Mariposas Rise Up
By Jessica Mace, Deputy Director
Last August, three Mariposa girls, and new entrants to our Mariposa Volando (Flying Butterfly) Program, boarded an airplane and flew for the first time in their lives. Two girls, Yaritza and Jafreisy, departed for Costa Rica and the third, Romely, for Wales to embark upon a challenging and transformational educational experience at United World Colleges (UWC) in those two countries.
With 17 schools and colleges on 4 continents, UWC is a global movement that makes education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. Yaritza, Jafreisy and Romely were selected by the UWC National Committee in the Dominican Republic to join the UWC movement through the two-year International Baccalaureate Program. Their education is funded through the Mariposa Rise Up Scholars program, a scholarship program spearheaded by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Vanessa Nadal and supported in part through our Global Giving donors. The program supports Mariposa girls who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership, compassion for others, and a passion to affect change in their community, to study abroad at United World Colleges.
This year at UWC has been an amazing year for Yaritza, Jafreisy and Romely. All three report that the first trimester was extremely difficult. They had to adapt to a new country, a new culture, and a new academic system--all in English, while making new friends. But they did it! They improved their English by leaps and bounds, and were challenged in their classes, engaging with students and professors from around the world.
Following her first year at UWC, Romely wants younger Mariposa girls to think of themselves as phoenixes who can rise up even out of the most difficult of situations and with all the challenges they face. Yaritza wants younger Mariposa girls to know that “it doesn’t matter if the whole world says you can’t do it. There will always be people saying you can’t do it. Don’t listen to them. Follow your passion. Follow your heart.”
Following their first year abroad, Yaritza, Jafreisy and Romely are returning to the Dominican Republic and are joining Mariposa staff in leading our annual summer camp for the Mariposa girls. We are excited to have the girls take on leadership roles in our programs. They are real life, role models for our younger girls, and we can’t wait to see them Supporting the World’s Most Powerful Force for Change. These three young women are truly exceptional. They grew up with all of the odds stacked against them and have overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges. They are living proof that Mariposa’s programs change lives.