Mission Statement
Sa Se Mwen empowers adolescent and teen girls in Port au Prince, Haiti through programs designed for the “whole girl.” Here, girls have the opportunity to explore their individual strengths, serve their communities, and develop personal and professional goals in a supportive, creative, and open environment that fosters social, political, and economic progress in Haiti.
History and Purpose
This Is ME (TIME) is an organization based in Chicago, IL that empowers young women through leadership programs, self-assessment, and learning. Heather Sattler, Executive Director of TIME, and the This Is ME Board of Directors support expanding TIME to become an international organization. In October of 2009, Mary Jo Dunne met with Heather to create a programming initiative called Sa Se Mwen, an empowerment program for girls in Haiti. Mary Jo relies on her seven years of volunteering in Port au Prince and with The Haitian Project. From the earliest planning stages, Sa Se Mwen also involved Haitian university student and girl advocate Christina Julme in the planning and execution of this iniative.
Sa Se Mwen will focus on the following:
Living Labors of Love
Living: Advancing – and now rebuilding -- Haiti is not possible without the work of its young women. While women are not always valued in Haiti for the gifts and talents they possess, it is exactly those gifts that will rebuild communities. When walking through a neighborhood in Haiti, women are seen cooking, cleaning, rearing children, and sewing clothes, which they do simultaneously. In addition to this, women also participate in critical activities that often go unacknowledged. They provide money for their families through their activities in informal markets. Their resourcefulness ensures that the family’s income goes as far as possible. Their decisions around health and welfare for themselves and their families make a difference in a way that can be explained only as life and death.
Especially after the earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010, it is more important now than ever that young women participate in the rebuilding and renewal of Haiti. As witnessed the world over, sustainable change cannot be created and success cannot be reached without women as valued members of the society. We value the capabilities, vision, and talents of the young women involved with SSM. In order to create a better Haiti, SSM will work with young women to develop an array of community projects that will empower girls and develop skills that they can bring into their own community.
Labor: In addition to their place as leaders in the home, women taking on entrepreneurial activities is essential to the transformation of the country. Creating a solid work force is important and women, who represent more than half the Haitian population, need to be a part of this movement. One of the best ways to do this is through experience and example. Sa Se Mwen values the drive, charisma, intelligence, and potential of young Haitian women. In order to empower young women to develop their own career goals, SSM works with female business, nonprofit, and government leaders in Haiti to teach girls about success in any career that they choose by working in fields they love.
SSM will provide practical opportunities for girls to participate in entrepreneurial activities driven by the girls themselves.
Love: Nothing will be accomplished in Haiti without acts of love. We value the vision our young women have for their country and recognize the need for a means to do it. With the hope of a better Haiti, SSM will equip and encourage young women to serve their communities and discover their passions while doing it.
Find out more
For more information, contact Mary Jo Dunne at maryjodunne@thisismeinc.org or 773.576.0646. You can also find us on Facebook.
