A donation of four new sewing machines was made last week to the non-profit organization Est/Her (Establishing Her for More) in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye. The donations was made by the Minister of Youth, Sports and E-Governance Kevin Bernard, along with the department of youth services to Chelsea Muñoz, Executive Director of Est/Her.
“The sewing machines are a high blessing to our ministry as we offer free sewing classes to local women all year long,” commented Chelsea. “We’ve taught over a 100 women how to sew and helped them financially. Donations also go towards scholarships for youths that really need the assistance. We desire to help women with resources for other career choices through other business skill-training and partnering with local businesses for internships and job openings. Est/Her meetings build a community of fellowship and provide women with self-confidence to create a sustainable future.”
Chelsea Muñoz, Executive Director of Est/Her
Est/Her is an artisan program under the SHINE organization (Shaping Healthy Identities through Nurturing and Empowerment). SHINE started back in 2014 empowering young girls through education and now Est/Her targets and supports abused or at risk women through empowerment, providing them with skills and knowledge for them to provide for themselves.
“Very important to see that you have been able to touch the lives of many young women in this community, in terms of the artisan work that you do,” stated Hon. Kevin Bernard, Minister of Youth, Sports & E-Governance. “Again, like you said, you have offered these things free of cost, but it shows that we have the humanitarian spirit in this country, people that care for others and that is what will make our towns and our communities and municipalities and this country grow.”
“There’s brokenness all over the world and we saw that there is a huge problem here in Belize with human trafficking, sexual abuse and women suffering and struggling financially,” stated Chelsea. “So we decided to expand our program and include an artisan program and it is called EstHer Belize, Establishing Her for More. We believe that we can help them by offering these courses free of charge. So we offer free sewing classes, jewelry making and now business classes because business is really important and women learning how to budget and to save and to invest their money the right way would be very helpful for them.”
Present at the handing over ceremony were Minister of Youth, Sports and E-Governance Hon. Kevin Bernard, Minister of Civil Aviation and Blue Economy Non. Andre Perez, Director of Department of Youth Services Kevin Cadle, Deputy Director of Department of Youth Services Marlene Hernandez , Director of National Sport Council Ian Cal, San Pedro Mayor Wally Nuñez, San Pedro Deputy Mayor Dianeli Aranda and San Pedro Town Councilor Jose Castellanos.
The Board Members of Est/Her include:
Chelsea Muñoz – Executive Director
Michelle Nuñez – Founder
Britney Williams – Chair
Ben Sept – Board Member
Madeleine Guerra – Board Member
Amy Leiva – Board Member
Elvia Muñoz – Board Member
Delia Perez – Advisory Board Member
Alyssa Esquivel – Advisory Board Member
