Pro Mujer and GlaxoSmithKline Celebrate the Power of Women to Transform Generations

By Rebecca Feinberg, Associate Development Manager at Pro Mujer

In Argentina, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) joined Pro Mujer to celebrate the grand re-opening of the Rigoberta Menchu Center in the San Francisco neighborhood in Salta. What had formerly been a cramped and ageing space had just gotten a facelift: the center was now doubled in size and had a brand-new infirmary with a full-time nurse. The Center, smelling of fresh paint and anticipation, buzzed with more than 50 excited Pro Mujer staff, clients, and their children, all eager to see the improvements to their Center.

Pro Mujer and GlaxoSmithKline leadership welcome Pro Mujer clients to their newly renovated center.

Pro Mujer and GlaxoSmithKline have been working together to improve access to health services for women in northern Argentina since 2009. The pharmaceutical company has committed more than US $1 million to help Pro Mujer International roll out our innovative and financially sustainable new healthcare model across the five countries where we operate: Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Mexico and Nicaragua.

As a dedicated partner in Pro Mujer’s commitment to making primary care services more accessible to women in poor communities, GlaxoSmithKline’s General Manager for Argentina, Rodolfo Civale, said  “This is a very special day for GSK Argentina. We profoundly believe in the work that Pro Mujer does in our community and we consider our partnership a step forward, strengthening us as a company. By supporting these types of initiatives, GSK achieves its mission –  not only through its products –  but also by giving opportunities to women who,  as the heart of their families, give education and access to health services to their children”.

At Pro Mujer we believe that women have the power to fundamentally improve their lives and therefore the lives of their families and their communities. This generational impact was in full view during the opening of the Rigoberta Menchu Center where clients and their children were in attendance. During the event, Pro Mujer gave out awards to clients’ children who participated in a drawing contest called “Mi Familia con Pro Mujer” (“My Family with Pro Mujer”) where the children depicted what Pro Mujer means to their families.

First place went to 12-year-old Guido Cruz, whose drawing was painted as a mural on the wall of the Center (watch video below). Guido drew a picture of his mother in a flowing red cape and a suit of blue and red decorated with the letters “PM” for Pro Mujer.  When asked to describe what the painting meant to him, Guido spoke proudly of his mother. Having watched her grow a business and acquire newfound confidence as a Pro Mujer client, he said “She is just like Superwoman.”

Flunked?

By Gaby Vargas

Pablo, who is in 5th grade, asked his school for permission to take two exams in advance because he would be traveling with us to New York City for four days.

“Gordo, if you want I can help you study”, I offered enthusiastically while savoring in advance those days together with my husband, children, in-laws and four grandchildren.

“No, thank you Gaby, you flunked 5th grade”. Yikes! I was in shock.

“Escuincle soperutano”… it should be noted that even though I get along very well with everybody, this grandson and I have a very special relationship. We love each other, although it may seem otherwise. He made that comment because he knew I would immediately complain, just as I did, and I would chase him around the living room to tickle-torture him, which I also did.

We travelled together to Manhattan because I was going to receive an award from Pro Mujer, an organization that in the last 20 years has given millions of dollars to support women in Latin America. The event was a benefit dinner organized to raise funds and give three awards, so we reserved a table for my whole family.

Gaby Vargas, (right), and Rosario Pérez at Pro Mujer 2013 annual benefit event.

During the ceremony, after the speeches, a Nicaraguan woman, a Pro Mujer client, took the stand. She told us the story of her life and narrated how, thanks to this organization, she was able to support her family and recognize herself as a capable and valuable woman. With their help, she earned respect and recognition from people who worked in her town’s local market, who had previously underestimated her. All of this happened while she was coping with cancer and raising three children as a single mother. Before this evening, she had never been in a plane, let alone dreamed of visiting New York.

My four grandchildren, mesmerized, didn’t blink as they listened to her story. They were facing for the first time the reality of struggle and human pain narrated first hand. They realized that difficult experiences can be transformed into something worthy.

At the end of this moving experience, the auctioneer asked all of the attendants to use their cell phones to make donations through a phone number that appeared on the main screen.

That morning my husband and I had given our grandchildren some money for their birthday, which would be happening in the next days.

Surprising all of us, Toño, my oldest grandson one who is only 12 years old, immediately asked his mom for her cell phone to donate half of the money he had received. The other two followed and, with some reluctance, my fourth grandson did the same.

