By Carolyn Meyers | Assistant to the Director
Hello and welcome to the beginning of the 2022 school year at EFTC. This month we have been very busy preparing to open the school with our hybrid model. Using this model, all of our students will be able to attend school in small groups in order to keep them safe and healthy while also completing integrated projects at home in order to put into practice what they are learning. We feel it is very important for our students to be able to attend school in person because we know they will learn much better, that they are in desperate need of social connection, and that the School of Hope is much more than their education; it is their refuge and they are excited to return. Most importantly, EFTC knows it can return students to classes safely.
Additionally, at school students can focus solely on their education rather than being distracted by their household responsibilities. For example, during these years of remote learning, girls carried the brunt of the responsibility of managing the home while parents were away and cooked for their siblings as they were no longer receiving school meals. They also had to help younger siblings do their homework packets, often sacrificing their own education in the process. In addition to our School of Hope students returning to daily classes, we have also installed computer labs for our high school students in order to provide spaces where they can learn without the distractions and responsibilities of their household.
During 2021, we continued to support the girls within our program in a myriad of ways. We implemented an entrepreneurship program which focused on helping young women in our program, primarily single moms, start their own small businesses in order to earn an income without sacrificing their education. Ten young women were trained on hair cutting and nail art, several of the participants have built up a clientele and now have a steady income because of this program.
Furthermore, with funding from Project Apoyo we started an entrepreneurship program. Two young women from our program, Kimberly and Guadalupe, piloted this program and began their own fashion design and crepe delivery businesses. These projects helped them get by during the most difficult months of the pandemic when they needed to creatively generate an income after suffering from long periods of unemployment. We are excited to continue hosting such events and in the future and growing the entrepreneurial spirit of our girls.
A lot has changed in these past years but our dedication to helping our girls pursue their education and the future of their choosing is as strong as ever.
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