Improve quality of health and education in Mexico

Hello there! We are happy to greet you again and tell you about the projects and organizations we accompany this year. We have started and are so glad to continue supporting our region's communities, families, children, and women. So that these projects can be accompanied, Amigos makes an arduous selection work together with volunteers who give their time and talent. Year after year, our foundation makes a call that allows us to meet many projects, but thanks to the participation and dedication of our selection committee, made up of various members of the Los Altos communities and experts in education issues, health, and environment, we can choose relevant projects with a significant impact. On this occasion, we present the ones that have been selected this year, which are a reality thanks to all the support that you continually give us. Thank you very much!

AMEXTRA: "Water to live, nutrition to grow: Tzotzil families achieving health."

Direct beneficiaries: 300 Indirect beneficiaries: 600

Amextra has been working in 10 communities in the municipalities of Aldama and Chalchihuitán since 2011. During 2020 and 2021, they identified that 100% of the families have excessive consumption of sugary drinks, their diet is not varied, they are unaware of good ways to prepare the food to preserve nutrients, and 80% consume water contaminated with E. Coli, which generates high rates of gastrointestinal diseases and puts girls and boys at risk. Through feedback and community participation, they have achieved a program of flexible attention to people's needs, prioritizing access to healthy food and sanitation of water for human consumption. This year's project continues to work on it. It aims to improve the health and nutrition conditions of 80 families (300 girls, boys, and adults) from seven communities in Aldama, Chalchihuitán, and Larráinzar. Improving the infrastructure of homes and increasing knowledge about health and hygiene habits; maintaining production and increasing consumption of local and diversified foods with five production projects; and strengthening the understanding of fourteen community leaders in eco-technologies and productive projects.

Hogar Comunitario: "New women, comprehensive development for migrant indigenous women to the city."

Direct beneficiaries: 999 Indirect beneficiaries: 3,500

There are several hundred women from communities in Los Altos who, in these 26 years, have developed their power, recovered self-awareness and care, and built a life seeking the best development opportunities for themselves and their children. The health and awareness of the sexual and reproductive rights of hundreds of women have resulted in humanized deliveries, dignified births, and the initiation and learning of a relationship with their children based on mutual respect and care. The shelter service for women in highly vulnerable situations has decreased over time, meaning that the stigma around unplanned pregnancies has significantly reduced, and women prefer to remain in their support networks. We consider this a significant advance. On the other hand, the beneficiary women constitute the essential dissemination mechanism since they are the ones who refer other women to the Community Home in situations of violence and unplanned pregnancies. As the years have passed, prevention work has become more relevant in our work plans, not only in schools but also in communities and with groups in the rural area of our region. The community homework continues, and this year they aim to continue developing comprehensive practices that lead migrant indigenous and mestizo women to the city, with unplanned pregnancies and single mothers, towards their human development, free of violence and in conditions of equity, also, by providing primary care to women, strengthening their technical and human skills for self-employment, providing clear information to identify and prevent violence and loving support for the children of single mothers.

Sanando Heridas, A.C.: "Empowered girls and adolescents in exercising the right to their reproductive and sexual health."

Direct beneficiaries: 160 Indirect beneficiaries: 500

Sanando Heridas has worked for more than eight years in communities in Los Altos with a high degree of health vulnerability, offering comprehensive care and health education. Throughout these years, she has intervened with girls and boys in self-care for health from a collective learning approach involving the community. She has provided adequate information adapted to her uses and customs to develop skills in each person so that they can exercise the right to health. Thanks to this intervention, we have detected that a priority issue is women's reproductive and sexual health care from childhood and adolescence. This project seeks to strengthen knowledge, attitudes, and healthy habits on sexual and reproductive health by providing adequate information on hygiene and menstrual health with indigenous girls and adolescents from Los Altos de Chiapas, as well as providing tools and supplies that improve their self-esteem and quality of life.

CONIDER: "Strengthening of community health in nine locations with a comprehensive approach, deworming campaigns, and nutritional care in San Juan Cancuc, Chiapas."

Direct beneficiaries: 1,602 Indirect beneficiaries: 1,200

The project is a continuation of two cycles that started from a consultation process carried out in 2018 to implement an alliance project between organizations and communities of the municipality of San Juan Cancuc. We conducted a community diagnosis and identified needs in three areas: a) Strengthening skills and capacities, b) Health and water, and c) Income generation. Based on this diagnosis, actions such as nutritional monitoring of girls and boys, strengthening four community health plans, deworming and vitamin campaigns, and gynecological care have been carried out. After all this work, the current project comprehensively complements several of the population's health needs. It seeks to strengthen comprehensive visions of health in nine Tzeltal localities of the municipality through monitoring community agreements, incorporating community promoters, with the nutritional recovery of twenty children under five years of age in two localities with high vulnerability and with two deworming campaigns, vitaminization for the population and folic acid for lactating women.

Tlahtolli, A.C.: "Vocers of the Basin"

Direct beneficiaries: 20 Indirect beneficiaries: 100

This group seeks to promote knowledge and conservation of the biodiversity of the Jovel Valley basin (San Cristóbal de Las Casas) through training young people as environmental promoters and implementing environmental education and communication activities in neighborhoods and neighborhoods. Close to areas that protect threatened ecosystems. The project promotes in the youth population the necessary awareness and initiative for their participation as environmental leaders with the appropriate skills to encourage biodiversity conservation. This will be achieved through the knowledge of local biodiversity and its importance through educational activities and the creation of a group of young leaders who carry out actions to promote local biodiversity conservation.

UNECODES: "Milpa interspersed with fruit trees (MIAF) for security and food sovereignty and environmental sustainability for the communities of Chancolom, municipality of San Juan Cancuc and Bochilté, municipality of Huixtán."

Direct beneficiaries: 500 Indirect beneficiaries: 750

We have previously worked with families on other issues related to improving food sovereignty, such as vegetable production, care of backyard animals, and organized everyday work, which is why we need to implement this new issue to continue strengthening the attitudes and skills of the groups that we accompany, in addition to continuing to improve the knowledge of community promoters. This project seeks to implement the MIAF system as part of families' food security and sovereignty to increase the yield of corn, bean, vegetable, and fruit crops in an agroecological way, increase family income, and control water erosion of the soil floor, in addition to strengthening human relations through the positive transformation of conflicts. It seeks to promote the active participation of women and men and enhance the exchange of agroecological products and knowledge between families, groups, or communities.