To view on the main screen the names of Toño, Pablo, Nicolas y Emi, along with the “de Mexico” and their very modest amounts donated, was a great source of pride for their grandparents and parents. At the end of the event, the four kids asked me to take them to say hello to the Nicaraguan woman and shake hands with their new heroine. In their eyes, I could see that they were opened to a new awareness towards the responsibility that we all have to help those who are less fortunate in life.

From left to right, Rosario Pérez, Maria Hinojosa, Gaby Vargas, Bill Rhodes, Maria Alejandra Rodriguez, Barbara Ricci and Lynne Patterson.

We walked back to the hotel, with a great sensation and that good feeling and spirit that you get when you help somebody else. The children didn’t talk about anything but the courage of this woman.

I fell asleep with a smile on my face, with the certainty that they will never forget that experience, and with the hope that I taught Pablo the lesson that, well… even though you flunked 5th grade, you can get an award.

Mexico, July 8th, 2013.

The Most Valuable Investment Is One In Girls And Women

By Gabriela Salvador, MD, MPH
Director of Health & Human Development – Pro Mujer

Last week, I was at Women Deliver in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with our partners from Johnson and Johnson where the issue of women’s health was addressed from many different perspectives. Many sessions referred to reaching “the last mile”, but very few had a solution, particularly when addressing chronic conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer.

Women that for generations performed manual labor in the field are moving to the cities to try to earn a more stable income; this change in their lifestyle implies less physical activity and increased access to processed food. As a consequence we are witnessing a sharp rise in chronic conditions. These diseases are silent in their early stages and usually diagnosed when people develop serious, hard to treat complications.

Women Deliver 2013 Conference in Malaysia

It is well understood that regular, convenient access to health services can dramatically reduce both the mortality rates and the costs of treatment of chronic diseases in low-income populations. The challenge is how to find a way to reach out to them in a timely manner and a sustainable way.

For the public and the private health sector it is very hard to reach out to this population early enough. These women work all day long, and for them a day without work is a day without income, spending the day away from their business to have a health checkup at a public clinic is a luxury that they cannot afford. How to solve this dilemma?

Pro Mujer has regular access to these women, an advantage that neither the public not the private health sector has. With this captive audience, we are able to offer training and services to more than 270,000 women across Latin America in any given month. Outreach is performed by an army of Pro Mujer credit officers, who also deliver basic health education, promote the use of health services and sell high-impact health packages at an affordable price, all done in a sustainable way. Without the microfinance platform, the health program would not even come close to reaching this number of people at such low cost.

Pro Mujer’s Health Services in Arequipa, Peru.

On top of training , screening and counseling, Pro Mujer now offers an optional health package that combines services that are both, high-impact and in high-demand. This includes unlimited access to a physician, counseling, dental services, cervical cancer screening, and a choice of laboratory or ultrasound as well as discounts for consults with Specialists. These services can be transferred to family members. The package, which costs approximately US$35 per year, can be financed by making small payments through savings, loans or cash. So far client’s responses in Nicaragua and Peru have been overwhelmingly positive.

At Pro Mujer we believe that we need more innovative market base approaches to address women issues worldwide, and that was our message at the conference: more innovative health care models are instrumental in advancing Women Deliver’s mission of empowering strong and hardworking women to break the cycle of poverty.

GlaxoSmithKline and Pro Mujer Extend Their Alliance To Increase Their Health Care Services in Mexico

In an event held yesterday at the Hotel Sheraton Maria Isabel in Mexico City, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Pro Mujer extended their strategic alliance to strengthen the range of joint services in more communities and standardize health care model to benefit more than 66,000 clients of Pro Mujer in Mexico.

The extension of the agreement – which covers the period 2012-2014, and includes financial support from GSK for $ 575,000 – is a result of the first partnership between GSK and Pro Mujer in Argentina in 2010 and 2011, which benefited more than 16,000 clients of Pro Mujer in that country.

In Mexico, every client of Pro Mujer will have access not only to health but also education that promotes in them a healthier lifestyle.

“This partnership responds to the principles of social responsibility GlaxoSmithKline and therefore we are proud and excited to join forces with an organization specializing in the care of women, which multiplies the potential impact we can generate in access to health and development possibilities,” said Jose Alberto Peña, Vice President and General Manager of Pharma, GlaxoSmithKline Mexico.

From left to right: Jose Alberto Peña, Vice President and General Manager of Pharma, GlaxoSmithKline Mexico; Rosario Perez, Executive Director of Pro Mujer; Cristina Diaz, client of Pro Mujer in Mexico; Dr. Yolanda Cervantes, medical spokesperson for GSK; Elder Salazar, Pro Mujer in Mexico.

