A Transformative Journey to Empower Young Women: UIW Professor Travels to Support YWGLP Ugandan Students
The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word (CCVI), the founding congregation of the University of the Incarnate Word, have committed themselves to incarnating God’s saving and healing presence in the world. Since their establishment in 1866, the efforts of their ministries in health, education and social justice have spread across the nation and around the globe (amormeus.org).
As living representations of the Word, various members of the Incarnate Word family strive to live by the legacy of the CCVI Sisters. Faculty, students, alumni, donors and more organize their own efforts to share God’s presence wherever they go.
Dr. Erika Arredondo-Haskins, Religious Studies professor and director of UIW’s Young Women's Global Leadership Program (YWGLP), is one of these remarkable individuals.
The YWGLP is an UIW Ettling Center for Civic Leadership and Sustainability (ECCLS) supported program that empowers, encourages and inspires young women to be advocates for change in their communities in various countries including Uganda, Kenya, Kosovo, Turkey and the United States. The members are mentored and taught by San Antonio-based female leaders, including Haskins.
Usually, Haskins teaches her Uganda-based students remotely to accommodate the distance. However, upon receiving $5,000 in funding from the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word (CCVI) “Sisters Supporting Women for a Better World” grant, Haskins got the opportunity to travel to Uganda to meet and teach her students in person at Holy Cross Lake View S.S.S. Wanyange (HCLV) during the summer of 2024.
“The girls (students) were so happy that they were in tears when I told them the news,” recalled Haskins.
Haskins noted that her Ugandan students had organized an entrepreneurial passion project where they designed and fabricated shoes to sell as a means of investing their profits towards tuition payments, personal products, school supplies and uniforms. Previously, her students made the shoes by hand, which demanded an average of 5 hours for just one pair of shoes. They carved out this time amidst their other responsibilities, which included school, chores and studying. Wanting to provide a more efficient and time-effective process to her students, Haskins used a portion of her funding to purchase a laptop, two industrial sewing machines, a sole roughing machine and other materials.
After taking a two-day long flight, Haskins finally arrived at HCLV, where her students greeted her with cheerful smiles when they were finally able to meet their beloved teacher in person. Haskins was beyond overjoyed to have all 35 Ugandan students in front of her. She was even more touched to see that her students had waited for her arrival before they unpacked the new sewing resources they had been given. They thoroughly enjoyed showing her their new workspace where they could further advance their entrepreneurial project.
In addition to being able to meet her students and provide them with helpful sewing supplies, Haskins anxiously anticipated being able to teach her students in person. She had prepared a number of lectures and workshops centering on topics such as entrepreneurship, conflict resolution and leadership. She made sure to research Ugandan woman leaders to reference in her lessons, as she wanted her students to see how they could make a difference just as other notable women from their country had done within their local communities.
“This initiative was not merely an educational program but a transformative journey to empower young women in critical areas such as entrepreneurship, leadership and personal empowerment,” noted Haskins.
Haskins was even more honored when she was asked to give a workshop to not only the UIW YWGLP members and potential members, but also the entire school during a morning assembly. Although she was nervous about speaking in front of approximately 1,800 students, she felt honored to expand her educational reach by presenting to the entire student body of HCLV.
She enjoyed getting to know her students better and being able to encourage them to continue pursuing their dreams as the capable women she knows them to be. On the last day of her visit with HCLV, Haskins helped coordinate a ceremony where she presented each YWGLP student with a certificate to recognize their hard work during another year with the program.
Haskins was teary as she recalled the entire trip and having to say “goodbye for now” to the wonderful students at HCLV. She felt that her former mentor, Sr. Dorothy “Dot” Ettling, the founder of the EECLS, would’ve been proud of her work as it upheld her values and visions. In a way, she felt that this trip was a testament to Sr. Dot’s legacy.
“We are immensely proud of the strides being made and the positive, lasting impact this program will have on the lives of these incredible young women,” shared Haskins. “This is just the beginning, and we look forward to witnessing their growth and success with future visits and initiatives in Africa.”