Tierra Roja Cuxtitali Centro Comunitario, A.C.: "Our organization, land of peace: healthy relationships, non-violent coexistence, and social insertion for young people from the urban periphery of San Cristóbal de Las Casas."

Direct beneficiaries: 75 Indirect beneficiaries: 1,000

The main objective has been to offer a social space of peace, learning, and fun to girls and boys from the urban periphery as an alternative to violence and marginalization, strengthening their social skills and building tools for healthy and equitable relationships. During the first stage (October 2021-July 2022), we observed an essential change in the attitude of the young people, who have been attending regularly and participating actively and critically. There were also advances in their autonomy in managing space, relating, and making possible conflicts or discrimination visible, in addition to strengthening their capacities to transform these conflicts. Several processes need more time and space to materialize in more systemic changes. In several cases, Tierra Roja is their only social and learning space. In this second stage, we want to guarantee a dignified and comprehensive learning space for girls from eleven to eighteen years old, promote processes of free expression and respect for all identities, and build collaborative tools for autonomy and a life free of violence.

Centro de Formación para la Sustentabilidad Moxviquil, A.C.: "Prevention of child sexual abuse in San Cristóbal de Las Casas."

Direct beneficiaries: 500 Indirect beneficiaries: 2,500

Child sexual abuse is a huge problem that cuts across all ages. Working with children and adolescents strengthens personal resources for self-care and the ability to set limits. Working with the young and adult population is because it is necessary to raise awareness about adult centrism and the permission to exercise sexual violence toward children and adolescents. It is a present and daily issue that is invisible and ignored in all ages. This project aims to generate spaces for awareness, orientation, and attention to the San Cristobal population regarding the prevention of child sexual abuse from a focus on the rights of children and adolescents, as well as intersectionality, contributing to making the problem visible. It seeks to generate spaces for self-knowledge and the development of skills for self-care and the exercise of limits in the child and adolescent population; make visible the problem of child sexual abuse, providing precise and scientific information to the adult population in neighborhoods and schools; and open space for care and counseling for individuals and families, establishing a critical care path with various areas in the city.

CAMATI Mujeres Construyendo desde Abajo A.C: "Dignifying the rights of women and midwives to a free exercise of the use of their knowledge in traditional medicine and decent food with their resources in Santiago el Pinar and Chenalhó, Chiapas."

Direct beneficiaries: 140 Indirect beneficiaries: 600

This project seeks to improve the quality and warmth of reproductive health services with the free exercise of midwifery, traditional medicine, and nutrition improvement in two municipalities, Santiago el Pinar and Chenalhó, in Chiapas. 98% speak an indigenous language in these two municipalities, and only 41.86% are bilingual. One of the problems faced by women of reproductive age is the lack of adequate maternal and neonatal health care, lack of knowledge about the exercise of women's rights and decision-making regarding their health, even though they have a Health Center extended in which the services are 12 hours, from Monday to Saturday. Women mainly distrust medical care due to the obstetric violence within health institutions, lack of communication in their mother tongue, and supplies for their care. These two municipalities also face poor nutrition, little sustainability, uses, and customs that directly affect girls, boys, and women of reproductive age, which causes them to violate their rights.

Thank you very much for reading and for staying close. We invite you to participate in the upcoming campaigns or continue contributing your grain of sand. Hugs!

With joy, we meet you again to tell you more about the projects. Thank you for reading and continuing to support our work.

On this occasion, we want to tell you a little more about each of the projects of 2022 so that you know the details, difficulties, feelings, and achievements and get a little closer to each one. In order not to tire you, we will share the result of the effort of some projects (3 of 9), and shortly we will share the missing ones. Let's go to them.

OMNIUNITY A.C.

Direct beneficiaries served to December 2022: 520 (357 women, 163 men).

House of Health

A free pap smear, HIV, and syphilis study have been carried out on 53 women. 29 women have participated in 2 herbal gynecology workshops and one workshop on menstruation and sexual and reproductive health.

Throughout the year, 120 people have received individual care in medical consultations. Of these, 84 were women. In the consultations, they have been sensitized about the topics of interest of the project in comprehensive consultations that combine allopathic medicine with herbal medicine. Boys and girls have also attended (48 child consultations).

Seventy-two people have been treated in therapies (osteopathy and acupuncture), 21 men and 51 women.

The networks of the Casa de Salud have been strengthened in the areas of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Attention to gender violence, GBV, in addition to actors from the Cuxtitali neighborhood.

Among the different needs we have detected among our users, mental health care stands out, especially for women whose lives have been crossed by violence since childhood. For this reason, we would like to implement care cycles for women's mental health in collaboration with a psychotherapist with whom we already have a relationship. Another challenge is our internal organizational strengthening. We want to find a formula so more people can assume responsibilities and nurture the project. We plan to hold monthly or bimonthly meetings with our different collaborators and user assemblies to put the problem on the table and coordinate better.

We have learned that combining care services (consultations, therapies of different kinds) with the planning of workshops is a strategy that works: care builds trust and awakens interest, and the workshops delve into the appropriation of knowledge for self-care of the body. We have also learned that alliances for specific and specific objectives are a strategy that works very well for our project.

Gimnasio Popular (Popular Gymnasium)

The main result of the Popular Gymnasium has been to increase the number of hours of courses and the participation of students in them. When the project began, around 100 registered, while now we are 180, we believe this result is also related to being able to offer more appropriate materials to our teachers and students. Scholarships for teachers are also an excellent way to reward their voluntary work, albeit partially.

The main challenge encountered during the project has been the increase in material prices due to the global economic situation. To mitigate the risk, we have requested support from our teachers and community, who have helped us fined discounts and budgets for cheaper materials, achieving the expected objectives anyway.

