Women’s Empowerment Partnership
Empowering women and families out of poverty permanently.
Women’s Empowerment Partnership is a small nonprofit organization based in Eugene, Oregon. We began our work in 1988 in the remote village of Teosinte, in the northern mountains of El Salvador. Then, in 2005, after 17 years of work there, we decided to begin working here with local Eugene/Springfield women and families who were experiencing homelessness and/or poverty.
Our Mission
Women’s Empowerment Partnership’s mission is to address generational poverty both locally in Eugene/Springfield, Oregon, and also in the remote, poor community of Teosinte, El Salvador. In this context, we support local women and families experiencing homelessness and/or poverty by stabilizing them in housing, assisting with education and skills training so they can access livable-wage work and rise out of poverty permanently. In Teosinte, El Salvador, we do similar work–assisting with health-care and education in the trades for youth and heads of household which will double their incomes and lift whole families out of poverty. Thus we are contributing to the reduction of generational poverty that exists here locally as well as in a Third World setting. Sending youth and heads of household to trade school in Teosinte results in their ability to find work in their own country and support their families. This is the best way to address the humanitarian crisis at the U.S. southern border, as without opportunity, people are forced to emigrate as economic refugees.
Our Current Projects
Eugene/Springfield, Oregon
We remove barriers for women and families in the Eugene/Springfield, Oregon area to rise out of poverty permanently. The first step in this is to stabilize clients in housing and with livable wage work.
Teosinte, El Salvador
This photo shows the youth and heads of household in Teosinte, El Salvador who wish to learn a trade. We are currently trying to raise $30,000 to send them to trade school, as getting into a trade will double their incomes and lift them and their families out of poverty, thus providing life with dignity. This program costs $1500 per person.
Get Involved
We are always looking for volunteers to help with our work with women and families in the Eugene/Springfield area.
Do You Need Help?
Do you feel overwhelmed or need help figuring out where to turn? Our dedicated team is committed to helping you navigate your journey towards empowerment and self-sufficiency. Reach out to us today, and let’s take the first step together.
Jessy’s Story: A Local Woman Who Triumphed With a Boost From Us!
Our commitment to the women and families we serve is to assist them to get into housing, stay in housing with the heat and lights on, adequate food, etc. until they can work their way to livable-wage work. We will do just about anything to prevent a client from entering into houselessness again.
Jessy is a delightful, 49-year-old woman who endured childhood trauma including domestic violence. Her story is one of difficulty, then recovery and triumph. Please read on.
Miracles of Teosinte
While the community of Teosinte organized the projects they needed for their rise out of poverty, with the full support of the Salvadoran movement for justice, the role of our organization was to provide funds where needed.
Elena, a widow of the war with five children to raise, became a health promoter and midwife extraordinaire in Teosinte! From 1988 to 2013, she birthed all babies in Teosinte and many babies of the surrounding communities without a single maternal or infant fatality! A Belgian physician who observed the Catholic Church’s advanced health promoter class was so impressed by Elena, he built a First-World-standard clinic in Teosinte which opened its doors in 1998.
Rafael: In 1988, upon the community’s return from Honduran refugee camps, Rafael (at age 20) staffed the first clinic, as he had learned some basic medical skills from Doctors Without Borders in the refugee camps. In this photo, he is examining a stool sample for parasites, using a high school microscope.
Rafael: seen here in 2023, age 55, in his health promoter uniform, he is paid an adequate wage by the Ministry of Health to provide public health services to large numbers of rural communities surrounding Teosinte.
Ventura: With a scholarship from our organization, Ventura graduated with his degree in Education from the University of El Salvador in 2002, and is seen here teaching at the Los Naranjos primary school, his first job after graduation. He now has his Master’s degree in Education, works for the Ministry of Education, and also teaches at Monsenor Oscar Arnulfo Romero University in Chalatenango. And, at other times, he teaches primary school in San Antonio Los Ranchos in Chalatenango Department. He is a gifted teacher.
Teosinte’s Bag Workshop: Our organization started the Teosinte women’s bag workshop in 1994 with a grant from The International Foundation. The project involved women of two cultures: the Mayan women of Pujujil, Guatemala who wove the cloth by hand on backstrap looms, and the women of Teosinte who sewed the cloth into fine products: backpacks, purses, wallets, vests, and placemats. We marketed the products in the U.S. and Canada. The project increased the women’s wages from $5/month before the project to between $75 and $150/month depending on whether they worked part- or full-time.
Humberto, Teosinte’s Chief Mason: Here you see Humberto building a house in Teosinte. He has built many of the homes in Teosinte and keeps his wages low so families can afford to have
their homes built.