CCIDD REPORT    MAY 2004

CCIDD HISTORY

 

CCIDD was founded almost 30 years ago by Catholic lay missionary Raymond Plankey in conjunction with internationally acclaimed Bishop Sergio Mendez Arceo as a unique ecumenically Christian retreat center joining a liberating and empowering faith vision with a commitment for social transformation to build a better world for all.  The first group arrived in May of 1977 composed of divinity students from Duke University.  Over 500 groups and 15,000 participants have passed through the CCIDD experience since then, most committing themselves to making a difference in improving our world.  This new development will allow CCIDD to project this 28 year commitment far into the future adjusting and modifying its efforts according to new challenges and needs.

 

PATIOS DE LA ESTACION SQUATTER SETTLEMENT KINDERGARTEN BREAKFAST PROJECT

 

CCIDD has been involved in helping the kindergarten children improve their nutrition with a breakfast program for the past couple of years.  It is progressing well and an average of seventy children eat before entering classes each morning.  The teachers say its benefit can be seen thru more energy and effort along with better grades for the children.  Fresvinda, the coordinator of this effort, hopes to soon be able to establish a day-care center for the small children of the working mothers.  This effort was the result of a small family based group from Pennsylvania visiting the settlement with CCIDD and later Tim Kunda channeling support via Rev. Howard Friend’s Karitas Foundation and COMUNIDAD A.C.  It has been recently strengthened by another donation from students from Boston College.

 

COMUNIDAD NON-PROFIT FOUNDATION’S ANNUAL REPORT

COMUNIDAD A.C. celebrated its seventh annual meeting and report on April 27 with close to one hundred members and dignitaries attending.  COMUNIDAD is a community foundation established in Morelos in 1996 by Gabriela Videla.  It’s efforts are focused in two dimensions:  support the efforts of fledgling groups from within the poor communities of Morelos to improve the quality of live of the people and sensitize and motivate professionals, academics, government functionaries, business and industrial leaders to unite in this efforts for the benefit of the impoverished and marginalized majority in our state.

 

An important dimension of its work is supporting public grade schools located in poor areas to establish school lunch programs.  This is an effort where COMMUNIDAD has promoted a common effort among the parents with teacher support so that they have been trained in nutritional cooking to be able to prepare healthy meals for their children within the school breakfast and/or lunch program.  Close to 700 students within five schools are now benefiting from this program.

 

There has been developed a close relationship between CCIDD and COMUNIDAD for mutual assistance in each other’s efforts.  A good example is expressed in the following section.

 

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON DESIGN & BUILD PROGRAM

 

The University of Washington at Seattle has stayed at CCIDD nine of the past ten years for the first two months of each year.  Coordinated by COMUNIDAD, it helps poor communities with needed community buildings.  Each year, about forty students and professors from the faculty of architecture come to design and build schools, libraries and health centers.

This year, they build a kitchen, dinning area and related facilities for a poor public school in Jiutepec.  A complementing factor is the terracing of the adjacent uphill land to avoid mudslides on the school and also provide a place where the students can learn to grow vegetables for their nutrition needs in an ecologically sound manner.  Unfortunately, there was not enough time to do the terracing before they returned home.

 

May 7 & 8, 22 participants from our National Canadian Catholic Campus Ministry Program helped to “finish the job”.  This is another example of how CCIDD and COMUNIDAD A.C. are working together for the good of the community while providing valuable experience for our visitors from the north.

 

DON SERGIO NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD

 

The 12^th annual prestigious national human rights award named after former Cuernavaca bishop Sergio Mendez Arceo was awarded to the Cuernavaca Civic Coalition for its struggle against the construction of a new COSTCO store here. 

 

The struggle was fueled by the illegal means by which the land was obtained, the destruction of the beautiful old Casino de la Selva Hotel with its historic murals and trees in order to replace them with much concrete, and the loss of jobs of many smaller merchants displaced by this symbolism of neoliberalism.

 

The award was presented on April 24 at the Benedictine Sisters Center here in Cuernavaca.  Last year’s winner was a non-profit foundation of women struggling against the abuses and murders of women in Ciudad Juarez.

 

CCIDD STAFFING

 

CCIDD wishes to extend its heart most gratitude and appreciation to our three program staff facilitators who are finishing their assignments this summer.  Micaela will be leaving in August after completing three years with CCIDD.  She will be returning to Massachusettes where new adventures await her.  Kate and Elizabeth both leave in July after finishing their two year commitment.  Kate will be returning to Canada to enter a two-year master’s program in education and community development at the University of Toronto.  Elizabeth is hoping to teach in a somewhat traditional setting for a year.  She is currently interviewing with alternative social justice-focused public high schools in New York City.

 

We again wish to recognize the significant and critical support that they have provided CCIDD during their time here by so ably leading our experiential programs.  They will be missed.

 

CCIDD CONTINGENCY FUND

 

Since the last newsletter, 58,587 pesos have entered and 34,041 pesos have been distributed from the Contingency Fund. 

 

We wish to thank the following donators to the fund.  

 

·Lethbridge (Alberta) Catholic Central High School           $30,912

Chinese Martyrs Catholic Parish, Toronto                           $ 7,714

Boston College                                                                     $ 7,445

Dr. & Mrs. Michael March                                                   $ 4,388

St. Mary’s High School, Ontario                                          $ 4,080

Pope John Paul II Secondary School, Ontario                      $ 2.430

Delmy & Michel Hoyt                                                          $ 1,200

Lucas Kamps, CCHS, Lethbridge, Alberta                           $    500

                                                                                                   

The Lethbridge CCHS conducts an annual fund raising bazaar and fun night to collect this donation.

 

 

Funds were spent to support the following people and efforts.

 

Isidro and family in Tlacamazapa (Food)                   $14,760

Conchita (very ill young women in hemodialysis)      $ 7,070

Yolanda (CCIDD employee who just died of cancer) $ 2,500

Raquel (Emergency assistance for birth)                        2,100

School lunch project in Jiutepec (garden terracing)     $ 2,000

Pedro Mejia (Assistance for Heart Medicine)              $ 1,750

Sandra (Down’s Syndrome Person: Special School)    $ 1,500

Herlinda (Special medicine for daughter)                     $    900

Florencia (Food assistance for Cuentepec family)        $    650

Lorena  (Food assistance for La Estacion family)         $    600

 

We encourage everyone to support the contingency fund as a means of helping us to help those who are in extreme need.

 

OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE

 

We are quite animated and optimistic about the future developments at CCIDD.  We are gearing up to be able to better serve groups in the future but we do need your help.  Our greatest concern is like that of the biblical story of making a great banquet but nobody coming to eat.  We need your help in animating more people to come to CCIDD.  One way is to work so that more people come next year with the same school or institution that brought you here.  Another way is to promote the CCIDD experience in your area or with contacts you might have so that new schools or organizations come for a CCIDD program.