Another challenge that we have in both axes is the participation of the community in the decision-making processes. Although Casa de Salud and Gimnasio have open, participatory spaces (regular assemblies, participatory Committees, etc.), getting the neighborhood's people involved is not always possible. We are trying to reduce the distance between the promoters/organizers and the users to solve and adapt this challenge. In the case of the Casa de Salud, they are thinking of creating a small school where people from the neighborhood can be trained on health issues so that one day a project will be fully managed by the community. In the case of the Gym, we believe that the key lies in the active participation of the teachers in the Committee since they are the direct link with the sports community that we want to get involved in the decision-making processes. At the moment, we are considering promoting a Committee of Teachers, fathers, and mothers of families that can relate to the Organizing Committee, starting with some topics, so that the process is gradual and people do not feel forced into the collective decision-making process.

We have learned that, although they are not always involved in the "formal" decision-making processes, when necessary, the teachers and the users organize themselves very effectively to solve practical problems of the daily management of the courses. For example, for a few months, each family has participated in collecting money to buy a weekly Kung Fu uniform. This is how they have achieved in a short time that all the children had their uniforms. This and other forms of self-organization, which had existed in the neighborhood since long before the project arrived, are the ones we want to encourage and nurture.

TIERRA ROJA CUXTITALI CENTRO COMUNITARIO A. C.

Direct beneficiaries served to December 2022: 65 (40 women and 25 men).

During this year, we carried out different activities:

1. Group classes for academic reinforcement, literacy (primary and intermediate): work in brigades to solve homework, reinforce different educational topics, and share comprehensive education knowledge based on the profiles and needs of the groups.

2. Workshops on socio-emotional education and healthy relationships: spaces to identify challenges and needs of the group related to emotions, relationships, coexistence, sexual education, gender equality, and identities.

3. Guitar classes: proposal for participants who want to learn to play the instrument in the self-management space.

4. Spaces for self-management and free play: spaces for fun and coexistence where the group organizes itself autonomously, making decisions about what activity to do and transforming possible conflicts based on collective agreements.

5. Socio-environmental education workshops and management of a family educational greenhouse: primary training spaces on agroecology, first harvest, and care and maintenance issues self-managed by the group.

6. Assemblies: space for making and proposing agreements, evaluation, and collective reflection finalized to a healthy and responsible coexistence and community participation.

7. Community events: Cuxtifest de la Paz (December 10, cultural festival and community market) and Christmas posada (December 17, coexistence with families)

8. Individual and group emotional accompaniment: Little house of emotions, space for listening and individual and group accompaniment, space for conflict transformation and dialogue.

We carried out all the activities, and some specific topics were integrated based on the needs expressed by the participants: sexual education, spaces for theater, self-management log (to record activities and possible conflicts), and assemblies, among others. Unfortunately, as of September, individual emotional accompaniment could no longer be carried out due to the departure (voluntary and for personal reasons) of the organization's colleague Tania, who was in charge of the space. This unforeseen and also painful change for the groups of participants and the educators has led us to restructure the area of emotional accompaniment and to adapt the proposal by sharing spaces for information and group reflection on topics directly related to all the needs identified with the groups, with healthy relationship workshops and new areas for internal and external training. It is worth mentioning that this space is not closed and that the young people use it independently without educators (which was part of the area's objectives) to dialogue and talk. It continues to be a space to talk with participants and their families about their needs and use it with those who do not have homework as an art-therapy space. The referent educators share all this, and it is working more than we thought, although we plan to have a fixed referent again, starting in January. Also, since September, the groups have integrated and received a new educator very well. Another change that we had to manage is the issue of hours: from September to November, we have closed the space until 6:30 pm, but due to the rigid climate, the severe increase of insecurity in the same neighborhood, and the concern of families for the safety of their sons and daughters, we decide to close activities at 6 pm, at least until February or March. Our main objective is to ensure the tranquility and well-being of everyone, including the workgroup. We have adapted the activities to the new schedule to avoid cutting or canceling anything, and it is being achieved.

The work with young people in the last two years has been very satisfactory concerning their assistance. The boys receive endless stimuli, and demands from the context in which they live that test their motivation and commitment to assisting in Tierra Roja: other activities (school, church) other compulsory tasks (domestic, work); and unfortunately, there are many "false opportunities" that come from criminality, which is very present and active in the area where we work and live. Thus, we consider the majority group attendance continues in this process of learning and coexistence an achievement, despite the conditions of vulnerability and family and economic needs.

The main challenges have to do with the normalized and naturalized violence that we all live and experience historically and even more so in these times. This very adverse context is the main enemy of the participatory and peaceful approach that we are building with young people, who have a hard time expressing their opinions freely, acting without repeating patterns of discrimination and racism, and are used to interacting violently. The work comprises almost invisible advances, mediation, and a review of agreements and limits. In a few words: being able to accompany them, allowing them to develop freely respectfully, but guaranteeing constant care and support that promotes the construction of peace alternatives against any violence, even if the participants still do not identify it as such.

We learned that despite working against violence and discrimination, we as educators live and suffer violence; to accompany processes, we must take care of ourselves, support ourselves, and ally ourselves. We reaffirm that the proposals and themes of the educational proposal have to come from the participants, even if it is difficult for them to express themselves and identify what they want and that they must persevere on this path, even if this means facing (apparent) apathy and challenging attitudes. They hide many different emotions. We also learned that there are situations and challenges (discrimination, gender violence, racism, intolerance) that have historical and political roots. The space we inhabit has excellent value, as it is often the only social space for many girls and boys. We recognize that we have an enormous responsibility towards them and about how they will develop in their future, and we also acknowledge that there are allies. There are actors against what we do, and we must regulate those forces and use practical and realistic strategies established.

YACH'IL ANTZETIK HOGAR COMUNITARIO

Direct beneficiaries served to December 2022: 411 (316 women and 95 men).

This project contemplates most of the activities of the annual planning of Hogar Comunitario. We analyze the progress of each of them below:

1. Comprehensive Women's Accompaniment Program: available to women from the moment they request it. Space for study, valorization, and care of themselves, to start their empowerment process, achieve a humanized birth, and establish a loving and caring relationship with their sons and daughters. Through this program, 64 women were in situations of violence and unplanned pregnancy, and 19 male partners were of some of these women. The following services were provided to them: Personalized emotional care: 64 women and 13 male partners of women in prenatal care, in addition to home visits and telephone consultations for women in situations of violence. Prenatal care and childbirth preparation workshops: We worked with 22 mothers, most unaware that they were experiencing conditions of violence. When reflected in the consultations and workshops to prepare for childbirth, 16 of the 19 men were asked to carry out a process of self-knowledge through personalized consultations. Humanized childbirth care: 22 maternal mothers were accompanied, achieving 15 deliveries as of this report, both in the hospital and at our headquarters, in excellent physical and emotional health conditions.
2. TRAMA Program (working on manual art for self-employment): This activity has two interrelated modalities: TRAMA Workshops and TRAMA Community Store.

