Help end hunger in the poorest part of Mexico

Dear GlobalGivers, 

We have wrapped up our first phase of work in Cochoapa, and as you have seen in previous reports, the impacts are life changing. Women are no longer breathing in hazardous smoke all day long as they cook over the stove, kids are able to use the bathroom during the summer time because they no longer flood with the rains.

Today we wanted to give you a sense of what the communities in the mountains of Cochoapa el Grande have been learning. So here is a little quiz for you (taken directly from our program evaluation!):

1. The use of ecological stoves prevents respiratory diseases.
2. The use of ecological stoves increases the use of wood.
3. Smoke from open fire can cause respiratory diseases.
4. The stove frame can be removed only 15 days after construction.
5. For the correct construction of an ecological stove, at the end of each row of bricks, the measurements should match those that were initially marked.
6. For the correct construction of an ecological stove, the rows of bricks must always follow the same pattern.

But knowledge isn´t all. That is why our program, and evaluation, also address, and measure, community conflict, ability to overcome obstacles and community involvement.

This was just the first phase, yet there is still much work remaining to empower additional communities in the mountains, for their health and environmentalism. Will you give more today and ask a friend to do the same?

With gratitude,

Yo quiero Yo puedo

(Answers: 2. True, 3. False, it decreases the use of wood by 25%-50%, saving families time and energy and keeping women safe, 4. True, 5. True, 6. True, 7. False, as alternating brick patterns makes the stove sturdier)