South America

Peru

Working tirelessly in Peru are Friends of Feminenza members Alida Villar and her husband Ralph Mens. Their foundation Tierra del Olvido, "The Forgotten Land", assists native communities in Peru through sustainable development and preservation of the natural environment to ensure a viable future for the people of the "forgotten land".

Follow this link to the Tierra del Olvido website to find out more.

On a recent trip to Peru by Feminenza representatives, Betty - a Friend of Feminenza - shared with us an Aymara translation of Feminenza's motto.

" aka warminaca sarantana pataki ukca sumana sa pampi "
or
" in the encouragement of every woman's future "

Aymara is the language of the Aymara people of the Andes. It is one of only a handful of Native American languages with over a million speakers, and it is one of the official languages of Bolivia and Peru. It is also spoken in Chile and Argentina.

Mexico

“Why is Feminenza in Mexico?” asked a woman at a workshop held at Valle de Bravo in Mexico in March 2005, “Why do Mexican women need Feminenza?”

“No. The world needs Feminenza,” the reply came from Joanna Francis, Co-Founder of Feminenza. Together with Sara Garcia, Joanna had visited Mexico to introduce the work of Feminenza, at the invitation of Kevin Kielty and Paty Suniga who had seen a Feminenza brochure and had decided they wanted to sponsor a series of events for women, held mainly in Toluca, the capital of Mexico state, west of Mexico City.

Alongside Spain, Peru, Kenya and India, this is the latest place where the teachings and philosophy of Feminenza have reached in a live way. Mexican women, like women everywhere, need the tools and technologies Feminenza has to offer, to help them become more independent-minded, to know what they want, to take control of their own lives and to become the best they can be. What follows are a few reflections from the visit.

It started at the university campus of Tecnologico de Monterrey, where a group of staff members and students were introduced to the idea, and practical application, of three kinds of confidence — one for the female, one for the woman and one for the lady.

During the visit Joanna was interviewed for the Millenium daily in Toluca. And whilst in Mexico the team met approximately 200 women during several presentations and workshops at two universities, the state legislature, a restaurant and at the Sanctuary retreat centre.

The team made many friends and enjoyed the help of a number of women who want to see Feminenza take root in Mexico. Several people invited Feminenza back and there are women who have volunteered to organize Feminenza meetings in the future. So, Feminenza will be going back very soon and we are looking forward to what happens next, as Feminenza spreads to more countries and helps women become stronger and more fulfilled, able to then turn around and help other women help themselves.

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in the encouragement of every woman's future,
working towards a greater mutuality between the genders