At the end of the project each client of Pro Mujer in Mexico will have benefited from access to Pap tests to detect cervical cancer, measuring levels of blood sugar for diabetes, blood pressure monitoring to diagnose hypertension, screening breast cancer, and measurement of body mass index to combat obesity and overweight.

With this, you fight the five chronic diseases identified as determinants of productivity loss in women: cervical cancer, breast cancer, hypertension, diabetes and obesity.

“Through this initiative with GlaxoSmithKline will have the opportunity to reach more communities in Mexico where each client will find in one place the whole package of products we offer, including comprehensive health services, to lead a healthier life,” said Rosario Perez, Executive Director of Pro Mujer.

Currently Pro Mujer operates in the Mexican states of Hidalgo, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Oaxaca, State of Mexico, Querétaro, Guanajuato, Morelos and Mexico City, offering services that combine microfinance, health and development training, and benefits nearly 37,000 women. Through the agreement with GSK, Pro Mujer services in Mexico will spread to benefit more than 66,000 women and 264,000 children and family members.

GlaxoSmithKline y Pro Mujer Extienden Su Alianza Para Aumentar Sus Servicios de Salud en México

En un evento realizado el día de ayer en el Hotel Sheraton Maria Isabel en la Ciudad de México, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) y Pro Mujer extendieron su alianza estratégica para fortalecer la gama de servicios conjuntos en más comunidades y estandarizar el modelo de asistencia de salud para que se beneficien más de 66 mil clientas de Pro Mujer en México.

La extensión del convenio – que contempla el periodo de 2012 a 2014, y que incluye un apoyo económico de GSK por 575.000 dólares – se da como resultado de la primera asociación entre GSK y Pro Mujer en Argentina en 2010 y 2011, y que benefició a más de 16 mil clientas de Pro Mujer en ese país.

En México, cada clienta de Pro Mujer tendrá acceso no solo a servicios de salud sino también a una educación que promueva en ellas un estilo de vida más saludable.

“Esta alianza responde a los principios de responsabilidad social de GlaxoSmithKline y por ello nos enorgullece y entusiasma sumar esfuerzos con una organización especializada en la atención a mujeres, lo cual multiplica el impacto potencial que podemos generar en acceso a la salud y posibilidades de desarrollo”, señaló José Alberto Peña, Vicepresidente y Director General de Farma, de GlaxoSmithKline México.

De izq. a der.: José Alberto Peña, Director Gral. de Farma, de GSK; Rosario Pérez, Directora Ejecutiva de Pro Mujer; Cristina Díaz, cienta de Pro Mujer; Dra. Yolanda Cervantes, vocero médico GSK, Elder Salazar, Pro Mujer en México.

Al término del proyecto cada clienta de Pro Mujer en México se habrá beneficiado con acceso a exámenes de Papanicolaou para detectar cáncer cérvico uterino; medición de niveles de azúcar en la sangre para detectar la diabetes; monitoreo de presión sanguínea para diagnosticar hipertensión; exámenes de detección de cáncer de mama; y medición de índice de masa corporal para combatir la obesidad y el sobrepeso.

Con lo anterior, se combaten las cinco enfermedades crónicas identificadas como determinantes en la pérdida de productividad en la mujer: cáncer cérvico uterino, cáncer de seno, hipertensión, diabetes y obesidad.

“A través de esta iniciativa con GlaxoSmithKline tendremos la oportunidad de llegar a más comunidades en México donde cada clienta encontrará en un solo lugar todo el paquete de productos que ofrecemos, incluyendo servicios integrales de salud, para que lleven una vida más saludable”, dijo Rosario Perez, Directora Ejecutiva de Pro Mujer.

Actualmente Pro Mujer opera en los estados mexicanos de Hidalgo, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Estado de México, Querétaro, Guanajuato, Morelos y la Ciudad de México, ofreciendo servicios que combinan microfinanzas, salud y capacitación para el desarrollo, y que beneficia a casi 37 mil mujeres. Mediante el acuerdo con GSK, los servicios de Pro Mujer en México se extenderán para beneficiar a más de 66 mil mujeres y 264 mil niños y miembros de familia.

Help Salma Hayek Help Us!

We have an exciting update to share with you about the CHIME FOR CHANGE campaign:

Yesterday, Salma Hayek Pinault, co-founder of the campaign and longtime Pro Mujer supporter, announced a major addition to the initiative – THE SOUND OF CHANGE LIVE, a concert to be headlined by Beyoncé on June 1st at Twickenham Stadium in London and televised worldwide.

