US Ambassador to El Salvador Gives Grant for Mothers’ Clubs

Madam Mari Carmen Aponte, the U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador, announced a $60,000 grant to support Convoy of Hope’s Mothers’ Club program in El Salvador that equips poverty-stricken women with entrepreneurial skills to support their families.

“There’s no doubt that information is power, and this program is important in that it allows women to make healthy financial decisions that will help to improve their well being and the sustainability of their families and communities,” Aponte told more than 100 women involved in the program in El Salvador.

In announcing the grant, Aponte said women in the program would have access to seed capital to start their own businesses as well as be able to develop co-ops and savings groups.

“The goal of the grant is to encourage micro-enterprise and women’s business by minimizing barriers to their success,” says Convoy of Hope Latin America Regional Manager Andrea Frey Metzger, noting that the the total investment — including Convoy of Hope’s portion — is more than $150,000. “We’re extremely grateful for the support of Ambassador Aponte and the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador. This will help build upon the accomplishments we’ve seen with women in the program and will help provide them with with long-term financial and emotional security.”

Frey Metzger says the women will receive all of the usual training from Mothers’ Clubs (nutrition, hygiene, literacy, agriculture, and emotional care) along with the provision of seed capital. “We’re committed to standing beside these women as they begin their businesses and will closely monitor their growth,” she adds.

Since its inception in El Salvador in 2011, 503 women have graduated from the program, and it’s currently being introduced in Honduras and Nicaragua. The Mothers’ Club program is part of Convoy of Hope’s broader Women’s Empowerment work that is also educating and supporting women and their families in Ethiopia and Tanzania.