The Butterflyer – Mariposas Mexico Update – June 2015 3

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Visit us on the web at mariposasmexico.org
When I started Mariposas as a Peace Corps Volunteer in 2013, I never expected to start a non­profit
organization that would have 5 young women on scholarship, operate a successful annual Camp, and
establish five community clubs. All of these activities work to further Mariposas' mission to empower their
young women.
In just two years, Mariposas Mexico has worked with over 85 young women who now proudly call
themselves Mariposas. By applying the skills they learned at Mariposas' annual camp, these young woman
have created a path to achieve their goals and feel confident in their abilities to accomplish them.
Attending our 3rd Annual Camp Mariposas this past March filled me with so much emotion. At times I was
overwhelmed with joy and pride that we had sisters, cousins, and friends of previous Camp participants
join the Camp. Having past Camp participants share and promote the experience in their communities
means they have truly taken to heart the meaning of being a Mariposa.
The success of Mariposas is directly related to the level of support we receive from all of our partners,
such as INAOE, Peace Corp Volunteers, the presenters who donate their time year after year, the
communities we serve, the participants, and of course our donors. Thank you all for your continuing
support! We couldn’t do any of this without each and every one of you.
I can't wait to award scholarships to three additional young women this year, and I’m already looking
forward to next year’s camp.
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Our third annual camp hosted 30 girls from 5 communities, four in the State of Puebla and one in the
State of Tlaxcala. We were honored to have Laura Dogu, the Deputy Chief of Mission for the US
Embassy; Ken Yamashita, Peace Corps Regional Director of the Americas, Caribbean, and the
Pacific; Daniel Evans, Director of Peace Corps Mexico; Alberto Carrimiñana Alonso, INAOE’s General
Director; and Daniela Migoya, SEMARNAT Delegada attend and provide inspirational words to the girls at
the Inauguration. It is always amazing to see the transformation that occurs in each girl within a week. The shy and timid
girls coming out of their shell, and the teamwork that develops between the girls emcompasses every to
aspect of the day from daily workshops to getting ready in the morning. Every year, Camp Mariposas grows and incorporates new activities. This year we introduced the negativity
box and the positivity board. One goal of the Camp is that the girls leave the camp with a better sense of
self worth and confidence. For that reason, we wanted positive thoughts and feelings to be largely on
display throughout every single day. The positivity board hung in the front room and displayed the
positive observations and feelings of the week. Although we strive to create a positive environment we
understand that at times one can feel unhappy, therefore we created a box where all the negative
thoughts could be written down. At the end of the week, as a symbolic gesture of removing the negative
from our lives, we burnt all the negative message while chanting “¡si se puede!” We also took what is a seemingly fun Disney movie and incorporated it into a learning activity for the day
themed "Self­discovery and Self­esteem." For the evening activity we watched Frozen! Afterwards, the
girls were split into groups and given a question that related to the themes of the week. These questions
included, "Would you sacrifice yourself to fit in with society? Have you done it like Elsa did?" and "What
kinds of bullying did Prince Hans implement throughout the movie and who were his victims?" We then
discussed the answers to these questions as a larger group and each girl presented their answers with
great thought and conviction.
Last year, we introduced swim classes into the Camp. This year we continued this activity and next year
we plan to expand it to at least 2 sessions. Many of the girls had never swam before or even been in a
body of water. The certified swim teacher taught eased them into the pool through basic steps such as
kicking, putting your face in the water and even just walking back and forth in the pool. This was a
highlight of the week and removed a fear for many of the girls.
This class of 30 was very inquisitive, opinionated and extremely motivated. There were many in the room
that aspire to be doctors, lawyers and scientist. Watch out world here comes a new flutter of Mariposas!!!
See more Camp Mariposas 2015 pictures here!
This year we were very honored that Laura Dogu, Deputy Chief of Mission for the U.S.
Mission to Mexico, attended the inauguration of the 3rd Annual Camp Mariposas. Click
here to read her inspiring and motivating words that launched our week.
Mariposas is proud to report that we
have
five
active
Clubs
in communities in the State of Puebla:
Xacxamayo, Clavijero, Ciudad Serdán,
Texmalaquilla, Atzitzintla, and one Cub
in the State of Tlaxcala, Las
It is our pleasure to introduce
Mariposas Mexico newest Board
Member, Janina Nava. Janina is the
Cuevas. The Clubs are a testament to
the commitment the girls make when
attending Camp Mariposas and their
continuing devotion to strengthen their
communities. We'd like to highlight Club Mariposas
Clavijero for their excellent work. With
over 60 boys and girls attending their
last meeting, they are organizing a
community project together. ¡qué
maravilloso! Check out more of the
Clubs’ activities here.
Outreach Coordinator for the Large
Millimeter Telescope Alfonso Serrano
at INAOE and acts as a Peace Corps
Counterpart
for
the
Technology
Transfer Program with Peace Corps
Mexico. Janina has worked closely
and tirelessly with the Mariposas Board
since our inception and was a natural
choice to fill our vacant Board position. Get to know Janina and all of our Board
members by visiting our website.
Supporting a new group of young women each year
to start post-secondary education is one of the most
important parts of the Mariposas’ mission. We are
building the program from the ground up at a
sustainable pace, but growing the program requires
additional fundraising each year.
Our goal for 2015 is to raise $15,000. We need to
raise $7,500 by August in order to fund our 5
current scholarship recipients and the 3 new
recipients we are in the process of selecting. We
have only begun on the path to reach this goal, and
we appreciate any amount you can give.
We appreciate your support, and in addition to financial donations, there are several
other ways you can support Mariposas Mexico. Currently, ways you can support
other pressing needs include:
Donate a Working Laptop!
Become an Ambassador and Spread the Word!
Volunteer! Mariposas is a volunteer based organizations which ensures that
every dollar is put towards empowering young women but that also means we
need more hands on deck. If you are interested in learning more please
contact Tessa at [email protected]
Spread the word on social media! Tweet about us! Like Us on Facebook!
Share this newsletter with friends and family
Ask Your Employer About Matching Gifts! We greatly appreciate every act of support. Please visit our website for more
information: http://www.mariposasmexico.org/getinvolved/
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