APRIL 2004
Update to the Global Board on our work in Mexico
Dr. Hugo González
Introduction
There is no doubt of the enormous impact the programs are having among the population of Mexico participating in them. People are reporting wonderful progress in their villages; they are having more grassroots and more authorities of their villages involved in the projects and in the Vision, Commitment and Action Workshops.
We are building stronger relations with the local authorities and the level of participation of THP Mexico in each village is improving. This 2004 represents a challenge for us to accomplish the number of trainings demanded by the people in Mexico. Therefore, the strategies to generate the funds needed to fulfill this demands has to be bold and sustainable. We will be raising locally two times the amount of the budget allocated by the global office for Mexico.
The Training Programs
We are now experiencing a level of participation in our programs that we didn’t have before. There are more people involved in each VCA Workshop, in each Animator training and in the Catalyst Training Program.
The Animators (Facilitators) Training Program
In the last 6 months, 113 new animators were trained in 7 states of Mexico. 70% out of them become part of the new generation of the Catalyst Program.
The Animators Program has become a very important tool for the initial mobilization of the grassroots in the villages since there is now recognition of the force they are, of their commitment and of their leadership. They are delivering their VCA workshops with more strength than ever and they are now a strong concentrated group instead of the few animators that were before, and they are empowering the strategies needed to face the challenges that were identified for their village.
This year, we will have the largest force of Animators trained in a year; by year’s end, we will have trained 1,500 new animators from 10 states of Mexico.
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<< A group of trainers, the most
experienced leaders in THP-Mexico, who have been trained to lead the
animator trainings.
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The Catalyst Training Program
To develop the strength and momentum that is required to unfold the vision of the future created for the villages by the animators, there are five distinctions in which are based the training of the Catalysts in their first year:
1. The ongoing leadership of the individuals from the community.
2. Once the leadership is ignited, team work comes along as a natural ingredient.
3. A powerful management becomes an important piece of the game.
4. At the same time training and development needs to be always present.
5. And it is only natural that people find themselves learning and mastering enrollment.
A new generation of Catalysts has started this year with 76 participants from 7 states of Mexico. For the first time we are able to have separate weekend trainings to the group of Catalysts of the year 1 and the Catalysts of the year 2 of their training.
This new generation of Catalysts is a group of people of strong leadership and presence in their villages. Some of the participants are government officials or government employees who can reach a larger part of the population and who can more quickly access resources for the projects generated by the animators.
The new generation had their first weekend training on February 7th and 8th in Mexico City and they have already taken important actions in their villages as a result of their participation in this first training in health, income generating workshops and literacy.
The second year Catalyst generation had their training weekend on March 6th and 7th in Mexico City where the group has the opportunity to work their plan of action for 2004 using the strategic planning in action methodology. The State Coordinators participate in these trainings to be aware of the new projects generated by the Catalysts and to become the support for them.
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A group of catalysts who have just begun their two-year training program. |
The Trainers of Trainers Program
There is a new group of 7 people high committed to being trained as a Trainer of Trainers. This group of trainers is the group who is leading the expansion of our programs in the states of Mexico.
The training sessions are held one day previous to the Catalyst weekend training sessions where they are trained and prepared for participating in the Catalyst weekend training in the next days. The trainers also have the commitment of training new animators in their region each month and for that they have the support of the Animators and Catalysts of their village.
This group is the advanced group of the training program and they had to rearrange their household, school and/or jobs in alliance with their coworkers, bosses, teachers and families so that they can have the time and support to lead the change in their communities.
There has been two training already this year, February 6th and March 5th.
Community Centers for Integral Expansion (CCEI)
We have learned that the name of our centers should include the word Community in order for people to associate them easily with community activities for their integral development. Starting this year our centers will include in their name the word “Community” becoming now the Community Centers for Integral Expansion (CCEI).
Zacatecas
This is our first CCEI created in Mexico. During this month, our CCEI is celebrating three years of their opening. In January this year, a new director was hired to be in charge of the center. His name is Rufino Salto. His presence has given the CCEI major credibility and stability since Rufino is a very well known and respected member of the community. He has already organized new workshops for the villagers, including a music workshop and a soccer team for kids. He had been trained as an Animator already and currently he is participating in the Catalyst Training Program to maximize the impact of this CCEI.
