Fe y Alegría Bolivia became a Conrad N. Hilton Fund for Sisters grant recipient for the first time in its history this past March, as it was awarded a $15,000 grant for a new technical training project. The proposal will benefit the “Madre Ascensión Nicol- CEEMAN” center through the The Congregation of the Dominican Missionaries of the Rosary.
The project, which will launch the equipment and production of a bakery workshop in the Special Needs Education Center, will empower ten youngsters with intelectual disabilities between the ages of 14 and 20 years old. These workshops will strengthen their technical skills to transit into the job market in adult life.
Carmen Carrasco, Project Manager at Fe y Alegría Bolivia, praised the partnership with Friends of Fe y Alegría and acknowledged that “together with Fe y Alegría in the US we can provide the channels to get the means for these workshops, where youngsters with severe intellectual disabilities will widen their opportunities to access the job market and feel appreciated and acknowledged when achieving paid employment.”
The Conrad N. Hilton Fund for Sisters was founded in 1986 by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to specifically support the apostolic work of Roman Catholic sisters in accordance with the last will and testament of Conrad N. Hilton. A visionary businessman responsible for building the largest hotel real estate empire of his time and the first American international hotel company, Hilton was also a visionary philanthropist committed to world peace and economic stability.
Funding both domestic and international projects, the foundation prioritizes projects which focus on: (1) women and children, (2) healthcare/HIV, (3) clean water/food and agriculture, (4) trafficking and (5) education/communications.
Fe y Alegría Dominicana has also been recently granted new financing through a $11,000 grant from the Loyola Foundation for a classroom infrastructure project in the Principios de Tecnología Labs in San Miguel from.
Margarita Moll, Project Coordinator at Fe y Alegría Dominicana praises “we are very happy about this support, above all, on the simplicity on applying for the grants and the support of Friends in the US for connecting us to this fund, the needed translations and with the chance to now show results to the Loyola Foundation, creating synergies with our local partners.”
The Loyola Foundation, which was founded in 1957, is an American charity dedicated to supporting international organizations and programs associated with the Catholic Church, especially those in the global south. The foundation primarily focuses its support on capital projects with budgets under $10,000 USD (construction, equipment, vehicles, etc.).