From TRAMA Workshops: we worked with 87 migrant women to the City of San Cristóbal and rural women from communities in the highlands of Chiapas. Forty-seven women participated in the macramé workshops, with the jewelry project, waist loom, and embroidery on a blanket at the headquarters of the Community Home. Thirty-two artisan women residing in Yaxgemel (Chenalhó), Mitontic, San Cristobalito (San Andrés Larráinzar), and Tenejapa participated in the artisan meetings. All of them work the waist loom. The workshops are worked through goals that are agreed upon with the participating women at the time of project design:

-Recognize and value their culture and ancestral knowledge

-Strengthen their ability to create through the art manual

-They have valued and strengthened their capacity for collaborative work

-They learned to determine the costs of their products.

PLOT Community store: 47 indigenous women from communities in the Altos, Selva, and Altiplano areas, primary migrants to the City of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, benefited from the sales of the community store. The team was trained with the accompaniment of a volunteer, landing the strategic Marketing plan; thus, tools were also generated with the training of Introduction to the digital transformation of a total of 10 hours, and the electronic commerce seminar of 20 hours, which contributed to specify:

- The business plan.

- Selection of friendly platforms, easy to use: simple for user and buyer of the product.

- Creation of advertising due to the market study and segmentation of the target audience.

- Analysis of the advertising approach.

- Creation of INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK for the TRAMA store to connect with potential and actual customers. The interaction in their social networks increased in the last section of the project.

1. Meetings of women: This activity is part of the preventive education program of Hogar Comunitario. This program comprises various activities such as training and awareness workshops towards the prevention of violence and early pregnancies in schools, working with students, parents of students, and teaching staff, the Las Orugas Children's Space, and meetings of women at headquarters and in the community. The latter is part of the activities of this project. The meeting is a space for self-knowledge and continuous growth for the women at the headquarters. Help to identify and eradicate violence in their lives. There was a total participation of 129 women and 64 accompanying men. Seven workshops were held at the headquarters and four in the community, invited by authorities from various communities in Chalchihuitán and Mitontic.
2. "Las Orugas" Children's Space: Strategic space for the prevention of violence and comes to reinforce the work that other areas do with mothers. It promotes healthy coexistence, good treatment, and, through play, knowledge of rights and reinforcement of literacy and mathematics. Four game encounters between mothers and children were held, during which, supported by some tenderness pedagogy techniques, a meeting space was established between mothers and their sons and daughters. It is essential to point out that the participation of 45% of the little ones has been intermittent, while the rest have come to the workshops regularly. They achieved total participation of 58 girls and boys between the ages of 2 and 13. Another achievement is that we received six children invited by other children, who asked their mothers to take them to the Hogar Comunitario to the Las Orugas space. Of the 43 mothers, 14 were invited to participate in the meetings of mothers and children. We consider these women strategic because they use violent methods to deal with their children. The meeting's purpose was to strengthen the understanding and practice of good treatment, knowledge, and protection of the rights of their daughters and sons.

From a quantitative point of view, we spect 258 people of different ages,  and we worked with 421, mostly women; however, the number of sensitized men was much higher than what had been foreseen in the formulation of the project. In the same way, the number of girls and boys who arrived at the Las Orugas Children's Space was more significant than expected, which indicates that their mothers attended more consistently than expected. Another achievement has been the synergies we carried out as the project progressed with authorities from various communities in Chalchihuitán and Mitontic, who requested workshops on identification and prevention of violence, increasing the number of people participating in this activity by 40%, according to what was planned. These people arrived at Hogar Comunitario after having seen the posters placed between the end of spring and summer. Also, we increased the population attended by primary care women and those who came to the workshops in the headquarters; other women users referred many and for having listened to the messages published by loudspeaker exercises carried out in the spring.

From the qualitative aspect: The children are the ones who insist their mothers come to the Community Home for their workshops in the Las Orugas Children's Space. The women of the TRAMA program, who live in the City, are motivated to continue participating; they valued the collaborative work done this year and improved their attitude toward initiative and proposals for new designs and improvement in quality. Regarding the primary care of women in situations of violence and unplanned pregnancy, a significant achievement was the number of couples who requested emotional support to stop violent attitudes towards their partners. The change in these men was very inspiring. The relationship improved by having both counseling sessions, helping them better understand what they were experiencing without blaming the other for it.

This year, we learned about price increases and managing our budget. As the project progressed, we adjusted the projections of expenses to carry out all the activities and generate resources for the shortfalls. This exercise led us to improve the fund management system, while we need to redouble our efforts in fundraising to strengthen our savings fund, which had already been weakened by the two years of the pandemic. - We learned to develop technical skills such as editing videos to present people live voice testimonials. - We are confident that we will finish the program presented to the Chalchihuitán authorities; however, due to internal situations, it was not possible for us, which we will take into account for the next cycle of work with them.

In the 2022 year, the pandemic has diminished, and life has developed better; however, the post-pandemic impacts are still here. The projects show us that seeking alliances and working closely with the community can significantly enhance efforts and emotional, economic, and social recovery.

We want to continue congratulating all the organizations that have given their best, obtained excellent results, and continued to serve the neediest people in the best way. Sincerely thank all our donors for their accompaniment and support at all times.

Thank you very much, and see you soon! Hugs! 

We are delighted to meet again, always grateful and excited to share how things have gone for us, what we have learned, achieved, and where we continue to progress. In the previous report, we shared with you the projects we are supporting this year, and this time we want to tell you what is happening with the projects but mainly what can be observed and what progress has been made with people and processes. These findings guide us to know if a good job has been done and encourage us to move forward. Thank you very much for rereading us and continuing to support their well-being and our communities.

