Ignacio Torres, President of Atzin in Mexico, explains the history of the Nahua people during an orientation walkabout of the Xochilcalco Pyramids

Days before Covid-19 was declared a pandemic, I had an extraordinary week in Mexico. I saw firsthand the work of the non-governmental organization, Atzin in Tlamacazapa, an Indigenous community of 6,200 in the state of Guerrero. PlanNET associate, Susan Smith, is Atzin’s Director and founder.

Tlamacazapa is 170km south of Mexico City along the highway that connects the capital with the coastal city of Acapulco

Tlamacazapa is a tough, out of the way place in a state noted for crime and violence. Arsenic, lead and other contaminants reside in the water supply and rocky soil. Many suffer from chronic illnesses. The village clings to a mountainside; there is little opportunity to farm. Services are scant.

Enmeshed in lives of acute poverty, long standing social divisions have hardened people's attitudes in the three "barrios," creating conflict between households. Too many men and boys are underemployed. They resort to drinking and increasingly, drugs. For the most part, they are street sellers of palm baskets and plastic trinkets in Mexico’s holiday hot spots, leaving the village for days and weeks at a time.

Atzin has been in Tlamacazapa since 1997 building trust relationships in the village, especially with women. Through collaborative research, Atzin identified the presence of contaminants in the ground water and brought this hazardous situation to the attention of regional and national authorities. Gradually, Atzin created small scale programs including an open air education program for children out of school taught by local young women and a tutoring program for those falling behind in school.

Atzin provides the community’s only dental and oral health program and has trained empirical midwives. Trained health promoters also reach out to families with special needs children providing early stimulation activities, food and nutrition supplies for the malnourished, and accompaniment for families seeking government services.

Today, Atzin includes 25 “promotoras” ages 13 and above, four Tlama women working in Atzin’s Cuernavaca office, and a much wider circle of women champions who have grown up with Atzin. After 20 years, this passionate cadre of women have created their own local organization and successfully challenged a gender barrier around land ownership, and now aims to construct a multifunctional community space and shelter, with Atzin support.

Susan and Xochitl take a break during training while "promotoras" focus on their group task

During my week in Mexico, Atzin board members, volunteers and staff did strategic planning, following an update and walkabout with house visits in Tlamacazapa. That’s where I met Paula in her small stick home. Paula is blind. Her husband had collapsed with a diabetic attack ten days earlier and was in hospital. Worried with no information about him, Paula was very much on her own, just her and a colour TV set on Channel 2 donated to poor families by government. She told us that a relative had dropped by earlier to sweep the dirt floor and bring food. Atzin promoters did follow-up in the next days, calling the hospital and passing on good news to Paula along with nutritious food. Her husband is now home and the crisis is over. Well, nearly over... Paula remains frustrated with a "big headache" as feuding neighbours continuously play ranchero songs through a loud speaker.

Phil meets Paula in her small stick home

A rented three-room house serves as the Atzin Centre where, on Saturday mornings, people form long lines to see the dentist. Notice the donated books and the kids pouring over them. Health promoters prepare medications and vitamins to be distributed to people with special needs and chronic conditions.

The Saturday line-up at the Atzin Centre to meet the dentist

Health promoters prepare medications and vitamins to be distributed to people with special needs and chronic conditions.

Atzin promoters preparing vitamins and supplements for the community households

A week with Atzin reminded me of what it is to be seriously committed to community development. The team places a premium on: patiently listening; gathering and using evidence; taking cues from community members; understanding power dynamics; knowing when to press and when to step back; enabling others rather than taking charge; modeling decency, and mentoring.

Atzin promotors take this information sheet door-to-door

Today, covid-19 is pressing in. Cases are now confirmed in nearby Taxco, and are likely already in the village, just hidden from view. With little to no tourism in the country and no street sales, the men have all returned to the village, unwitting vectors of the virus - a virus that could be deadly to this vulnerable population.

From Calgary, Susan is working with the Atzin team in Mexico to organize a campaign response to covid-19 in Tlama. The core of 20 promotors are making house calls equipped with soap, food and vitamin supplements as well as information on prevention and handwashing, and a simple questionnaire to identify those who are sick or unable to put food on the table.

Last week, women in the Atzin community began production of cloth face masks for immediate distribution in the village. This week Susan is drawing up a second information sheet on home care of people with covid-19. A most troubling question is where to refer people who are seriously ill; a hospital visit is expensive, not an option for most families, Susan says. Team discussions continue on Atzin's next steps as Mexico braces for a sharp climb in covid-19 cases.

Of course, this story of long term development will unfold markedly over the coming days as COVID continues its sweep. Watch for an update on the mark that this dreadful infection has left on Tlamacazapa and on the continuing efforts of the Atzin women to build community.

But, right now, Atzin urgently needs funding support from individuals to help families survive the crisis.

For more information, visit http://www.atzin.org and please consider a tax deductible donation.

Building community against the odds – Part 1: “the power of shared vision, local empowerment and tenacity”