EDUCATION & EMPOWERMENT
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Through the help of sponsors, Faith Ministry is able to support over 190 students from kindergarten through college. Even though school in Mexico is free, the added cost of uniforms, books, school supplies, transportation, and food can create a heavy burden on the families in our communities. Thanks to our sponsors, that burden is lighter, which allows students to focus on their studies with a bright future ahead.
For as little as $460 a year, you can help a family keep a child in school. A scholarship makes it possible for a child to attend school and covers costs such as uniforms, transportation and food, as determined by a child’s parents.
SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAM
Through our skills training program, we want to empower men and women to learn skills that can create new opportunities for them. We want to do the same for kids and teach them skills at a young age that will stimulate their minds and empower them in all areas of their life. For adults, young and old, we currently have a sewing program, a woodworking program and a foreman apprenticeship program, and for children, we have a music program to learn how to play guitar.
SEWING
Women from beginner level to advanced gather two to three times a week to learn and practice sewing, crocheting and quilting from our instructor. They sew beautiful garments from skirts, pants and blouses to oven mitts and aprons; they have even sewed quinceañera dresses! Upon “graduating” from the course, each woman receives a sewing machine of her own to take home and use.
WOODWORKING
In our carpentry shop, we make furniture to gift to families who receive homes through our housing program, and teams who come to volunteer have the option to buy this as a housewarming gift for the family. Local volunteers have the opportunity to learn from our staff how to work with wood, and volunteers from the U.S. have also been able to teach the local community how to make certain pieces. We have made benches, bunk beds, double benches, twin and full beds, garden boxes, picnic tables and more!
FOREMAN APPRENTICESHIP
We want to teach young men and women the skills to be a construction foreman, which is a job in high demand in Mexico. Our apprentices learn everything they need to be in charge on a job site, from laying out the footprint of a house to prepping a roof to stuccoing a house, under the supervision of our staff foremen.
MUSIC
Children living in our communities in Mexico don’t always have access to extracurricular activities, and we want to give children the opportunity to learn something new. In our children’s music program, they have the chance to learn the guitar. The effort they put into practicing and the encouragement this practice gives them is great for the kids in our area.