Work and Hope

In April of 2008, I earned my Masters in International Development from the University of Pittsburgh. This degree along with seven years of experience teaching Spanish at Mt. Lebanon High School and various international travel and service experiences from the Caribbean to Southeast Asia is the preparation that I bring to my new work in Olinalá, Guerrero, Mexico with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).

For more than 88 years MCC, as part of the Mennonite and Brethern in Chirst church family, has been working among people suffering from poverty, conflict, oppression and natural disaster; building relationships that are mutually transformative; and striving for peace, justice and dignity of all people. Currently MCC workers serve in 53 countries in relief, community development and peace work.

MCC first began work in Mexico in the 60s and 70s, but it wasn’t until 1985, in collaboration with the colony Mennonites in Northern Mexico and the Mennonite churches in Mexico City, that MCC returned permanently to provide aid and reconstruction assistance in the state of Jalisco to those affected by the earthquake of 1985. Upon finishing that project, MCC started work in the region “La Montaña” in the state of Guerrero, one of the poorest areas of the country on the Pacific coast, in 1992. In 1994, in answer to the conflict and violence that began with the Zapatista uprising, MCC began peace work in the state of Chiapas. From these beginnings MCC Mexico now has a presence in the states of Guerrero, Chiapas, Morelos and Mexico with 15 people working in the areas of peace, education, community development and disaster relief.

The community development work in Guerrero centers on appropriate technology, water conservation and agriculture. Based in the town of Olinalá, a team of seven people work in the town and in ten surrounding communities to empower and transform communities as much of the work requires community participation and cooperation. One of the hallmarks of the MCC work in the area is the technology for the construction of cisterns, a base for the capture of water and rain water contributing to the alleviation of water scarcity during the dry season. The workers provide the technical support to build the cisterns and dry latrines requiring cooperation and collective work from the community for the project to come to fruition. Currently, MCC is developing Plan 500 with the goal of building 200 cisterns, 200 latrines and establishing 100 family gardens taking advantage of collected water. The plan serves 300 families, a majority of who are indigenous and from marginalized communities.

MCC also provides credit to farmers in various communities for the construction of infrastructure such as greenhouses and appropriate agricultural techniques. A highlight of the technical assistance in the agricultural sector has been the introduction of grasses that act as a living barrier to reduce soil erosion and the establishment of family gardens.

Guerrero is an area that has very limited involvement with NGOs as there simply are not many development organizations working in the area. For this reason, MCC operates and coordinates its own projects and work in the area which makes this program unique. I will be coordinating the efforts of MCC in Guerrero that I have outlined above and networking with possible future partner organizations that can give this program a stronger national base and long-term sustainability.