The great news is that proceeds from the concert will go to Pro Mujer and other organizations advancing women’s empowerment. The concert will be produced by the forces behind Live Earth and Live Aid and broadcast to more than 1 billion people!

Salma is helping us raise $25,000 to provide 200 of our entrepreneurial client leaders in Mexico with advanced business, health and empowerment training. These women will return to their communal bank groups and share their knowledge with other Pro Mujer clients, so your investment in these 200 will actually be paid forward to help another 6,000 microentrepreneurs break the cycle of poverty.

Through Catapult, CHIME FOR CHANGE’S crowd-funding website partner, you have helped us raise more than $5,500 so far.

Here is how YOU can continue to help Salma and Beyoncé help us!

• Join the growing movement by donating on our Catapult page .
• Share this link http://www.catapult.org/project/train-200-pro-mujer-peer-leaders-mexico with your Facebook and Twitter friends.
• Create a team or join Salma’s team to make your voices louder.

What do YOU chime for? Send us your pictures and we’ll post them on our website, blog and Facebook. In the meantime, here’s what some of us at Pro Mujer chime for:

P.S. – Join the growing movement to advance women and girls by donating on our Catapult page and spreading the good news!

Laura Liswood Presents “The Headwinds and Tailwinds of Women’s Leadership” at Pro Mujer Event in NYC

By Lucía Díaz-Martin, Grant Writer, Pro Mujer International

On Tuesday, March 13^th, Pro Mujer presented the “Champion of the Year for Women’s Global Leadership” award to Laura Liswood at an intimate gathering of women business leaders at the Cornell Club in Manhattan. The award was originally to be given to Laura at our 2012 “Giving Women Credit” Benefit, which was postponed due to Hurricane Sandy.

As the Co-Founder and Secretary General of the Council of Women World Leaders, a network of women heads of state and government who promote good governance internationally, Laura is a long-time advocate of women’s rights and leadership. In addition, she is also a Senior Advisor to Goldman Sachs, where she was formerly Managing Director of Global Leadership and Diversity, and is the Co-Founder of The White House Project, an organization that supported women to hold the highest levels of public office for the last 14 years.

Laura Liswood addresses women business leaders at the Cornell Club in Manhattan.

In a speech titled, “The Headwinds and Tailwinds of Women’s Leadership” given to more than 50 women in the club’s wood-paneled library, Laura addressed the challenges and opportunities faced by women leaders around the world. Laura, who is also the author of the book “The Loudest Duck,” highlighted that one of the greatest difficulties for professional women no longer lies in entering the workforce, but in advancing up the corporate ladder. “It’s not an intake problem anymore, but an upgrade problem,” she said, adding that gender-based expectations affect women’s promotion and pay levels.

It was fascinating to learn about the many incentives around the world being implemented in order to promote gender equity and ensure that women have a place at the table. Laura detailed examples such as the higher representation of women in corporate boards in the U.S. and Europe and the institution of quotas for women to be included in local councils in India.

Event participants during the event on the opportunities and challenges women encounter.

Of particular interest were her comments about the need for a critical mass of women in the boardroom and legislature and the importance of scale in transforming societies. In order for this to occur, women and men from all levels of society and organizations from both the public and private sector need to work together.

These kinds of collaborations are the foundation of Pro Mujer’s work. By working together, we now reach 275,000 women microentrepreneurs with our integrated financial, health and human development services, so our clients can take these tools and transform their lives and the lives of their children. In the upcoming years, Pro Mujer will be forging new partnerships and scaling operations as we seek to serve more women working for a brighter future.

Editorial note – Pro Mujer’s 2013 “Giving Women Credit” Benefit will take place on Tuesday, June 18th at Cipriani 42nd Street in NYC.

Congratulations To The First Pro Mujer Class of 2013!

By Yesenia Diaz, Communications Coordinator, Pro Mujer in Mexico

Over the past five years, Pro Mujer in Mexico has offered free computer training to our clients and their families as part of the financial, health and human development services we provide. This computer course helps clients grow their businesses, and includes a suite of courses, including the use of products generously donated by Microsoft, a longtime Pro Mujer partner. Training modules include Word, Excel 1, Excel 2, PowerPoint, Internet 1, Internet 2, Publisher, Movie Maker and Access, among others.

A Pro Mujer credit officer (standing in red shirt) leads a computer training course for clients and their children

The culmination of this training is a formal graduation ceremony complete with certificates recognizing their efforts, time and dedication; attendance by clients’ families and friends, Pro Mujer employees, including course instructors and credit officers; music, dancing and of course – a celebratory cake.

