Partnership in Women’s Ministries (PWM) is a partnership of ministries serving abused and abandoned women in Guatemala. This partnership comes to fill a huge void in Guatemala, where women lack total control of their lives, and are powerlessly subjected to lives of misery. These women, who are lacking resources and education, are desperately trying to survive and provide for their families. Tragically, they are all too often bound by violent relationships with abusive men.
PWM works with various ministries and organizations to provide multifaceted services to these women, including temporary shelter, counseling, legal services, discipleship, job training, and small business loans.
Their first shelter, El Refugio, (The Refuge) officially opened its doors for ministry on June 1, 2008, and their first client arrived two days later. Eunice and her three children, (Brian, Jasmine and Christian) were welcomed into the shelter with loving arms. Eunice had experienced abuse on almost every level for over the past six years. She shared that she felt isolated with nowhere to turn until her sister told her about PWM. Eunice and her children stayed with PWM for three weeks while restraining orders were processed by their director/attorney, Pamela, and plans were made for Eunice and the children to move to Solola with extended family. Pamela participated in this process as well, helping extended family understand that violence is not tolerable. She also met with local police to make them aware of the situation and the existence of the restraining order. Finally, she worked with Eunice to begin work baking ham and cheese croissants to earn an income.
PWM’s goal is to assist women and children in the physical, emotional, and spiritual healing necessary for them to re-enter society prepared to meet the needs of their families.
- COUNSELING is available for the women and children from a trained Guatemalan Christian counselor who meets weekly with each woman both individually and in a group setting.
- DISCIPLESHIP/MENTORING is provided by their in-house staff and discipleship teachers. The women and children receive optional classes and daily training in the areas of biblical teaching and Christian living, parenting, and healthy relationships.
- CHILDREN’S EDUCATION is provided. PWM pays expenses for the children to attend a nearby school and offer educational opportunities in the shelter.
- ADULT EDUCATION AND TRAINING is offered to the women. They offer assistance in job training, literacy training, and skill teaching, and seek to expand this area of service in the future.
- PHYSICAL CARE is provided to the women and children through shelter, food and clothing as well as meeting their basic medical and dental needs. Due to poverty, most of the women and children in their care have never been to a dentist and have had very limited medical care. Many have never owned a toothbrush and suffer from poor nutrition.
- FOLLOW UP AND SUPPORT is currently given to the families on a limited basis as they return to their communities. At this time PWM is able to maintain contact to make sure that the women are not falling back into abusive situations. PWM’s desire, with additional staffing is to provide more extensive follow up as they continue to encourage physical, emotional and spiritual development for these families, as well as additional training such as handling finances, encouraging children’s education, and goal setting.
To learn more about PWM, please visit their website.
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