 Bridge to Community Health
Improving the health of rural communities in Oaxaca, Mexico.
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Welcome New Staff!
Puente welcomes two new staff members to our team. Agronomist Rigoberto Pola Lopez began work with Puente on January 3 and has already made huge strides leading the Training Farmers project. Liliana Mendoza Mafara started work as a Health Educator on February 6 and will head up the Training Trainers project. Both have extensive experience working with rural Oaxacan communities, and we are thrilled to welcome them to Puente.
Click here to read about Liliana and Rigoberto on our website. |
$10,000 Challenge Grant Received in 2006
Thank you to all of the individuals who donated to Puente last fall! With your support, we raised our goal of $10,000 that was then matched by the New Horizon Fund.
Thank you donors and the New Horizon Fund!
It is not too late to have your donation matched dollar-for-dollar. The New Horizon Fund has extended another challenge grant opportunity during 2007: between now and June 1, donations will be matched dollar-for-dollar until we reach our goal of $10,000.
So, please donate today!
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Greetings from the Field
"Yeah, we harvested a little," answered Aquilino Martinez as we arrived at his house to see if he had successfully harvested his amaranth plants. I was hoping for a more enthusiastic response from him than that. Aquilino had spent the summer working with two Amigos de las Americas volunteers, both of whom were trained by Puente in amaranth promotion. He and the Amigos volunteers planted amaranth in the family garden and among their bean fields a little farther away from the house. Puente's new agronomist Rigoberto and I were conducting a preliminary review of the community, San Miguel Peras, for the new Training Farmers project. I had met Aquilino a few times and knew that he was excited about planting again this year. So, when he shrugged and said, "We harvested a litttle," I should have known better. I should have seen the coy smirk on his face and not have been surprised when he pulled a huge bag of seeds and freshly harvested seed pods from the kitchen. By the end of the visit, Aquilino was signed up for the Training Farmers project to grow amaranth for commercial sale. I still can't believe he pulled a fast one on me! -Joshua Spetter
Program Director Oaxacan farmer, Aquilino Martinez, pictured here with his amaranth harvest. |
Puente's Board of Directors visits Oaxaca
Puente’s annual Oaxaca board meeting took place from January 25 through 27. During their time in Oaxaca, board members visited the village of Nuevo Zoquiapan, met with our Local Advisory Committee, and spent two days discussing Puente’s progress and 2007 goals. The board also set its own goals for 2007, pledged to raise $15,000 in donations, and committed to hosting a photography exhibit in San Francisco featuring Puente's work.
In November 2006, Puente's board of directors welcomed two new members to the group. April Watson, R.D. holds a Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and a Master’s in Public Health. She lived in Oaxaca for two years while working for an international nonprofit organization, Freedom from Hunger. Currently, April is the Supervisor of Community Wellness Programs for Sequoia Hospital (a nonprofit community hospital) in Redwood City, California. Tim Watson, J.D. is an attorney with Watson and Lanctot, LLP, located in San Francisco, California. Prior to joining this law firm, Tim lived in Oaxaca and worked for a microfinance lending organization. He also co-founded Un Mundo, a community development organization working in rural Honduras.
Click here to read more about Tim and April. |
"I love the program! Thanks to you, we eat better, and we also know how to plant, cultivate, and cook with amaranth."
- Teresa de Jesus, Ayoquesco de Aldama |
Puente is a registered US 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to the eradication of malnutrition in rural Mexico.
For more information about Puente's work, e-mail us at info@puentealasaludcomunitaria.org. We'd love to hear from you!
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