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On Thursday, June 23 Pro Mujer inaugurated its newest neighborhood center in the city of Ocotlán in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. Joining in the festivities were Chief Executive Officer Rosario Pérez and other members from Pro Mujer’s headquarters in New York, the team from the national offices in Pachuca, Hidalgo, as well as five new employees who will be working in the center. Also in attendance were more than 80 clients and Mark Beam, Senior Adviser to lead supporter Halloran Philanthropies.
As of May 2011, Pro Mujer has provide 30,584 women micro-entrepreneurs with “multidimensional” services (i.e. microfinance, business and empowerment training, preventive health education and high-quality, low-cost primary health care), and it is the largest organization to provide these kinds of services in Mexico. Pro Mujer’s 42 centers provide a safe and supportive environment where clients can receive services delivered through 3,105 communal bank associations (peer groups of up to 30 women that self-organize and guarantee one another’s loans as a group).
Within the first year of operation and in keeping with the organization’s mission, Pro Mujer hopes that the new Ocotlán branch will help enable hundreds more women to receive the tools and access they need to realize their potential as agents of change. Entering into Oaxaca is part of a greater three-year strategy to consolidate operations in the central region of Mexico and further expand into the more southern regions of the country.
In addition to Halloran Philanthropies, the opening of the newest center was also made possible by two additional partners, the Vista Hermosa and Blue Star Foundations.
Read a full account of the grand opening and see photos from the festivities at Pro Mujer’s blog.
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