MEXICO/ Growing Together: Crecemos with AVSI

On Monday, October 10^th, AVSI and Crecemos-DIJO, the local partner of AVSI and independent organization based in the city of Oaxaca, Mexico, participated in the event “Crecer Juntos” or “Growing Together” which took place at the University Iberoamericana in Mexico City, Mexico. The event’s subtitle, “A Case Study of Success in Education and Nutrition Interventions in Marginalized Communities” provided a framework for the presentations of both the activities and methodology of Crecemos-DIJO and the results of an evaluation conducted by a professor from the hosting university.

Among the panelists at the event were the Italian Ambassador to Mexico, H.E. Roberto Spinnelli, the Vice-Rector of the University, the UNICEF Representative to Mexico Susanna Sottoli, a representative of CONAFE of the Secreteraia de Educación Publica, Secretary General of AVSI Alberto Piatti, Executive Director of Crecemos-DIJO Maria Soccorro del Rio, and Professor Sylvia Schmeckles of Iberoamericana. The forum was convened jointly by the University and the Italian-Mexican Chamber of Commerce.

In the introductions, the case of the partnership between AVSI and Crecemos-DIJO was praised as a model of effective collaboration among non-profit organizations with public sector authorities, private sector companies and academia; the composition of the panel and the audience attested to this fitting accolade.

Maria Soccorro del Rio gave the first intervention in which she described the methodology of Crecemos-DIJO and gave a brief picture of the organizations’ mission and activities. Del Rio highlighted the fact that the goal of all the educational, health and nutrition activities of the organization is to accompany each individual and family on an educational path. The concept of an “educational path” is not limited to achieving literacy or numeracy for example, but instead captures the process of personal growth towards an ideal of human dignity and full responsibility for one’s life and that of one’s family. Through her work and relationships with countless children and their families in the marginalized, poor neighborhoods around the colonial, touristic city of Oaxaca, Del Rio has understood that the pivotal moment is when an individual’s desire for change is awakened. Most often, this does not happen simply by receiving a service, no matter how needed it is.  Instead, desires spring forth from relationships when someone looks at another and says, “You are valuable, your life is beautiful, despite the lack of resources, etc.” The result of this attention is that people begin to change in profound ways that impact those around them.