page last updated 7-23-2014
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IF 160 Sunflower Lane Watsonville, CA 95076 Phone: 831-724-4108
About IF
IF is a nonprofit humanitarian, educational and social change organization located in the Santa Cruz, CA, area. We are a community of friends seeking hopeful alternatives to the violence, greed and destructiveness of our world. more about IF's history and mission
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IF Fiscal Sponsorships
IF offers Fiscal Sponsorships to qualified groups to facilitate their fundraising.
more information about Fiscal Sponsorships New IF Donor-Advised Project
IF recently approved a new donor-advised project with Yonton Ansetik Stisikos Svokolik, an organization of women artisans in Chiapas, Mexico. more about Yonton Ansetik Stisikos Svokolik |
Upcoming Fundraising Events and Activities
Peru Dinner, Saturday, September 20 at 7:00 pm
at Bill and Karen Cane's, Lake Freedom, 160 Sunflower Lane, Watsonville
at Bill and Karen Cane's, Lake Freedom, 160 Sunflower Lane, Watsonville
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IF is having a Peru Dinner on Saturday, September 20 at 7:00 pm.
Fifty percent of the proceeds will help fund the programs of Centro Esperanza in Peru for Youth Leadership Education. The dinner will be a multi-course Peruvian dinner and as usual the room will be brimming with community organizers, social activists, teachers, artists and involved citizens. It will be a fun and engaging experience in a beautiful rural setting. Please make your dinner reservations well in advance. |
Winter Solstice/Light and Darkness Celebration,
Sunday, December 14 at 4:00 pm
at Bill and Karen Cane's, Lake Freedom, 160 Sunflower Lane, Watsonville
Sunday, December 14 at 4:00 pm
at Bill and Karen Cane's, Lake Freedom, 160 Sunflower Lane, Watsonville
Information on some of IF's supported projects
Supporting Active Nonviolence in Mexico:
On the Frontlines with Pietro Ameglio
IF is raising funds to support the crucial work of Pietro Ameglio, who for decades has promoted active nonviolence in Mexico and across Latin America. An activist, popular educator, university lecturer, and author, Pietro is a co-founder and leader of the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (MPJD) that emerged in 2011 to challenge drug-war violence, increasing militarization, and human rights violations in Mexico. His nonviolence education programs are in constant demand across Mexico, and he has helped organize and lead numerous nonviolent direct action campaigns.
He is a co-founder (1987) and leader of Servicio Paz y Justicia (Peace and Justice Service/SERPAJ) in Mexico. SERPAJ is a Latin American network working in 13 countries to promote human rights, social justice and nonviolent culture and struggle. Your contributions make possible the modest stipend that allows Pietro to dedicate himself to the nonviolence education and organizing work. more information on Pietro
On the Frontlines with Pietro Ameglio
IF is raising funds to support the crucial work of Pietro Ameglio, who for decades has promoted active nonviolence in Mexico and across Latin America. An activist, popular educator, university lecturer, and author, Pietro is a co-founder and leader of the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (MPJD) that emerged in 2011 to challenge drug-war violence, increasing militarization, and human rights violations in Mexico. His nonviolence education programs are in constant demand across Mexico, and he has helped organize and lead numerous nonviolent direct action campaigns.
He is a co-founder (1987) and leader of Servicio Paz y Justicia (Peace and Justice Service/SERPAJ) in Mexico. SERPAJ is a Latin American network working in 13 countries to promote human rights, social justice and nonviolent culture and struggle. Your contributions make possible the modest stipend that allows Pietro to dedicate himself to the nonviolence education and organizing work. more information on Pietro
Report from Pietro Ameglio and the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (May 2014)
(Pietro Ameglio sent us the following update on his work in Mexico. The backdrop he describes is one of harrowing violence from which no one is immune. The story of the horrendous murder of the university professor and his wife in Cuernavaca strikes very close to home. Pietro’s profile makes him a similar target and potentially for similar reasons. Yet the heart of his letter is the tale of resistance that springs forth in diverse forms throughout the length and breath of the country. Requests for education and training in active nonviolence continue to multiply, and the requests for Pietro’s services come not just from Mexico but also from abroad. The current series of public education events on peace and nonviolence at the national Museum of Memory and Tolerance is a positive indicator of the mainstreaming of nonviolence. Although he doesn’t mention it, Pietro is one of the main presenters during this series. A particularly hopeful sign is the emergence of a new generation of nonviolence activists, nurtured by Pietro and others but now organizing their own initiatives. The support of IF is an integral element of the funding that allows Pietro to dedicate himself to this life-affirming work. Thank you!)
