Agency Details:

The vision of the Women’s Intercultural Center is to be a catalyst for transforming the lives of women in Southern NM and West TX.

The mission of the Women’s Intercultural Center is to provide a place where women learn and work together to develop their social, spiritual, economic and political potential.

The Women's Intercultural Center believes that:

• Women need to be treated with dignity, respect & honesty,
• Women deserve to be happy and healthy,
• Women should be empowered and self-sufficient,
• Women should explore & develop their spiritual side,
• Intercultural exchanges, break down stereotypes, expand horizons & raise consciousness,
• If you educate a Woman you educate a Family,
• Community is essential to personal growth and in fostering women as agents of change.
  
  

Description:
The Women’s Intercultural Center, based in Anthony, NM has been educating and empowering women since 1993. Its programs interweave leadership development within three major components: Education & Personal Development, Economic Self-Sufficiency, and Consciousness-Raising for Change. Through collaboration with other organizations and agencies, the Center also offers other special services, trainings and workshops that help meet the needs of the needs of the women of Southern NM and West Texas.



History:
In 1992 the call for overcoming isolation and lack of educational opportunities began with two sisters of Mercy and a group of local women of the Anthony community. A year later, that call was answered by converting a two-car garage as the official site for the Women’s Intercultural Center. Dramatic increase in program participation created the need for additional space. The “Educational Construction Project,” one of the Center's most successful initiatives, was launched in 2001 to help meet the Center’s growing needs.

The Project combined jobs and skills training with community education on alternative construction methods. Within a year, the women of the Mesilla Valley completed the construction of a beautiful 7,000 sq. ft. eco-friendly building. Since the expansion, changes have occurred. Innovative programs, as much a part of vision as of necessity, have continually been undertaken in response to personal and community needs.

Today, the Center is housed in a vibrant facility that facilitates our ability to provide educational/development opportunities that help meet the need of the women of Southern NM and West Texas.

Since its inception, the Women’s Intercultural Center has been a catalyst for change in the lives of women, a focus the Center continues to achieve through its day to day operations and programs. The Center's three-pronged approach to service intertwines learning opportunities, economic development options, and relationship building with the larger community for purposes of mutual consciousness-raising. Leadership and Spiritual development is also incorporated into all of the organization's programs.

Throughout the years, the Center has received recognition and numerous awards for various aspects of its work. However, no recognition or award could surpass the fact that four (4) out of the eight (8) staff members employed by the Center are former participants that developed their education and employment skills through our programs. The Center has received the following awards:



• 1997: The Mujeres Unidas Cooperative received the “Community Luminaria” Award from the New Mexico Community Foundation.
  
  
• 2005: Best Practices Award in the field of Economic Development at the 10th Annual Infrastructure Conference sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
  
  
• 2006/2007: Award of Achievement in recognition of the valuable leadership role in helping to create and sustain Women’s Cottage Industry from the NM Women’s Foundation.
  
  
• 2009: NpACT Award Nominee for Innovation, Collaboration and Leadership.
  
  
Additionally the success of the organization has been featured in the following books, publications and research documents / presentations:


• Latina Activists Across Borders: Women’s Grassroots Organizing in Mexico and Texas (M. Peña: 2007 – Published by Duke University Press): The book records the oral histories of women responsible for developing and running NGOs (non governmental organizations) in Mexico and the border cities of El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez to further understand how women organize as activists outside of more privileged academic, feminist settings. (pp. 174).
  
  
• Implications of Socio-Cultural Factors for the Economic Self-Sufficiency and Health of Women in New Mexico/Texas-Mexico Border Communities: Findings From a Community Based Participatory Research Project (2008 US/Mexico Health Research Symposium: University of Texas at El Paso).
  
  
• Expanding Pathways to Participation III: Civic Engagement in Real Time Conference featured Ms. Mary Carter, Executive Director of the Women's Intercultural Center, on its Local New Mexico Panel on Civic Engagement. Ms. Carter shared the examples of the Women's Intercultural Center's innovative civic engagement work which draws upon multiple methods of engagement bridging the rich culture and diversity of the Paso del Norte Region.
  
  
The Situation Today

Today the Women’s Intercultural Center is growing as it has extended its services to women beyond the Mesilla Valley. It is also undergoing an evolutionary process as it has began to incorporate a larger number of collaborations and partnerships to further advance and expand its programs to effectively meet the needs of not only the Anthony community but of the region. Today the Women’s Intercultural Center:


• Provides safe place where women welcome each other in a mutually supportive environment, breaking down isolation.
  
  
• Provides educational/development opportunities for women to learn English, Citizenship, sewing, art, carpentry, parenting, public speaking, healing arts, and much more to enrich their personal growth and development.
• Fosters entrepreneurship through educational programs and income producing opportunities that enable the women to produce and market goods and services such as artwork, sewn products, and catering to augment their family income.
• Provides spiritual and personal growth opportunities through yoga, reflection times and meditation to nurture the heart, mind, and spirit.
• And provides opportunities for consciousness-raising through exploration and discussion of issues impacting women, the environment, justice, immigration, global economics, and more.
  
  
We consider each woman that participates in our center 100% an EXCELLENT INVESTMENT for in developing strong women we are building stronger communities.

The Challenge Facing the Women’s Intercultural Center

The Women’s Intercultural Center is challenged to provide up to date programs and services that meet the growing needs of the communities it serves with a limited amount of funds. Such challenges include:


• Developing and providing diverse programs/services that meet the high need for the development of skills and self-efficacy for women in Southern NM and West TX.
• Developing and maintaining community support and networking programs that meet the need for the women to support each other in order to increase their self efficacy, mental health status, and to build their income producing capacities.
• Meeting the high need for English proficiency classes and the need for courses/programs offered in Spanish.
• Enhancing the strength of its social support network to encourage women to start their own home/small business.
• Lack of public transportation, child care and the Center’s inability to provide those viable interventions to recruit participants with higher needs.
• Developing cultural appropriate programs/services to help women overcome the cultural norms and gender roles with reference to the Mexican culture, exposure to a different set of norms in the U.S., and discrimination around language and documentation.
• Proving programs/services for women to overcome mental depression linked to isolation due to a lack of opportunity to network with other women, to the familial demands on their time, and to the rise in harsh immigration enforcement activities. This is an area that if not properly address can potentially cause dire consequences to the mental health of the women and possibly members of their families and social networks. This challenge also correlates with the currently high need for mental health interventions among border populations.
  
  
The Women’s Intercultural Center will continue responding to the needs of the women of Southern NM and West TX. As the Center continues to grow and expand its programs/services it needs to incorporate certain services (i.e. childcare and transportation) to be able to increase the number of participants. The move to incorporate more economic development opportunities requires an increase in space to house a future business incubator for participants of a Small Business Development Academy which is currently in the planning stages.



Contact people:


Rebecca Sherry, ESL Program Coordinator, (phone), (email) Elena Araiza, Director Of Programs, (phone), (email) Mary Carter, Executive Director, (phone), (email)


Office fax number: (575) 882-7312

Languages Spoken: English, Spanish

Address:


PO Box 2411 / 303 Lincoln Street Anthony, NM 88021


Web Site: http://www.womensinterculturalcenter.org

Directions:

You can reach the Center by taking I-10 Exit 0 in Anthony, Texas. From the highway exit, go west on Antonio St. all the way into Anthony until you come to a stop light with Main St. At. . . (more)

Last updated on October 12, 2009