SOLMUNDI

In the project "Center for education and training in agroecology from local contributions and knowledge," there has been greater participation of young people and women during the workshops. There is interest in the knowledge that has been shared, and they handle some technical concepts in their vocabulary; They have expressed the importance of recognizing ancestral knowledge based on work and family dialogue. On the other hand, families have greater food product diversification. This diversification could be seen through increased production or economic income from the sale of honey, coffee, and vegetables, allowing them to acquire other foods unavailable in their agricultural spaces. Something important to share is that two young people continued their higher-level studies in careers related to agroecology and productive work.

 AMEXTRA

With the "Integral Health in Los Altos" project, we identified a change in people's vision regarding their work and value. They have opened up to integrating new technologies, activities, and habits in their daily lives, as is the case with the use of filters and the development of beekeeping as a productive and commercial activity. Tangibly, families have improved their housing conditions. With the strengthening of effective projects, the possibilities of achieving food sufficiency are increased while generating additional income to remedy the lack of access to other resources such as health or education. Some groups have developed more significant appropriation to the projects and further strengthened their knowledge since they have begun to train their peers and lend their modules or plots to develop demonstration activities to improve the results of other community members.

FORO PARA EL DESARROLLO SUSTENTABLE

With the project "Agroecological Community for Good Living," we have seen different advances in the different groups:

Seedbed: it can be observed in the behavior of young people and children who have improved body language, are overcoming stage fright, are developing techniques and skills to express positive messages, are overcoming shyness, are handling carpentry tools, have also acquired knowledge about conscious and healthy eating

Red Patrol: the connection with the participants depends on the interests of each one; the element of Hip Hop allows exploring the interest of the attendees. We promote community and unity; we see that they are integrating with these same ideas.

Kassil Vochonil: Talking with girls and boys, they show greater awareness about not consuming packaged products. The interaction with different workshop participants and visitors has generated enthusiasm for knowing and learning about various topics they have heard, understood, and practiced in some of the activities promoted by the center.

Muk' ta luch: They want to integrate more women into their collective who are in the city and their communities of origin; they want to be trained in indigenous women's rights issues to be promoters in the communities and the city.

HOGAR COMUNITARIO

In the project "Development free of violence for indigenous and mestizo women migrant to the city," during the emotional care and pregnancy care consultations, as well as the childbirth preparation workshops, women are obtaining insights about themselves and the way of reacting to adversity that keeps them in constant suffering. This pattern change is gradual, and we can notice it in their attitude, the consistency with which they attend activities or punctuality in consultations, and the questions they ask regarding their process. 65% have valued themselves as a person and understood the importance of self-care and that they no longer victimize themselves, take responsibility for their actions and decisions, and look for alternatives to solve their situation. Of this group, 50% have taken steps that are moving them away from the circles of violence. They are interested, ask questions, and try to lead a harmonious life with their children.

In the case of the women attending the TRAMA workshops, they all express themselves more confidently and work on the technique with more confidence and patience. They have incorporated designs into their work that relate to their lives. They take care of the raw material and put a monetary value on their products following the steps for cost; they do it with more certainty. They express how they feel without shame and enjoy teamwork.

In the case of women's meetings and work with adolescents, the majority try to continue participating in the workshops and invite someone to attend. They all expressed their desire to get out of the circles of violence and understand how those circles manifest in their lives. The adolescent workshops are a space highly appreciated by this group of young people. They have invited other friends to join. We use the CAP methodology that helps us make visible the areas where it is necessary to reinforce and progress. In schools, we also use the same evaluation tool. A significant achievement in the school work is that the school is open to us developing a program instead of only allowing a 50-minute talk once a year.

As for the children, approximately half of the attendees are more tolerant of others, integrate quickly, participate, share what they know and express their doubts. Everyone arrives with their notebooks and books from school for review time, focusing on doing homework with pleasure. As for the mothers, they are seen as more relaxed and enjoying the activities with the children. In turn, the children do not feel intimidated by the presence of their mothers; they play and look for their mothers to share the game with them.

 MUTRAM

In the project "Building territories of hope: Educational strategies in health-gender with women, men, girls, and boys," there is greater participation of women in the workshops; in particular, attention is being paid to incorporating more young women and men. Workshops have been planned to generate interest in youth participation. A working group has been created in San José, combining six women from the Colibríes collective. A group of young women shows interest in joining the training process.

Greater empowerment of the Phases of the Moon group has been seen by appropriating the methodology and overcoming the fears of facilitation before the groups. Participation in community assemblies has been achieved; security is acquired, and the fear of speaking is lost. The women came to start their organization and contact community actors.

In addition, our community participation has increased. One of our partners is the secretary of the Pastoral Council of the Sacsalum neighborhood. At the organizational level, there is greater cohesion with the alliance on the border. The critical and self-critical review of our educational practices is a significant change that allows us to identify mistakes and successes at work. That has led us to identify the ways we relate to each other.

Men participating in anti-patriarchal masculinity workshops have improved their practices that reproduce violence in the family and at work. The alliance with organized women has been strengthened; proof of this is that from the colis and phases' health work, other men interested in joining the work of masculinities are approaching.

Another significant change is the involvement of girls, boys, and young people. The boys and girls are approaching the women's workshops. In San Nicolás, a group gets together when the women of the little flowers get together. In the municipality of Margaritas, in the workshops carried out in the neighborhoods, children and young people are coming to participate.

OMNIUNITY

Implementing the project "Youth, Women, and Health in the Original Neighborhood of Cuxtitali: a proposal for popular self-organization" contributes to increasing the community's awareness of health issues, mainly because people have nearby spaces and accessible was to receive the necessary information and attention. In the case of the Casa de Salud, it is very noticeable how it went from having a good response only when we provided free health services (and not educational/reflective) to outstanding participation in the workshop spaces. We also see that users continue to increase, we have registered more than 60 new users in the last quarter, and those who were already registered keep coming back, inviting their family and friends, and expressing their needs.

In the Gymnasium, we have noticed how the participation and commitment of teachers and students are more significant when we have adequate materials available, not just recycled things. Everyone takes more responsibility. More spaces for feedback have been opened, such as assemblies, and it has been possible to listen to people to improve.

