Meet Our Founder
Bianca Mejía Gavarrete
Founder & President
Wings of Freedom International
I am building the support system I wish my mother had when she needed it most.
The Child Who Watched
I was six years old when domestic violence changed my life.
What should have been a childhood filled with carefree memories became a childhood shaped by fear, uncertainty, and survival.
I remember the tension in our home.
I remember the sound of violence.
I remember seeing the fear in my mother’s eyes.
As a child, I did not fully understand what was happening.
I only knew something was wrong.
Before I became a founder, advocate, or nonprofit leader, I was a little girl trying to understand fear.
Then one day, everything changed.
The Day Everything Changed
At six years old, I witnessed domestic violence firsthand.
I watched my mother live in fear, and I experienced the uncertainty and pain that abuse brings to an entire family.
One day, my mother made the courageous decision to escape.
To save her life, she jumped from a second-story window rather than remain trapped in a dangerous situation.
After she left, I spent nearly a year not knowing where she was.
As a child, I did not understand safety planning or survivor protection.
I only understood that my mother was gone.
Those experiences shaped me in ways I would not fully understand until years later.
From Pain to Purpose
Turning Experience Into Action
Wings of Freedom was founded on a simple belief:
No woman should have to face abuse alone.
Although my childhood experiences left a lasting impact on me, it was not until many years later that I fully understood how they would shape my purpose.
Everything changed during a conversation with a survivor of domestic violence.
As I listened to her story, memories of my own childhood came rushing back. I remembered the fear, uncertainty, and pain I experienced while watching my mother endure abuse. In that moment, I realized I could not remain indifferent.
I felt compelled to do something.
What began as a conversation became a mission.
That mission led to the creation of Wings of Freedom International, a volunteer-led international organization dedicated to supporting survivors through education, awareness, empowerment, and community.
Today, our programs connect women from multiple countries through workshops, live talks, educational programs, and survivor-centered initiatives designed to help women rebuild their lives with dignity and hope.
The Impact
Creating Change Together
Since founding Wings of Freedom International, we have:
✔ Connected with survivors from multiple countries
✔ Delivered educational workshops and live talks
✔ Built an international volunteer team spanning the United States, Spain, Costa Rica, and Belgium
✔ Created safe spaces for women to learn, heal, and grow
✔ Launched survivor empowerment initiatives such as the Andrea Project
Every number represents a woman who found support, hope, and the reminder that she is not alone.
One of those women is Andrea. Her journey became the first Wings of Freedom Empowerment Project and demonstrates what is possible when survivors are given support, opportunity, and a community that believes in them.
The Andrea Project
A Survivor's Journey from Hope to Independence
In 2024, Andrea, a survivor of domestic violence from Colombia, connected with Wings of Freedom International through social media while searching for support, encouragement, and a path toward a better future for herself and her family.
Shortly afterward, Andrea joined our seven-week empowerment workshop, Building My Dreams (Construyendo Mis Sueños). The program was facilitated by Wings of Freedom International in collaboration with a volunteer professional social worker and was designed to help survivors rebuild confidence, set meaningful goals, and create a vision for the future they hope to achieve.
During the workshop, Andrea shared her story.
A teacher by profession, Andrea had been unable to secure stable employment in her field. To support her family, she relied on occasional house-cleaning jobs while raising her two young sons. Despite her education, determination, and work ethic, financial instability made it difficult to provide the security and opportunities she dreamed of for her children.
As part of the workshop, participants were invited to create a Dream Map—a visual representation of the future they hoped to build. Andrea’s dream was simple but powerful: to create a small business that would allow her to earn a stable income while remaining present for her children.
Her dream became the foundation of what would later become The Andrea Project.
Over the course of one year, Wings of Freedom International worked alongside Andrea to help transform that vision into reality. Through fundraising, mentorship, planning, advocacy, and community support, more than 3,420 volunteer hours were invested in this project.
Together, we helped improve the safety and functionality of her home by installing secure windows and doors, making essential repairs, providing business equipment, and supplying the initial inventory needed to launch a small neighborhood store.
The Andrea Project was about much more than home repairs or business equipment.
Throughout the year, Andrea received ongoing encouragement, mentorship, and emotional support as she navigated the challenges of rebuilding her life. Like many survivors, she faced moments of uncertainty, fear, and discouragement. During those difficult times, our team remained committed to walking alongside her, reminding her that she was not alone and that her dreams were worth fighting for.
Today, Andrea operates her own family business from home, allowing her to generate income, provide for her children, and build a future defined by stability, dignity, and hope.
Her story is a powerful reminder that when survivors are given support, opportunity, and a community that believes in them, transformation becomes possible.
The Andrea Project is more than a business success story—it is a testament to resilience, empowerment, and the life-changing impact of investing in a survivor’s future.
Andrea’s story is one example of why Wings of Freedom exists. Every survivor deserves the opportunity to rebuild her life with dignity, support, and hope. This mission is deeply personal to me because I know firsthand the impact domestic violence has on families, and I remain committed to helping survivors create the futures they deserve.
What I Believe
I believe that every woman deserves:
- Safety
- Hope
- Dignity
- Opportunity
- Support
I believe education can change lives.
I believe community creates healing.
I believe economic empowerment creates independence.
Most importantly, I believe that when people come together with compassion and purpose, transformation becomes possible.
A Personal Message
If you are a survivor, I want you to know that you are not alone.
If you are a supporter, thank you for believing in this mission.
If you are visiting Wings of Freedom for the first time, welcome.
Everything we do is rooted in the belief that every woman deserves the opportunity to rebuild her life, reclaim her voice, and create a future defined by safety, dignity, and hope.
I am deeply grateful for every volunteer, donor, sponsor, survivor, and supporter who has become part of this journey.
Together, we are building something bigger than ourselves.
Together, we are building a future where no woman has to face abuse alone.
Thank you for being part of that future.
Bianca Mejía Gavarrete
Founder & President
Wings of Freedom International