(Pietro Ameglio sent us the following update on his work in Mexico. The backdrop he describes is one of harrowing violence from which no one is immune. The story of the horrendous murder of the university professor and his wife in Cuernavaca strikes very close to home. Pietro’s profile makes him a similar target and potentially for similar reasons. Yet the heart of his letter is the tale of resistance that springs forth in diverse forms throughout the length and breath of the country. Requests for education and training in active nonviolence continue to multiply, and the requests for Pietro’s services come not just from Mexico but also from abroad. The current series of public education events on peace and nonviolence at the national Museum of Memory and Tolerance is a positive indicator of the mainstreaming of nonviolence. Although he doesn’t mention it, Pietro is one of the main presenters during this series. A particularly hopeful sign is the emergence of a new generation of nonviolence activists, nurtured by Pietro and others but now organizing their own initiatives. The support of IF is an integral element of the funding that allows Pietro to dedicate himself to this life-affirming work. Thank you!)
Nestora Salgado received the 2014 National Human Rights Award.
May 5, 2014
Dear friends of IF and companions on the way,
I send a fraternal embrace and I thank you once again for the opportunity to share with you the struggle for peace and nonviolence! May our collaboration be a sign of hope for other communities and people in Mexico who are part of the same struggle.
I had another beginning in mind for this letter, but just a few hours ago we received heart-breaking news. The bodies of Alejandro Chao and his wife, stoned to death, were found here in Cuernavaca. Alejandro was responsible for the most important social service work done by the public university of Morelos [ed: the state in which Cuernavaca is located]. He was a professor for thousands of students, very well known, deeply committed. Just like many of us. It may have been retribution on the part of certain interests that felt threatened by his work, or a robbery and assault. In any case, it is an atrocity. Tomorrow and the day after there will be mass marches in the city. Morelos is the state with the highest number of kidnappings, proportional to its population. The people are terrified.
Last weekend, I participated in a fast in front of the federal Attorney General’s office in Mexico City along with the husband and children of Beti Cariño. Beti was murdered on April 27, 2010, along with Jiri Jaakola, a Finnish solidarity volunteer, by Triqui [ed: an indigenous people based largely in Oaxaca] paramilitary group in the middle of the day when they were leading a humanitarian caravan bringing food for Triqui families who were under siege by the same paramilitary group. Even the international solidarity of a peace brigade was not respected. To this day, no one has been arrested, even though the names of more than 10 of the assailants, one of whom works for the government, are perfectly well known.
The accompanying photo (click on photo for larger image) shows the award ceremony for the 2014 “Don Sergio Méndez Arceo” National Human Rights Award (the most important human rights prize in Mexico). The winner of the individual prize was Nestora Salgado, an indigenous Nahua from Guerrero, commander of the local community police, who has been imprisoned for months simply because she confronted the corruption and the violence of the local mayor. The collective or community award went to the Purépecha indigenous of Cherán in the state of Michoacán for their community patrols to defend their forests from illegal logging. The price of their defense has been high: 22 killed and three disappeared over the last four years. And not one arrest, in spite of the fact that in some cases, the identity of those responsible is known.
continue letter from Pietro Ameglio on Mexico Nonviolence Movement
Dear friends of IF and companions on the way,
I send a fraternal embrace and I thank you once again for the opportunity to share with you the struggle for peace and nonviolence! May our collaboration be a sign of hope for other communities and people in Mexico who are part of the same struggle.
I had another beginning in mind for this letter, but just a few hours ago we received heart-breaking news. The bodies of Alejandro Chao and his wife, stoned to death, were found here in Cuernavaca. Alejandro was responsible for the most important social service work done by the public university of Morelos [ed: the state in which Cuernavaca is located]. He was a professor for thousands of students, very well known, deeply committed. Just like many of us. It may have been retribution on the part of certain interests that felt threatened by his work, or a robbery and assault. In any case, it is an atrocity. Tomorrow and the day after there will be mass marches in the city. Morelos is the state with the highest number of kidnappings, proportional to its population. The people are terrified.
Last weekend, I participated in a fast in front of the federal Attorney General’s office in Mexico City along with the husband and children of Beti Cariño. Beti was murdered on April 27, 2010, along with Jiri Jaakola, a Finnish solidarity volunteer, by Triqui [ed: an indigenous people based largely in Oaxaca] paramilitary group in the middle of the day when they were leading a humanitarian caravan bringing food for Triqui families who were under siege by the same paramilitary group. Even the international solidarity of a peace brigade was not respected. To this day, no one has been arrested, even though the names of more than 10 of the assailants, one of whom works for the government, are perfectly well known.
