Project Overview:
HELP Women is a project that was devised by Otra Cosa Network in November 2011 that works to empower women living in low-income areas. HELP stands for the Huanchaco Education and Learning Program. The project workshops take place in Ramón Castilla, a small neighbourhood on the outskirts of Trujillo, 15 minutes by bus from Huanchaco.
HELP Women aims to empower the women in Ramón Castilla area. We work to improve participant perception of themselves as well as give them the tools they need to find paid employment. In order to achieve these aims we have created a series of workshops that run two days a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays from 4pm to 6pm.
The workshops are composed of:
• A 1 hour seminar where we work on improving participant self-esteem and essential materials for day-to-day life: the role of women in society, human rights, nutrition, childcare, family planning, domestic violence, legal rights etc.
• A 1 hour business studies session focused on how to create and manage a business: marketing, sales, accounting, workshops demonstrating a specific trade etc.
The idea behind these workshops is to give the women a complete orientation to the working world, combining both personal and professional aspects. Throughout the seminars the women have our full support and encouragement. The workshops are conceived to be as dynamic as possible and full participation from the women is essential. The concepts are taught with the aid of simple examples and interaction is encouraged in order to facilitate full understanding of the concepts. It is useful to note that most women only have primary education and some do not know how to read.
Volunteer Roles/ Working Hours
• Prepare classes according to the approved HELP Women syllabus
• Come up with new ideas to make workshops more dynamic
• Attended the workshops twice a week that run on Tuesdays and Fridays from 4 pm to 6 pm. Extra time is required in order to prepare for each seminar
• Help the women to develop by researching new resources that could benefit them
Volunteer Requirements
• We only except female volunteers for this project
• A background in social work, psychology, gender studies or business
• Flexible and capable of adapting to teach all topics that are dealt with during the workshops
• Articulate and capable of simplifying concepts while maintaining workshop dynamics
• Minimum Age: 21
• Minimum Time Commitment: 1 month (preferably longer)
The project has an initial test period of three months, which began in December 2011 and will run until March 2012. After the first phase has finished, we plan to either extend the project in Ramón Castilla or start the workshops again in another community, depending on the feedback from the trail period. The current syllabus therefore may change significantly for the second phase of the project.