TIERRA ROJA

In the project "Tierra Roja, land of peace: healthy relationships, non-violent coexistence and social insertion for young people from the urban periphery of San Cristóbal de Las Casas," one of the challenges we expected in this 2021-2022 cycle with the young it was regular attendance since the previous year we had registered little regularity in their attendance. We also observed a certain apathy and lack of motivation to participate in the activities. After a deep self-critical reflection, we have understood that a lot depended on external factors (consequences of the pandemic at an emotional, social and developmental level) but also on internal factors that had to do with the proposal we were sharing this segment of the population. We were used to working with girls and boys up to 10 years old, but these children had already grown up and had new needs. From this reflection, this project was born, more focused on building the proposal together with them where the activities would be closer to their wishes and needs. Since the beginning of the year (2022), this change and methodology have also transformed the group, which has been attending regularly and participating actively and critically. It seems a significant difference to us, even though we have little time and a lengthy process. We measure this process with attendance lists, participation, decision-making assemblies, listening, and conflict transformation spaces.

Thank you very much and stay close, hugs :)

Once again, we meet to share experiences, stories, and work. On this occasion, we are pleased to share with you the projects we have accompanied this year, their progress, and their testimonies. All of them are key so that our communities' children, women, and families have more significant opportunities for development in an adverse context. Thank you very much for rereading us and continuing to support their well-being and our communities.

SOLMUNDI

From 2018 to 2022, the Agroecology Training Center project has been built and strengthened based on local contributions and knowledge. We have worked with four family groups from the Altos de Chiapas area. The locations are: Naranjatik Bajo and Jamubil in the municipality of Chenalhó, El Pozo de San Juan Cancuc, and El Corralito in Tenejapa, Tzeltal and Tzotzil groups respectively. The work has focused on learning agricultural techniques with an agroecological approach, including workshops on group participation, gender equity, and conflict resolution. From February 2022 to June 2022, follow-up workshops have been held in each group, mainly on ethnoveterinary poultry production and beekeeping management, reinforcing learning on coffee, orchards, and organic fertilizers. The groups are in a learning process for solidarity trade in producing eggs and meat from backyard poultry and the production of honey and by-products from the hive. There has been greater participation of young people and women in the workshops and greater diversification of food products in the families.

Uriel is a young man who has decided to study a career in the forestry area, at the Benito Juárez University, in his municipality. He told us that agroecological practices and workshops from this project had helped him better understand the issues he sees at his university. He also says that he reinforces these practices and learns about new strategies he is implementing with his family. He currently also participates in a group of young people trained in the marketing of agroecological products; together with his family, they decided to focus on poultry production.

AMEXTRA

In this project's first period, we followed up on productive projects of beekeeping, poultry farming, and vegetable production in orchards and greenhouses of 3 families in Chalchihuitán, Aldama, and Larráinzar. This experience has made it possible to obtain a production of food to integrate into the daily diet of the families. We managed to improve housing, health, and hygiene conditions by installing a new eco-technology and monitoring 13 more in the municipalities of Aldama and Chalchihuitán. Finally, three local promoters attended an exchange of experiences on solidarity economy to promote and construct leadership on issues of productive projects. This event was possible thanks to the alliance with ECOSUR, KAN, and KAKUXTAL.

Doña Estela is originally from the community of Canech in the municipality of Chalchihuitán; She raises backyard poultry and grows coffee and milpa. She has been producing with the new chicken coop for two months. She now has about 80 birds. The eggs are used for consumption and hatch, thus having new birds. She is the mother of several sons and daughters, and she also works in the fields and takes care of the home: "When it rained, a lot of water came in, and my chickens got wet and often got sick with cough, diarrhea or fever; the floor of the chicken coop was dirt and, truthfully, the space was tiny. With the new chicken coop, I think my production will improve because it is bigger, has a cement floor, meshed, and has greenhouse nylon that covers it when it is cold and rainy. I hope to see my poultry production improve and that I can produce more hens for family consumption." Estela

CONIDER

This project has sought to strengthen community health and follow up on deworming campaigns in 9 San Juan Cancuc, Chiapas localities. Seven communities were visited to promote the project and inform about the deworming campaigns and the health and nutrition workshops that take place throughout the project. In 2 communities, nutritional follow-up was given to children under five years of age, and anthropometric measurements were made. Physical examination showed that the main clinical signs of deficiencies are: vita C deficiency, iron deficiency, reflected in pale conjunctivae, protein deficiency reflected in the skin, nails, and depigmentation. Workshops were held in the communities: 1. Workshop Signs of malnutrition, attention, and care. 2. Personal hygiene workshop, family at home and community level to avoid diseases and parasites. 3. Workshop on how the digestive system works and feeding sick children. In 5 localities, the deworming campaign was carried out; ADC vitamins were provided for children, and folic acid and iron for pregnant and lactating women.

Ana is a mother of a family from the Community of Tanubiljá. She comments that she finds it very important to continuously attend to her children, two of whom have chronic malnutrition. The way the nutritionist treats them is a good way since they are attended to in their language. The project goes to her and her family. They explain their actions, so we have confidence in bringing our boys and girls to care.

FORO PARA EL DESARROLLO SUSTENTABLE

Joint work continues to be carried out with different actors, groups, and collectives with which they seek to build and strengthen an agroecological community for good living: The "Muk' ta luch" Collective, El Huerto Kassil Vochonil, Semillero Cultural and Agroecological Center, the Red Patrol Cultural and Agroecological Center, the "Anstik Tsunubil" Women's Group. Agroecological production activities, food exchange, sale of products for the sustainability of the project, exchange of seeds and knowledge with the participants and Latin American organizations, preparation of traditional foods, and training activities such as workshops on food sovereignty have been carried out, nutrition with and without an artistic approach; volunteering in the orchards; rap and hip-hop high school performances and murals; events such as Disco Sopa in the communities of Ciudad Real and Jardines del Valle.

Miguel Ángel actively participates in the Semillero project. He is an 11-year-old boy in the care of his brother, under three years old. They live in a complicated family situation; even so, they attend and participate with great motivation in the center's activities.

