Tomorrow's Women
Tomorrow's Women
If you happened to be in the Santa Fe Railyard on one particularly delightful summer evening in August, you may have heard upbeat Middle Eastern music pulsing from the Farmer’s Market Pavilion. Perhaps that, or the smells of rich ethnic foods, would've enticed you to peer through the window. What a sight you would have seen.
At first glance, it would’ve appeared like teenage girlfriends simply dancing together. Only after stepping inside would you discover the rarity and beauty of what hundreds of Santa Feans were witnessing: young women from Israel, Palestine, and New Mexico, arm in arm with wide-smiled faces, forgetting for those few moments the war zones they left behind and embracing the joy and power of connecting through music and a shared passion for peace.
Tomorrow’s Women is a Santa Fe-based nonprofit celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2023! Hundreds of brave young women from Palestine and Israel have journeyed to Santa Fe for a one-of-its-kind empowering and healing summer camp. Through life-altering dialogue sessions and therapeutic art, the young women form unexpected connections, listen with compassion, and build leadership skills. They arrive as eager campers and return home as emboldened changemakers.
Santa Fe Prep senior Max Shapiro was on the dance floor that night. She and other high school students from across Northern New Mexico joined the Peace Ambassador program to learn communication and leadership strategies while focusing on community-based social justice. A deep dive into the Israeli/Palestinian conflict led to virtual interactions with peers in Gaza, a unique encounter itself. Max and others embraced quality time with the Middle Eastern campers, making art together and supporting honest, often painful, conversations about their realities back home.
“I learned how important it is to have empathy for people you don’t agree with,” shares Max. “I’ll never forget the personal connections I now have with these strong women across the world.”
_____
The Santa Fe Community Foundation invited its community partners to submit stories related to its October topic of New Mexico Women & Girls.
New Mexico Acequia Association
Youth education and outreach are central to the work of the New Mexico Acequia Association. Through these programs, young people engage with their local acequias and build the skills to become future community leaders.
River Source
River Source supports people advancing watershed stewardship to create significant community engagement and long-lasting impacts for intergenerational learning and ecological restoration. We provide science and policy education and the building of watershed and climate resilience in New Mexico. Our goal is to be weavers, bringing together elders, youth, and land managers to spark action for caring for our water, forests, and land and leveraging the full potential of people working together.
The Art of Generosity: Bienvenidos Outreach
The Art of Generosity — our new editorial series with Table Magazine — shines light on the people and organizations strengthening communities across New Mexico. In this first story, we meet Susan Tarver of Bienvenidos Outreach, whose work reflects how compassion, connection, and everyday acts of generosity can help neighbors meet basic needs and build lasting support systems.
