Empowering Women in Rural Arequipa, Peru

Celestina is a pillar of the HOOP community. A member since 2013, her kindness and strength exemplify a life both literally and metaphorically scarred by experience. However, Celestina’s resilience is not unique to her; it is representative of all the HOOP women.

Co-founder Teresa Schwarz is one of Celestina’s close friends. They met during HOOP’s first year, when Teresa taught one of Celestina’s three sons, and bonded over their shared abilities to bring people together and make them laugh. Over the years, the women have shared in one another’s joys and challenges, and they make a point of catching up when Teresa is back in town. Celestina’s growth into a community leader is evident in her frank answers to her friend’s queries: “[Us moms] are learning about things that we didn’t know before, about rights we didn’t know we had”.

Machismo culture, which sometimes manifests itself in the verbal and physical mistreatment of women, continues to run deep in Peru, particularly in Celestina’s community. To combat this, HOOP implemented psychological, economic, and health workshops geared towards educating and supporting the moms. For Celestina, their addition has been critical to both her personal development as well as to the mom’s sense of community: “I see that the moms have a different mindset now and that things are changing.”

Like many mothers, Celestina aspires to build a better life for her children than the one she had, but she is also actively working to prioritize herself and encouraging other HOOP moms to do the same: “We have grown together like a family. Before, I didn’t really have friends, but now, it’s different. We have gone out dancing together twice […] We feel like we have a life again, which wasn’t the case before.”

Celestina’s personal growth and newfound confidence are a source of inspiration to everyone in the HOOP community. Last year, she was voted onto the Board of Directors [of the HOOP Moms] and actively asserted herself in the new role: “I tried to enforce more structure for the moms so that the NGO could grow with our help. You can’t do it alone; it’s always better with the help of the moms.” 

If you would like to support women like Celestina, please consider donating to our project!

Yeni has been with HOOP since the organization was founded in 2012. Over the past five years, she has become one of HOOP’s strongest advocates and often speaks up for the organization during heavily male-dominated public meetings.

“I have personally developed a lot due to all the workshops that you offer. I learned not to be afraid of talking in public anymore and to be a more empowered person.”

A single mother, Yeni has big dreams for both herself and her 11-year-old daughter. She aspires to open her own business with the skills acquired from HOOP’s finance and business classes and sees education as the most critical factor for both of their success.

“I will push her forward, may it be by working hard or fighting for her [...] I will make sure that she is an academic and a good person that I’m proud of.”

Yeni’s vision and determination for herself and her daughter reflect the positive change that has occurred in the Flora Tristan community in recent years: the mothers have become a close-knit group with aspirations for themselves as well as their children, and their sense of community is rooted in belonging to HOOP and supporting one another as parents, friends, and dreamers.