MANA, A National Latina Organization
HERMANITAS® Program

Helping America's Youth: A Caring Adult in Action Feature - Alma Morales Riojas, President and CEO of MANA

Program Summary

MANA's HERMANITAS® Program is designed to encourage Hispanic adolescent girls to stay in school and pursue high academic goals. MANA expands efforts to consider the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual needs of Latina youth by providing accurate information, nonjudgmental counseling, and skill building opportunities.

HERMANITAS® is a program designed to meet the specific needs of young Latina adolescents. This program strives to raise the self- confidence of Latina adolescents, raise expectations for the future, help them excel academically, and realize their potential. The HERMANITAS® program is a youth development effort in which MANA and other community members volunteer their time to mentor young Latinas. The process involves partnering with their families, schools, community and other organizations.

Mission and Vision

HERMANITAS® empowers Latinas through education, leadership development, health and fitness, cultural awareness and community action. The program is designed to instill within future Latina leaders, strong family and cultural values, integrity, self-esteem, self-awareness, pride and civic and cultural responsibility.

Goals

• To adopt healthy living strategies and approaches.
• To promote educational achievement and personal enrichment.
• To develop leadership qualities, skills, and abilities.
• To promote cultural identity, respect, pride and multicultural awareness.
• To promote proactive - community involvement.

Program Elements

• Education · Leadership development
• Cultural awareness
• Community action
• Physical and Mental Health

National HERMANITAS® Summer Institute (NHSI)

Approximately 140 elementary, middle and high school Latinas from around the nation participate at this event every year.

The NHSI program consists of the development of strategies that will raise awareness of the impact of their choices in life, and transform that understanding into action. This is accomplished through interactive workshops, reflections and inspirational journal writing, participation of Latina speakers of distinction in our communities, cultural and social activities, and resource information on all subjects addressed at the NHSI.

The participants have activities at the beginning and the end of the institute to set goals and establish their objectives for the NHSI and life. After a six-month period, MANA® will conduct a follow up assessment on the goal setting and impact of the NHSI on the young Latina's lives.

For More Information Contact:

Chapters with HERMANITAS® Programs:
Bay Area MANA
MANA de Orange County
MANA de Salinas
MANA del Norte
MANA de San Diego
MANA de San Antonio
MANA de Sonoma County
MANA de Northern Virginia
MANA de Metro Detroit
MANA de Hidalgo County