Path to Womenhood

Hi everyone, Mirame and Pathway to Womanhood have undergone some wonderful advancements this first quarter of the year, as we’ve begun a pilot program for menstrual health education for underprivileged girls in Cuenca, Ecuador and also expanded the team. Gabriela Pinos is the new program director, and she’s done a great job launching the pilot & taking on program development for the year. Let’s hear from Gabi about what she and the projects have experienced so far in 2022…

“When the opportunity to create a special program to educate girls about their menstrual cyclicity came to me, I never imagined the impact this could have on the community. In our society in Ecuador, menstruation and all the natural processes of women have always been seen as something ‘dirty’ and taboo; as something that should not be talked about. It was very special for me to feel my inner child again, to create this unique 5 week program. 

Inspired by the cyclicity of the moon and the 4 archetypes that all women have inside, our pilot walks students through these 4 important phases. Once a week in each class, girls explore an archetype in creative ways in order to learn what each phase brings in regards to energies and role modeling. We share how they can put these energies and ideas into practice in their daily life, and by doing so we connect young ladies with their budding feminine essence. 

There are 5 workshops in total: the first workshop is introductory and the following 4 workshops are designed to connect girls with these 4 women archetypes: the joy and playfulness of the maiden, the love and self care of the mother, the creative magic of the enchantress, and the wisdom and restful intuition of the wise woman. 

After sharing this first pilot with the girls, I feel very satisfied and proud with the results. We have planted a seed in the hearts of these girls. We have seen great change in them. At the beginning of classes, I could see their shyness to talk openly about these topics. But little by little through games and creative activities, we were able to share the importance of reconnecting with our two hearts: the heart in our chest and also the heart in our womb. 

The program has had great impact on the girls, as it has allowed them to explore new perspectives and knowledge about the menstrual cycle and femininity. By sharing all this wisdom they get to know their bodies better, and lose their fear and shame of expressing themselves and living their femininity with freedom and awareness.

This pilot also generated an impact in the community, since these girls have shared all this wisdom with their sisters, mothers and friends. Because of this unexpected result, we now see it is necessary to create a special workshop for the mother’s of these girls, so mothers and daughters can simultaneously learn the same topic, and can bond in shared knowledge about our cyclical nature as women, and the sacredness of these rites of passage.

It has been beautiful to see these girls open their hearts like budding flowers, ready to open and bloom towards the world. I even see them as butterflies that are coming out of their cocoons, ready to fly free and explore the world; empowered, liberated from prejudice, and with a loving vision of their bodies and their femininity.

Thank you so very much for making this experience and learning possible for these young girls. It will mark their lives for forever, and be with them as they grow into empowered women.”

• Gabriela Pinos, Program Director 2022

Thank you again for your support of Mirame and Pathway to Womanhood. It’s been a long journey since we began in 2018, and just like Gabi states of the girls in our pilot for menstrual education, Mirame’s and Pathway to Womanhood’s programs and progress are also budding, ready to bloom into the wider world.