending and therefore
there are no costs for the girls. Mujer, Inc. pays for
lodging, meals, transportation, group photo, supplies,
and other costs associated with the Retreat.
Recruitment of the participants includes letters of
invitation which are sent to past participants; school
counselors/administrators; advertising the Retreat via
email, membership meetings, and general word-of-mouth.
The first four Project
Mana Leadership Retreats did not have the benefit of a
consultant. Indeed, the planning, preparation, and
development of the programs were done by the Mujer Board
members. The Board soon discovered that it was
difficult, at best, to try to be responsible for all the
work involved in holding the leadership retreats.
In the year 2000, Mujer
began collaborating with licensed social workers with
years of experience who are dedicated to the mission of
Mujer and to working with Latinas. The developer of the
Project Mana curriculum ensures that the curriculum is
broad, with a focus on our Latina culture and identity.
The Curriculum Developer is responsible for the
development of a curriculum that is gender specific and
culturally based. She is also responsible for conducting
the necessary training sessions for the Latina adult
facilitators who serve as Ninas, Tias and Primas. This
partnership has proven to be quite successful. The
curriculum developer is considered the master trainer
and focuses on the curriculum content while the Mujer
Project Mana Committee focuses on the logistics.
Upon arrival at the
leadership site in Prescott, the girls are immediately
involved in activities that include team-building and
sharing of their experiences. The Retreat is designed so
that the girls can meet as a whole group; however, most
sessions/workshops are presented in smaller forums. The
girls are placed in “familias” of ten, with an
accompanying Nina, Tia and Prima. The Ninas are
selectively chosen and serve as the main facilitator to
each familia. The Tia is typically a Mujer member and
the Primas are typically college/university students who
assist the Ninas in the presentation of the sessions and
serve as mentors. All volunteer adults interact with the
girls on a one-on-one relationship. Tias and Primas
remain with their familia of ten participants at all
times. Tias and Primas also spend the nights with the
girls in their cabins to serve to monitor as well as to
aid in the development of their relationship. Tias and
Primas not only serve as role models, but also mentor
the girls during the Retreat. The familias remain in
groups and work together throughout the Retreat.
The agendas in the past
have consisted of icebreakers and workshops that explore
concepts such as self respect and self-knowledge,
developing one’s uniqueness, developing tolerance,
defining respect, brainstorming, group synthesis,
relationship building, learning to negotiate,
communication, etc. There are typically three separate
workshops at the Retreat. And there are several “group
meetings” in which all of the girls come together as one
big group. After dinner on Saturday night, the girls in
their respective familias present a theatre piece or “Teatro”.
The presentation they perform is based on the theme of
the Retreat.
The 2010 theme was
“VOCES DE CARNAVAL” with concepts that will build upon
last year’s communication theme. In essence, each theme
strives to focus on embodying a positive Latina body
image, consuming healthy nutritional foods, learning to
accept our bodies and being comfortable with one’s skin,
deflecting Latina stereotyping, rejecting media
exploitation of Latinas, building a strong sense of self
and intellectually and physically participating in the
retreat activities.
While the content of the
curriculum is developed by a licensed social worker who
is herself Latina, the theme or focus of the Retreat is
the decision of the Mujer Board. In the past, topics
have included developing a strong sense of self-esteem,
preparing for the future, celebrating our Latina
culture, addressing issues of teen dating and domestic
violence, bullying among Latinas, learning and
appreciating their Latinas roots, identifying Latina
stereotyping and combating such images, understanding
their roles in preserving the environment, standing up
and having their voices heard, and learning to embrace
their Latina culture, their Latina backgrounds, and
celebrating those of others. Many of the girls have
roots from all over Latino-America such as, Mexico,
Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, to name a
few. Diversity among the girls has been a rewarding
experience for them. They have learned to appreciate
the diverse backgrounds amongst themselves.
From the time the girls
arrive on Friday afternoon to the time of departure on
Sunday after lunch, the Retreat is filled with
activities. It is constant and rich with experiences
that are meant to last throughout each young woman’s
lifetime and to instill in them that they too can reach
their educational aspirations.
The
Hermanitas Program
The “Hermanitas”
Program. The continuation of the Leadership Retreat
specifically designed for the Junior and Senior high
school level participants from the year previous. This
program is designed to assist these young Latinas in
making a successful transition into adulthood following
their graduation from high school. This program will
offer interactive workshops that will help them learn
the skills and concepts that will help them tackle the
challenges of adulthood and achieve success as they move
through these unchartered waters.
This program will
consist of 8 workshops that will provide key concepts
and methods designed to assist young adult Latinas
become more readily able to navigate the reality of
young adulthood:
1.)
Values and Viewpoints
2.)
Communication
3.)
Education/Career
4.)
Financial Literacy
5.)
Leadership
6.)
Health/Wellness/Self-Care
7.)
Healthy Relationships/ Social Networks/Spiritual
Connections
8.)
Citizenship/Government/Community
Workshops will be
delivered by key topic presenters who are members of
Mujer, Inc. or have personal knowledge of the subject
matter. We intend to utilize the knowledge and expertise
of the women of Mujer, who have the ability to oversee
each of the selected topics and/or other community
members who share the vision of Mujer.
The Hermanitas will be
provided with an opportunity to learn, explore and
implement their “Life Plan” through their participation
in a key event called “Sabado Gigante!” which is a one
stop shop event where vendors will be able to bring
their resources, information and support into the event.
The Hermanitas will be able to visit with the vendors to
discuss their needs for housing, banking,
transportation, utilities, education, employment, etc.
and where they will look for what fits their plan. The
Hermanitas will be provided with a budget amount for
their “Life Plan” and they will use this event to secure
all the services they need in their plan that will
ensure they ae able to maintain their independence
successfully. Each plan will be submitted and evaluated
by a community panel who will provide feedback and
recommendations to each participant on the feasibility
of their plan and any additional resources that may be
available to them.
Although the roll-out of
this program is still under development, we are hoping
to hold these workshops on a few Saturdays during the
month of June, at DeVry University. We hope to end the
program with a wonderful celebration and awards ceremony
for those young Hermanitas who complete the program.
This year’s anticipated
number Hermanitas is approximately 20 and comes from our
2010 Project Mana Leadership Retreat roster.
By:
Sylvia
Vega, President
2011
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