Center for the Adolescents of San Miguel de Allende

Helping Young People and Families in Need since 1981

CASA is a nonprofit organization that has been serving the poor, particularly adolescents, rural women and their families, through health, social service, education, and environmental outreach programs since 1981. It has created Mexico's first government approved Midwifery School, which has been cited as meeting international criteria for effective replication in countries worldwide. It teaches others to teach, a pedagogy that has enabled hundreds who, in turn, have affected the lives of thousands. Its focus on advocacy, from community initiatives for health and environmental issues to sounding the clarion call against family violence, has inspired, empowered and benefited thousands.

CASA programs mobilize teens to change their lives and inspire others to change with them. CASA midwives now realize careers in health care, hard won opportunities fought for by CASA leaders.

CASA youth produce radio programs that reach thousands, and a theatre program that entertains and informs many more. Babies and toddlers read their first books at CASA and staff member are supported as they complete each higher level of education.

CASA's successes have been commended by the United Nations Population Fund. Dr. Arletty Pinel, Reproductive Health Chief of UNFPA, stated: "The CASA model - a professional technical level career - fits the international search criteria for accessible alternatives as opposed to the promotion only of university level health careers." CASA's successes include tested, superior clinical outcomes as compared to state and national statistics.

Established in San Miguel de Allende in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato, CASA now reaches beyond the borders of this state, replicating its programs in other regions and even impacting Mexican policy at the national level. Its advocacy training programs are operating in five Mexican States. The student body at CASA's Midwifery School represents thirteen of Mexico's poorest states.

CASA's commitment to replicating its model in the Mexican states of Chiapas, Veracruz and San Luis Potosi as well as in Guatemala is the next step in its effort to enhance the quality of life for millions of Central and Latin Americans who have gone without and suffered the consequences for generations.

HEALTH SERVICES

Family Health Center and Maternity Hospital
Providing accessible, culturally sensitive, and quality alternative health care with an emphasis on maternal care, CASA's hospital primarily serves patients of lower socio- economic status. It also serves as a hands-on training facility for the CASA Midwifery School. The collaborative training done at the hospital has garnered numerous awards of excellence within Mexico, and has also been cited internationally by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an important model for the developing world.

EDUCATION

Midwifery School
Here at the first and only government-accredited midwifery school in Mexico, young women from rural and underserved communities in many of Mexico's poorest states learn modern midwifery skills. The three-year curriculum includes a mix of modern medicine, anatomy, obstetrics, gynecology, familiarization with surgery, contraceptive methods, family planning, and common diseases, combined with the traditional wisdom of the ancient practice of midwifery. During their training, students work side by side with traditional midwives in various rural communities around Mexico. The Midwifery School has a strong commitment to making scholarships available. The majority of these scholarships are earmarked for rural young women and especially for the daughters of traditional midwives. All scholarship recipients must demonstrate a strong desire to continue serving their local communities. The CASA Midwifery School and Hospital have been cited internationally by the Population Fund for the United Nations (UNFPA) as an important and replicable model for the developing world.

Day Care Center, Library, Community Center
Serving up to 150 infants, toddlers, and pre-school children with love, nutrition, and learning, the Day Care Center serves working mothers who have no other resources for childcare. The Community Center is augmented by an up- to-date Library. It provides reading programs for the very young, serves CASA's counselors and the public who come to study and do research, and hosts events that bring families together for special programs and classes.

ADVOCACY

Peer to Peer Counseling - Los Promotores Básicos
Our signature service is adolescent peer-to-peer teen counseling. Our teen counselors work on a daily basis in some 24 unique, rural villages that have been chosen because of their difficult accessibility and conditions that are below poverty level. The young promotores have been carefully trained to interact with village youth in discussions about reproductive health, general health, and local environmental issues that impact the health of their communities.

PESANE: Program for Sexual Education at the State Level and The National Advocacy and Leadership Program
Comprising a group of young Mexicans who are trained as health specialists, PESANE works in every county and municipality in the State of Guanajuato, and has expanded to three additional Mexican states. PESANE reaches elementary, middle, and high schools; governmental institutions such as DIF (Program for Integrated Family Development); the Justice Department and rehabilitation centers.

Established with the goal of building a national network of educated and connected activists, the National Advocacy and Leadership Program consists of nine workshops. They address the meaning of advocacy, and cover such topics as sexual rights, reproductive health, and family planning; civic involvement and strategies of political activity and organizing; evaluating situations and setting goals; responsible and interactive leadership; building networks of people and institutions; building alliances and public support; the utilization of mass media, and how to respond to ineffective government. The program has a special focus on traditionally marginalized rural and indigenous communities, with an emphasis on women, as well as increasing democratic participation and social mobilization.

Violence Prevention Program: Combating Domestic Violence
Two fulltime psychologists run this department dedicated specifically to addressing issues of interfamily and sexual violence. In addition to publishing a step-by-step manual on how to avoid violence and how to pursue one's rights if subjected to violence, they work with local church and community groups as well as counsel individuals, providing intervention and legal assistance when necessary.

Radio Program, Theatre Program
Dedicated to providing an entertaining education in sexuality and often- ignored social issues, both the Radio Program and the Theatre Program bring the CASA message to many who might otherwise not be reached. Radio remains the primary media source in most parts of Mexico and theatre provides an opportunity for dramatic visual teaching. CASA's weekly live radio program is rebroadcast by a Mexican government network of 18 indigenous radio stations reaching a potential listening audience of 5 million. This network also broadcasts public announcements about professional midwifery. The Theatre Program's dramatic presentations of family life situations, that are all-too-common but kept hidden from view, often pave the way for audience discussion that many times leads individuals to reach out for help and counsel.

Operating on grants from the Mexican government and organizations from over three continents, individual donors all over the world, and the proudly given donations of those whom we serve, CASA helps the lives of over 70,000 Mexicans in need every year.

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