I was both honored and thrilled to represent Puente at the Clinton Global Initiative University meeting at Tulane University. Spearheaded by former President Bill Clinton, CGI U challenges college students and universities to tackle global problems with practical, innovative solutions. Therefore, Puente’s unique approach to combating malnutrition was an obvious model to highlight in an effort to inspire young leaders to make positive changes in the field of global health.

Over the past three years, I have watched Puente grow exponentially and develop into a mission-driven, high impact organization. Reflecting upon Puente’s competent and inspiring staff and the success of our projects this year, I felt confident sitting on a panel with three other global nutrition experts. As the panel session progressed and the questions became more specific, so did my desire to share Puente’s unique model of improving health through amaranth consumption. The energy and inspiration of the event was mutually contagious; with every question and comment from the attendees about amaranth and Puente’s innovative approach, I was inspired in a new way to continue giving 100 percent of my effort to positively affect food security in rural Oaxaca through the presence of amaranth in the daily diet.

-Gabriela Blanco, Program Director 

Puente Board Visits Oaxaca  Puente’s board of directors conducted their annual in-person meeting in Oaxaca on January 25-28. During their time in Oaxaca, the board members visited rural villages where Puente works, met with Puente’s staff and Local Advisory Committee members, and held planning meetings. The board also welcomed Caroline Boyd as the newest member. Caroline has extensive experience in community development throughout Oaxaca and is a great addition to our devoted and enthusiastic group of board members. For more information about Puente’s board of directors, click here.

  Welcome New Staff!

Picture above from left to right: 

• Barbara Gomez Reyes, from Oaxaca City, began working as a Healthy Families Project Coordinator in January. She has worked in health, nutrition, and community psychology for the past four years.
• Zaira De La Rosa Jimenez is Puente’s new Logistics Coordinator and started working with Puente in March. She has over five years of experience working with rural communities.
• Gabriela Blanco, from Southern California, began working with Puente in May 2005 as a Health Educator. In January, she was promoted to Program Director.
• Kalindi Attar, from the U.S.A., is working part-time with Puente as a Marketing and Public Relations consultant and will lead Puente’s outreach efforts in Oaxaca City. She has lived in Oaxaca for more than a year.
• Uriel Baeza Nahed, from the Isthmus of Oaxaca, is an agronomist who started working with the Training Farmers project in February. In January he completed his Master’s degree in Natural Resource Conservation from the Instituto Politecnico Nacional.
• We would also like to give a special thanks to Monica Adame (not pictured), Logistics Consultant, for her invaluable assistance in revamping Puente’s organizational systems during January and February.

To learn more about Puente’s dedicated team, please visit our website. 

Do you Goodshop?

What if Puente earned a penny every time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to support our cause? Well, now it can!

GoodSearch.com is a Yahoo!-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charity that you designate. Use it just as you would any search engine.

GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall that donates up to 37 percent of each purchase to your favorite cause! Hundreds of great stores including Amazon, Target, Gap, Best Buy, ebay, Macy's, and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with GoodShop; every time you place an order, you’ll be supporting Puente.

Just go to www.GoodSearch.com and be sure to enter Puente a la Salud Comunitaria as the charity you want to support. Please spread the word!

  Now Hiring!

Puente is looking to hire an Executive Director. This full-time position based in Oaxaca, Mexico, is a unique opportunity for a professional with experience and vision to lead an innovative and quickly growing organization in the field of rural development and community health. Please visit this link for details of the position and application information.

Please help us communicate this opportunity to qualified candidates. We appreciate your support!

Also, in order to assist Puente during this important time of transition, the Lavendar Fund 2 has generously offered a matching grant in the amount of $10,000. With this grant, any donation that YOU make will be doubled! Every little bit helps. Please donate now to help us meet this challenge!