COMMUNITY HOME

Always seeking violence-free development for indigenous and mestizo migrant women, this year's activities strengthened these women, who often struggle to survive. Prenatal care and emotional care consultations, childbirth preparation workshops, and childbirth care continued. Manual art workshops for employment (TRAMA) four times a week, macramé and waist loom, where they reflect on the value of their culture, their abilities, their self-esteem, and the importance of collaborative work. Las Orugas Children's Space, where children reflect on suitable treatment and express their emotions and needs. Also, this year, we have held two Mothers and Children meetings designed to analyze the agreements at home to avoid violence. We have held women's meetings: 2 in the city and 2 in communities (some men have also attended) to reflect on the different forms of violence. In coordination with Doctors of the World, we resumed a program of face-to-face workshops on preventing violence and teenage pregnancies at CECYTE. We are going for the second season of workshops with the group of adolescents from the Community Home we hold at our headquarters. The themes point to self-knowledge, strengthening self-esteem, and learning and exercising healthy sexuality.

Julia came at a critical moment; we worked on anger and acceptance, the experience of abandonment, her self-care, self-worth, and self-knowledge: "every word I found when I got here had helped me a lot to get ahead, especially when I arrived I was all down without knowing what I was going to find, I thank you for having supported me a lot, you advised me that it had helped me a lot to get ahead and get my son ahead when I came he was not like that, I came worried I felt alone I felt that I had no support from anyone and with you, I felt accompanied." Julia

MUTRAM

The Educational project strategies in health-gender with women, men, girls, and boys strengthen the training process from a perspective of the prevention of gender violence and a community and indigenous perspective in the border region of Chiapas. The work has been done with groups ((Hummingbirds, Phases of the Moon, and Men G), training them on gender, health, and territory issues. There has been greater participation of women in the workshops and better management of popular education methodologies and perspectives of community feminists. Conversations were also held between adult and young men and women to prevent gender violence in the municipality, and bimonthly assemblies to plan and evaluate activities that allow groups to be strengthened. These activities have shown that the perspective of women and men is changing and has improved their lives. Women participate more; mainly, the attention is on incorporating young women and men. A group of young women and men has been formed from the talks driven by one of the collectives. We will carry out a diagnostic workshop to see what needs they have and start a process of enclosure and training.

"I did not dare to speak in the assembly. But I wanted to do it because of the problems related to the consumption and sale of alcohol, and passing in front requires a lot of security and removing fear, and I didn't want to do it. I dared and say what I thought, other people did not speak, and I ventured to speak in the assembly by myself. I felt bad, and then I settled; I expressed what I felt and stayed calm. The problem is that I was angry because I was going to see alcohol in the community, and it came up without approving anything. I got furious, and in the assembly, I said that because they drink, the consequence is violence, accidents, and mistreatment. That men think what they are doing because they have their daughters and not think only of themselves." Zenaida Member of the Hummingbirds.

OMNIUNITY

This project aims to build and strengthen community health spaces in the Cuxtitali neighborhood with activities aimed primarily at young people and women. From the Popular Gymnasium, we have followed up on all our sports courses with young people from Cuxtitali, starting activities to strengthen these programs. From the Health House, we have carried out different preventive health activities aimed at women from the neighborhood and other city neighborhoods. Two herbalist workshops for natural gynecology were held with women. In addition, the office was opened weekly for individual consultations. A free campaign for the prevention of cervical-uterine cancer and sexually transmitted infections (Pap smear campaign) was carried out, in which 53 women participated, in collaboration with health promoters from the organizations "Brigada Callejera de Apoyo a la Mujer E.M.A.C." and “Mayan Moon A.C.”

Clara Luz and her family (her daughter and granddaughter) have been with us from the beginning. They are users of the Popular Gym and are proof of how much the women of the neighborhood have a fundamental role in the development and success of these projects since they are often the ones who are most involved. They always contribute as much as they can with some gifts or something to eat for our events. They do not miss an assembly or an event and always contribute new ideas about how you would like the project to evolve. Clara Luz and her family, as well as other families, are the backbone of our project.

TIERRA ROJA CUXTITALI

We seek to promote the active and autonomous participation of young people from the urban periphery of SCLC and offer them healthy, peaceful, and alternative social spaces to violence, discrimination, and marginalization. During this period, workshops and weekly meetings on academic reinforcement, literacy (primary and intermediate), music, construction and management of a family educational greenhouse, and socio-environmental education activities. With the accompaniment and monitoring of the group of educators, the participants organized and managed weekly and monthly leisure and fun spaces. Also, sports, crafts, and tournament workshops have been shared, opening the space for self-management and receiving other groups of young people from other organizations (Popular Gymnasium, Sueniños A.C., Cuxtitali soccer team). We also link with other groups and organizations to create collective moments of dialogue, reflection, and channeling needs, focused on building relationships of friendship, trust, and solidarity, inside and outside the Community Center. We are linked with Popular Gymnasium Barrio Bravo (for regular activities of physical activation and sports as a tool for conflict resolution); with Persicaria (for socio-environmental education workshops focused on the construction of spaces for Peace). We have other links planned with Semillero and Casa de Las Flores before the end of July.

Thank you very much for reading us and being interested in the projects. All this good news is possible because of your support and the accompaniment you give us.

United, we make the difference :) 

Our work is valuable for contributing to people, girls, boys, women, and families in our beloved region. This work is not a unilateral relationship; they all teach us, we learn and grow together. This report allows us to inform you of the life experiences of all of them. We want to use this space to share their testimonies and experiences in the projects on this occasion.

We hope you can listen, feel closer to them and continue supporting their development. Thank you very much

Learning and teaching in community.

"This is Sebastiana's story. She is 14 years old and has participated in Tierra Roja since 2016, along with her little sister and her mother. She now participates with the youth group and begins to come when the childhood group comes, to which her sister belongs. Living far from the Community Center, we have proposed to her to stay, even if they were not "her days," and in a very spontaneous and natural way. Sebastiana has begun to get involved in different activities: tidying up the library, helping the little ones with their homework, publicizing projects and events. She has become a volunteer, but not just any volunteer. She knows the context; she has grown up in the little school. Her contribution is crucial for the development of activities. Her support with the childhood program is essential. Above all, it is something that she likes to do, which helps him develop more. Her story has inspired us, and by the beginning of 2022, we want to promote more young people, as volunteers, in the childhood program. We are sure that they can contribute a lot and at the same time can be strengthened in many aspects, thus promoting the solidarity and capacity building." Tierra Roja Cuxtitali Community Center.