In 2012, we graduated 220 clients in the first graduation ceremony of this kind. Demand for the training course was so high that we had to divide the course into two so that we can now graduate two classes in one year.

The first ceremony of this year took place last month and we graduated 188 clients! Among the class of 2013 were clients from centers in Xochimilco, Teoloyucan, Pachuca, Tizayuca and Ocotlan and by the end of the year, we expect to duplicate that figure.

Proud graduates from our Xochimilco center show off their computer training certificates.

Congratulations to the graduating class of 2013 for their efforts, dedication and perseverance!

Pro Mujer in Bolivia Partners With the German Agency for Technical Cooperation To Combat Violence Against Women

On February 28, Pro Mujer in Bolivia’s General Manager, Gonzalo Alaiza, signed a letter of agreement with the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GIZ). The agreement establishes a joint work plan to combat violence against women, which affects our clients and many women in Bolivia.

The goal of the plan is to raise awareness among Pro Mujer employees of the issue of violence against women and its effects on women, families, communities and society in general. Domestic violence will continue to be a part of the training curriculum that takes place during communal bank (client peer groups) repayment sessions.

Pro Mujer in Bolivia’s General Manager Gonzalo Alaiza (left) and Health and Human Development Manager, Caroline Hillari (far right), sign a letter of agreement with Irma Campos, representative of GIZ (center).

The need for action against violence has become more evident in Bolivia, due to the increased coverage of femicide reported in the media. With this in mind, Pro Mujer and GIZ’s ComVoMujer signed an alliance knowing that there are plans of actions and laws to penalize, eradicate and prevent violence against women. However, there is still a lot more to be done about public policies to protect the rights of women and girls.

The activities to be held include workshops with Pro Mujer employees, specific training to support women who are victims of domestic violence as well as staff who are in direct contact with clients. Educational and public activities like walks and big events in cities will be developed. There will also be a campaign with specific messages on posters, videos and other materials displayed at focal centers as well as a printed and electronic newsletter covering subjects related to violence against women.

Microsoft Shows its Support for Latin American Women By Donating US$2.3 Millon in Software Licenses to Pro Mujer on International Women’s Day

To mark International Women’s Day and as part of its responsibilities as a signatory of the United Nations’ Global Compact, Microsoft reaffirmed its commitment to communities, young people and, especially, Latin American women by donating software licenses to Pro Mujer worth an estimated value of US $2.3 million.

As a result of this donation, we will be able to increase the number of women we reach from 270,000 to 328,000 in impoverished communities in Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru, including 56,000 young microentrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 24. In addition, approximately 1.3 million of our client’s children and family members will also be reached by December 2013.

Clients and their children participate in a computer training course using Microsoft products at a Pro Mujer center in Mexico.

In making the announcement, Rosario Pérez, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pro Mujer International, said, “Having accurate and timely information is something which is of vital importance for Pro Mujer, as it allows us to adapt to the needs and desires of our clients. The software donated by Microsoft will help us strengthen the efficiency of our 1,900 employees. This means improved implementation for our programs which help the courageous and hard-working women whom we serve. With solid partners like Microsoft, we will continue advancing our mission to provide the necessary tools that women entrepreneurs need to transform their lives and that of their families.”

Since 2006, Pro Mujer and Microsoft have been working together to offer women entrepreneurs from impoverished communities the opportunity to access and make use of technology through Office training courses and free Internet access. Furthermore, the children of these small business owners receive IT classes, which help them improve their mathematical, reading and scientific reasoning skills, thus enabling the entire family to grow.

A joint Microsoft/Pro Mujer ad from a 2008 initiative in Mexico.

Araceli García Valdez, a graduate from one of Pro Mujer’s 13 technology centers in Mexico, had the following to say: “I came to Pro Mujer to look for support, and I not only found it in terms of the economic support they offered me, but also in terms of vocational training and IT courses that opened up the doors to a variety of new paths to me. In addition, it helped me bridge the technological divide for my children”.

Hernán Rincón, President of Microsoft for Latin America added, “When women realize their potential to be agents of changes, it does not take long for the benefits to be seen: families become healthier, and their income and savings also increase. What is true for a family is true for communities and, in the long-term, for entire countries. We work with Pro Mujer because it has always been our priority to support initiatives which promote the inclusion and development of Latin American women”.

For more information about Social Responsibility at Microsoft Latin America, please click here. Thank you Microsoft!