Today we’d like to introduce you to Nelly Cuenca. They and their team share their story with us below:
Nelly Cuenca is founder and CEO of MaaPaa. MaaPaa is a nonprofit organization aimed at helping single mothers raising their sons to their highest potential and empowering mothers to be the best version of themselves. The name MaaPaa comes from a coined word “Mama/Papa” from her son Bean (John Francisco West) who is the co-founder and the inspiration behind our nonprofit.
Nelly graduated from Woodrow Wilson high school (proud DISD student) and has a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from The University of Texas at Arlington she has also been trained in Mental Health First Aid in supporting mental health needs of individuals. Her nonprofit experience provided her with a first-hand look of the medical and socioeconomic challenges facing the Dallas community. Nelly has a Master’s degree from The University of Texas at Dallas in Management and recently completed The LBJ School of Public Affairs. LBJ Women’s Campaign School, a new initiative training mid-career professional women how to run for office or manage a political campaign. She intends to leverage this training to make a difference in her community through campaigning for future elected positions. Recently, she has accepted a fellowship with Reflect Us “It Begins Here” and she is looking forward to creating change with our public policy and local forums. Our voice must be at every table where decisions are being made.
Nelly has drawn from her own experience as a single mother to build a nonprofit that can truly make a difference for her clients. She has engineered and coordinated through her community partnerships a suite of services that are key to supporting the population she is trying to empower. Nelly is working to further enhance available services to include affordable housing and entrepreneurship opportunities for MaaPaa’s.
Bean is a published author at age 5 and has addressed 600+ students through speaking engagements. Key takeaways we are here to change the narrative in single-parent households.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Working from home and making the decision to have my son Bean skip kindergarten due to (the pandemic/ no vaccine for his age) I faced ALL the nightmares that most working parents; the isolation, increased home responsibilities, and the education of my child it truly took a toll on my mental health. Here was my clear “come to Jesus moment” Bean was 5 and thrived in math and science, he was not reading yet, but he had published a book, and enjoyed his speaking engagements. I allowed my son to grow at his own pace and let go of having to hit ALL the educational curriculum milestones.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As a nonprofit leader working to bridge gaps for single mothers who are raising boys without a father this experience has brought me to international conversations. We have partnered with panels in Africa to discuss the similar challenges and innovative ways to adapt to our personalized journey. You can find a MaaPaa mom anywhere in the world, her journey is her unique story and our common denominator: is raising our sons without a male figure. Through various research and surveys, we have identified that you can become a MaaPaa overnight: suicide, incarceration, immigration, military death, car crash, Covid-19, and overdoses. Life happens and we are putting a face to our stories. I train teams virtually with Mental Health First Aid and my contracts are in various states. We must continue to talk about Mental Health and the implications when we face barriers for treatment.
What are your plans for the future?
We are in the process of launching a school; a safe haven with wrap-around services in the 75217 area! Hockaday inspired me to create an educational space for generations to thrive. My daughter Mel graduated from Hockaday 2019 and spent her entire educational career in one institution. Our Hockaday community 2004-2019 gave me the power to understand the commitment when you develop a culture of excellence with unlimited support. Fast forward we are creating a school with the hopes to unleash kind global citizens and powerful world leaders. Education is a game-changer and the foundation for all dreams.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://maapaa.org/
Image Credits
Sarah K Photography
