San Miguel de Allende is world-renowned for its colonial architecture, its food, and its beauty. The Parroquia Church, with its pink Barroque spires, has served as the unofficial icon of San Miguel, and is at the heart of CASA's own logo, designed years ago by its teenage peer counselors. In the 1980s and early 1990s, CASA operated out of offices located only three blocks from the Parroquia Church and central Jardin. But, much like many of its working-class Mexicans, CASA's offices and programs have moved outside of the old colonial center of San Miguel into a neighborhood called Santa Julia, on a hill overlooking downtown.
Callejon Ojo de Agua, in central San Miguel
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San Miguel de Allende, Gto.Home to CASA's Hospital, Midwifery School, and Promoters
CASA's community center, day-care center, library, midwifery school, hospital, and promoter programs are all based out of the city of San Miguel de Allende, in Guanajuato, Mexico. As revealed through a 1997 report published by the Guanajuato State Government, 33% of the 4.7 million inhabitants of the state live in approximately 10,000 rural villages, the majority of which have a population of less than 2500. Of this rural population, 98.9% live in poverty.
In 2000, 18,832 babies were born to mothers under the age of 20 in the state of Guanajuato. This constitutes 13.4% of all the state's births that year. With its focus on family planning in the broad context of reproductive rights, environmental wellbeing, empowerment of women, and access to health-care and education, CASA offers a wide array of services and educational programs aimed at improving the quality of life of all 50,000 people it serves each year.
Using the city of San Miguel as a base, CASA sends its promoters and midwives throughout the state of Guanajuato and currently operates in a total of five states in Mexico. Within the city itself, CASA is located in the working class neighborhood of Santa Julia, and its hospital, in neighboring San Rafael. Since our beginnings in the early 1980s, the city has grown immensely, attracting foreign and domestic tourists, retirees, and a balooning population of nationals from all over Mexico. Over its 25 year history, CASA has continued to offer its hallmark promoter outreach programs, and has expanded to meet the growing demands of San Miguel's and Guanajuato's urban and rural working-class population. To learn more about our programs, click here.
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