08.28.12 / Category: Impact - Grant Awards

Grant Spotlight: Circle of Women

The Circle of Sisterhood is excited to announce a grant partnership with Circle of Women. The Circle of Women is a non-profit organization that encourages the self-sufficiency of native Mixteca women in Oaxaca. Working with weavers who sell their goods in fair trade markets, Circle of Women strives to “realize social justice for women by supporting self-reliance, raising consciousness of individual talents and skills, and enhancing cross-cultural relations.”

Circle of Women recognizes that literacy and education for women are keys to raising families out of poverty and has thus launched an innovative literacy program, “Reading with all the Senses” to women in Oaxaca who have never had access to a formal education. The program combines drawing, art, music, and sculpture to help the women move from understanding drawings as symbols to recognition of words as symbols. In the two years the program has been in place, “Reading with all the Senses” has helped 27 women read and write in Spanish.

Circle of Sisterhood will be awarding $3,700 to Circle of Women over the next year. The grant will provide funding to provide one teacher for one year. Circle of Women will work with the teacher to help young women learn to read and write in both their native language of Mixtec and in Spanish, using an approach similar to that in the “Reading with all the Senses” program.

We are excited to partner with Circle of Women in this exciting and innovative program!

This blog was written by Alissa Sauer. Alissa is currently a part-time freelance writer, but serves Circle of Sisterhood on a volunteer basis. She is also a full-time mom to Nolan while handling all the privileges and duties of being an Air Force wife. A proud member of Alpha Omicron Pi, Alissa served as President of her collegiate chapter and is excited to make an impact and improve the lives of girls around the world through the Circle of Sisterhood Foundation.