Atzin's mission: reverse the trap of poverty by supporting people to reach their full potential. We call it: The Cycle of Prosperity. It's a complex task but one with lasting effects. With your help, and working hand in hand with families, we invest time, talent and resources so that people gain greater ability to achieve their goals. We create opportunity and provide the needed tools so that people can give back to their community. And the best part? We've seen success for the past 20 years.
The 6,200 Nahua villagers earn a meager living by weaving palm baskets. Laboratory studies revealed toxic metals in their water, soil, palm dyes and clay cooking pots. These toxins produce a silent crisis of slow poisoning. Many children are undernourished, suffering from low levels of chronic toxicity. They are not in primary school or if enrolled, do poorly in school. The majority of adult women are illiterate. Macho male attitudes, alcoholism and domestic violence seriously affect daily life.
Reversing poverty takes time and the deliberate building of a cycle of prosperity. Atzin does this by gradually developing programs and activities that build on each other, creating dynamic movement. Our programs are tailored to people's needs. From education, business and the environment to nutrition and health, we create opportunities for families in Tlamacazapa to prosper. The result: people grow in confidence and gain the needed skills and knowledge to achieve their goals.
Atzin works to create a new reality for daily life, one of justice and wellbeing, preparing people to tackle serious social, economic and environmental problems in future. Consider the heart of development work: a sense of personal empowerment always begins with a inner spark of possibility and grows from within. The nurturing of that inner spark is our mission, one that opens up pathways of possibility and a cycle of prosperity.
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).