Estado de México
This CCEI works as a state office for The Hunger Project. Virginia Ramírez is the State Coordinator and she is the one responsible for maintaining this center. She has given presence to the THP in her state and many government secretaries are in touch with her to invite THP to participate in their activities. This CCEI is also working as a communication center among the Animators and Catalyst of this state in order to coordinate their actions and mobilize the people of this state, which is geographically complicated and large. They are focusing on delivering Animators training and VCA Workshops around the state to maintain the mobilization in the villages.
Oaxaca
The conversations for building this CCEI in the Misteca Region of Oaxaca in the Guadalupe Victoria village are very advanced. We already have the architectural plans for this center. Currently, the local authorities are taking care of the legal issues in the village in order to assure the proper use of the land for this center and for their people.
At the same time, we have been able to obtain the investment of a Mexican company, Grupo Homex, to fund the construction of this center. Gerardo de Nicolás, who is a member of our local Board, is the president of this company and he has made the commitment, in the name of his company, to fund the construction of this center. We are aiming to have this center built by July and opened by August this year. This will be the first indigenous epicenter in Mexico.
Reforestation of a mountain in the Mixteca region in Oaxaca.
Durango
On March 21st we opened the newest CCEI in Mexico in the village of El Mezquital, Durango in the north of Mexico. This CCEI will work mainly this year as a place where the VCA workshops will be held by the Animators and Catalysts and as a place for new Animator trainings for the region.
Fundraising Program
INVESTOR TRIP. In the first week of October we had our third Investor Trip with the largest number of investors, including a total of 13: 8 from the United States, 3 from Germany, 2 from Canada and 1 from Mexico.
The investors had five days of rich experiences and sharing among the indigenous people of the villages in Oaxaca State and in the State of Mexico. They had the opportunity of distinguishing the chronic and persistent hunger in Mexico, the opportunity of participating in meetings with the local authorities at the villages, the opportunity of meeting and talking to the people of some of the projects created by the Catalysts and the opportunity of participating in a VCA workshop at a village where the VCA had never before been offered.
This trip was memorable for the investors as much it was for the villagers who now know in person their partners in the world in ending hunger.
A fundraising event.
FUNDRAISING DIRECTOR. In October 2003, Karla Basurto joined THP as a full staff member in charge of the Fund Raising Program in Mexico. Her presence made a difference in our funds immediately. We were able to close the year with zero problems to cover our budget. In February 2004, she participated in the Partner Countries Meeting in New York where she was able to create the strategies and priorities in fundraising for this year. She will consolidate the investors program for Mexico, and face the huge challenge she has to raise 2 times the amount that the Global Office budget assigned for Mexico to fulfill the demand of trainings for this year.
She has increased already the number of investors in:
GFF investors: from 18 in 2003 to currently 39 in 2004.
GIG’s investors: from 3 in 2003 to currently 12 in 2004
The total amount money in the bank for Q1 in 2004 ($11,000 US dollars today), is larger than the amount in the bank for Q1 and Q2 together in 2003 ($ 9,300 US dollars).
This numbers are clear indicators that this year we will have our first breakthrough ever in the money raised locally starting our first big step to our sustainability.
Several events have been held in order to identify more investors, including gatherings where The Hunger Project is presented, including our programs and our projects.
Social Service Program
This program is expanding to the states of Guerrero, Zacatecas and Estado de Mexico where the students participate as Animators during their time of social service. The students are trained to deliver the VCA Workshop and they are committed to deliver 12 VCA workshops in their villages during the six month period of the program. At the end of the period, they must write a report with the result of their participation as Animators. More states are interested in having this program working locally in their villages. So far, our Social Service Program was concentrated in the office in Mexico City.
Media and Advocacy
During the last 6 months, The Hunger Project Mexico has gained presence in Mexican society and we have strengthened our name as a serious, committed and professional organization.
Several government institutions and NGOs solicit the participation of The Hunger Project in their events and projects.
We have built a strong relationship with the governor of the State of Mexico, several Municipal presidents of the State of Mexico and with the officials from the DIF institution.
Furthermore, we have created a closer relationship with the written media from national newspapers and with the radio media. We had the opportunity of sharing our work, strategies and principles with different audiences in many radio programs building a relationship with the newscaster who are interested in opening spaces for The Hunger Project for future programs.