Sponsor a Woman at the Helm! L Wilson - Amigos de La Cruz
November 19, 2013

Dayana Chavez and Maria-Luisa Martinez

I was excited to sit down with these two young women who have life-long dreams of obtaining their Capitana designations.

Dayana Chavez and Maria-Luisa Martinez have a long road ahead completing the remainder of this year at Cetmar, followed by 4 years of nautical school.

They recognize that their goal is made even more complicated because they are not following a traditional path for women. Recently however, thanks to the support of 3 local amigos, they attended a 3-day workshop in Mazatlan where they were introduced to navigation and spent time practicing on a simulator. They were pleased that the teacher and fellow students welcomed them to the class and treated them as equals.

Mexico is home to 3 navigation schools, one in Mazatlan, one in Veracruz and one in Tampico. The schools are expensive but Maria-Luisa and Dayana are working hard in school to maintain their 10-9 grade average (equivalent to A-B) and hope to receive grants and loans through programs for excellence.

Even with the receipt of awards the girls will still have financial needs. They are hoping that a few good amigos may be interested in sponsoring their efforts and/or making donations to a fund for their education. Those interested in more information about helping these energetic, enthusiastic young women can contact Chris Bouchard at chrisbouchard2.0@gmail.com.

The girls are planning a brief appearance at the Amigos Welcome Back event to be held at Oso’s, Friday, November 22.  If you don’t have a ticket, contact us soon at lacruzamigos@gmail.com. Tickets are going fast!

Funding/sponsorships for the girls is not an Amigos project, but the Amigos fully supports their goal and wishes them the best!

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