New Masculinities

"Well, the truth is, when I talk to my friends, they tell me what happened to you? You used to like going out for a walk and getting together to go out somewhere to celebrate. But I think about it, and I listen to the talks of my friends and what they say, I no longer share. They criticize me because I don't go out very much anymore, but the simple truth is that I lost interest in going out there at any time or partying. And yes, something has been changing in me since I started going to the masculinity workshops with my colleagues from the G-men group. And I am very grateful to my partner because she used to go to the workshops and I just pretended not to, but then I asked her how she had done, and she told me that she liked it. Several times she asked me, "Why don't you go to the workshops?" that there were also for men. I just listened to her and told her yes, that I would give me that time one day. Until one day, I dared to see about workshops with men. Yes, I was surprised because I met other men who shared what they are like with their families, with their partners, at home, with their daughters. I have daughters, and I thought I would like my daughter to have a husband or partner who loves and respects her. I realized and remembered that I often disrespected my partner because I yelled at her loudly, which hurt her a lot. When I remember that, I feel ashamed; I can say that this has changed because now both my daughters and my partner see me with different eyes, and I feel that there is a different atmosphere in the house. I share that because I know that it can be possible; it is all a matter of wanting to and being willing to change." Participant of the Hombres G collective in the MUTRAM project.

Clean water for health

"I am Pascuala. I am 62 years old. I have been working with Amextra for a long time. I like being in the workshops; the water analysis we just did to determine if the water I drink with my family is clean. For me, at a glance, it is clean clear. Still, seeing the result of the analysis we did, it is not clean. It has bacteria. The recommendation is always to boil the water, and the container where the boiled water is emptied must be clean and thus be sure not to get sick to the stomach. I appreciate the attention they give us in my group." Woman from Santa Cruz, Aldama.

Children, hip hop, and agroecology

"I enjoy what we do… I like being here at the Semillero. I have fun getting to know new places with the Semillero. We teach other children what we do in agroecology, sharing how to make a growing bed and its vermicomposting. I'm still a bit embarrassed when talking to other people. Still, I'm getting better. My mom tells me go water your plants, you're going to dance, my mom always asks me how I feel, and I tell her that I like it because I have a lot of fun." child Omar from Semillero, a project working with Mujeres y Maíz Criollo.

No worms, always happy.

"When my children took the medication, I saw an improvement in them, both in us as adults. Before, they constantly went to the bathroom, which is not the case now; their stomachs improved. The vitamin helped my children have more appetite; they already eat better and are more active and happy, making me happy. For that reason, I appreciate the support they gave us. I help and heal my whole family; they supported me by not buying medications; thank you for taking care of our health, and I would also like you to support us with vitamins for adults." Anita, Pokolna neighborhood, from the CONIDER project.

"The opinion of the nutritionist is critical when carrying out her work in the community in which weight and height surveys were carried out. In the first survey, all the girls and boys came out normal, and even one was overweight. However, the nutritionist's surprise was that the bulging of the stomach indicated an excessive weight of worms and parasites, so the measurements did not reflect the state actual nutritional value of each of the girls and boys, which led us to carry out a second lifting exercise to compare results. The nutritionist was surprised by the conditions of the girls and boys of the community since she had not seen so many problems of malnutrition expressed in bulging stomachs, skin spots, pale conjunctivae, discolored hair, and problems of lack of appetite. This situation made the nutritionist feel very committed to the community and willing to support follow-up." CONIDER.

With the earth, the chicks, and the bees.

  "My family liked all the practices learned; however, we cannot apply all of them, but we really liked the chickens, beekeeping, honey, and coffee. The coffee is improving; it is recovering from the rust. We also liked to produce medicines for people and animals -propolis, cough syrup, and natural preparations for birds-. We liked everything, but sometimes there is no time to work on everything, but we have the notes. We can do it when you want to work on them; here is our note. Thanks for the training, for the SOLMUNDI workshop. What we are working on the most is about honey, coffee, and chickens, and we like it more about bees because we fell in love with the work of bees." Cristobal, from Naranjatik Chenalhó.

Weaving trust

"My name is Adriana. I am 17 years old. I was born here in the Community Home. Right now, I am participating in the TRAMA workshops manual artwork. Through these workshops, I learned how to maintain the quality of the embroidery and what are the meanings that they have to carry; each embroidery has a meaning of why they did it and why we are doing it. I am also learning about knitting. It has helped me a lot because I can have something to do around the house, something productive to do. Being in the workshops has helped me learn to have an orderly job maintain cleanliness. I have learned that if we fail, we learn from it, accept that I was wrong, and improve it. They have also been important because I have met some people. Before, I did not know anyone, and I was lonely. I did not have the confidence to speak. Now I am speaking more, not 100% but more before I was quiet, and now I can talk a little with the people I know best. I feel happy with the embroidery group because they talk about everything they do and help you with your mistakes. It has helped me to pay more attention." Adriana is a user of the Community Home TRAMA project.

Learning from love and with love

"Being here has been a change in life because really when we first arrived, we didn't know much about how to talk to our children, we didn't know how to treat them. It often happens to me that I get very angry with my children, now not so much because I already know how to talk to them, how to talk, how to treat them, and how we have to listen. My daughter can tell me what she thinks. If I continue to abuse, they will not tell me. I am learning, and some things are helpful to me; not everything stays in my mind, but there are things that I am practicing and that I can share with my family, it is not easy, but we all have to respect each other. Now I can share with them what is happening to me, we don't have the same experiences, but I can share what I feel. I didn't grow up with that with my parents, it was sad, but it's over, and now we can't repeat it with our children, now I can tell things happily, I don't keep that hate in my heart anymore. These experiences have changed my life. Sharing things here and listening to different people here gives you joy. "Natalia, a user of the Community Home.

Each of these words gives us strength and drives us to continue closely accompanying organizations and contributing something valuable to each of these people. Thank you very much again for reading us, contributing, and being close.

United, we make the difference. :) 

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