Abused women from the Co-op Experanza y Fe rebuild their self-esteem through honest work. (Diana Parra/Borderzine.com)

Dominican nuns find need and hope in Juárez as they help poor women survive

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EL PASO – Left alone to deal with the household responsibilities, forced to steal to eat, humiliated and treated as if they were worthless, the women escaped to safety to a haven they call the “dump” in Ciudad Juárez. These abused women made the move to seek a better life in a community of friendship and hope, anchored by the Centro Santa Catalina run by Dominican nuns from El Paso. Although located in a city now filled with violence and homicides, the “dump” is the only neighborhood in Juárez where these women can find the strength to move beyond their misery. Many El Pasoans consider crossing the border to Ciudad Juárez dangerous and life threatening, but that is exactly what Sister Rene and Sister Maureen do every day to help these struggling women and children in Juárez. Sister Rene Weeks and Sister Maureen Gallagher of the Dominican Sisters say they cross the border to bring some light to women and children who have only seen poverty and a struggle to survive.

Her success is in company she keeps with 300 trucks

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EL PASO — Owning a small business can bring minority women much success and many challenges, and in some cases just being a double minority is an advantage. Rosa Marin-Abdeljaber told the Women’s Business Border Center of the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce recently that she always knew she wanted to be successful. At one point her goal was to become a doctor and own her own practice. Well she didn’t become a doctor, but she is President and CEO of Russell Transport, an Hispanic female-owned and operated trucking company based in El Paso. She credits part of her success to being a minority.