The accompanying photo (click on photo for larger image) shows the award ceremony for the 2014 “Don Sergio Méndez Arceo” National Human Rights Award (the most important human rights prize in Mexico). The winner of the individual prize was Nestora Salgado, an indigenous Nahua from Guerrero, commander of the local community police, who has been imprisoned for months simply because she confronted the corruption and the violence of the local mayor. The collective or community award went to the Purépecha indigenous of Cherán in the state of Michoacán for their community patrols to defend their forests from illegal logging. The price of their defense has been high: 22 killed and three disappeared over the last four years. And not one arrest, in spite of the fact that in some cases, the identity of those responsible is known.
continue letter from Pietro Ameglio on Mexico Nonviolence Movement
Update on Sergio Castro/Yok Chij
(January 2014)
For over 45 years Sergio Castro (Yok Chij) has been working within the indigenous Mayan communities of San Cristóbal de las Casas in Chiapas, one of the poorest states of Mexico. Sergio spends most of his time providing medical and wound care to burn victims, and this work is the subject of an inspiring documentary film, El Andalon.
(See Trailer http://veremosproductions.com/el-andalon-2/)
We recently received an annual update on Don Sergio's project activities in 2013 from Mary Murrel, Yok Chij's finance person in Mexico. Sergio's activities are regularly updated on his blog @ http://sergiocastrosc.blogspot.mx
During 2013 Sergio Castro treated an average of 24 patients a week needing wound care. He works six days a week so he typically has 132 patient visits each week. Some of the patients come to his clinic in San Cristobal for treatment in the evenings when Sr. Sergio has returned from his patients living in villages outside of town.
In 2013 he treated approximately 1,248 patients. The health care system in Chiapas (and Mexico in general) does not provide free wound care services. Today there is only one burn center in all of Mexico and it is located in Mexico City. As a result patients with serious burns or ulcers have nowhere to turn for help. Sergio Castro has filled this void by caring for patients for free, often seeing them every day for a month or more to change their bandages and give them encouragement.
In early 2013 Sr. Castro also completed a clean water system for storing water in the village of Cruz Quemada. And in the second half of 2013 he began work on a much larger water system which will service over 100 families in the community of Tzajal Chij. The first stage required work for improving the well, a large storage facility and pipes to distribute the water. By early December the well improvements were completed. Additional tanks and a larger network of pipes are planned for 2014.
Sergio’s work with water systems is critical for improving the health of all the inhabitants in village and is especially important for very young children. Tzajal Chij has 175 families and given that the families are large, it is fair to estimate the number of people benefiting from the well improvement is over 1,000.
(January 2014)
For over 45 years Sergio Castro (Yok Chij) has been working within the indigenous Mayan communities of San Cristóbal de las Casas in Chiapas, one of the poorest states of Mexico. Sergio spends most of his time providing medical and wound care to burn victims, and this work is the subject of an inspiring documentary film, El Andalon.
(See Trailer http://veremosproductions.com/el-andalon-2/)
We recently received an annual update on Don Sergio's project activities in 2013 from Mary Murrel, Yok Chij's finance person in Mexico. Sergio's activities are regularly updated on his blog @ http://sergiocastrosc.blogspot.mx
During 2013 Sergio Castro treated an average of 24 patients a week needing wound care. He works six days a week so he typically has 132 patient visits each week. Some of the patients come to his clinic in San Cristobal for treatment in the evenings when Sr. Sergio has returned from his patients living in villages outside of town.
In 2013 he treated approximately 1,248 patients. The health care system in Chiapas (and Mexico in general) does not provide free wound care services. Today there is only one burn center in all of Mexico and it is located in Mexico City. As a result patients with serious burns or ulcers have nowhere to turn for help. Sergio Castro has filled this void by caring for patients for free, often seeing them every day for a month or more to change their bandages and give them encouragement.
In early 2013 Sr. Castro also completed a clean water system for storing water in the village of Cruz Quemada. And in the second half of 2013 he began work on a much larger water system which will service over 100 families in the community of Tzajal Chij. The first stage required work for improving the well, a large storage facility and pipes to distribute the water. By early December the well improvements were completed. Additional tanks and a larger network of pipes are planned for 2014.
Sergio’s work with water systems is critical for improving the health of all the inhabitants in village and is especially important for very young children. Tzajal Chij has 175 families and given that the families are large, it is fair to estimate the number of people benefiting from the well improvement is over 1,000.
Sergio at the school in Cruz Quemada
Sergio also improved the entrance for the toilets at the local school in Cruz Quemada and helped to complete two classrooms that were partially completed but were not being used because they needed flooring and windows.
In Mexico the government will provide a teacher for public school classes only when an adequate school room has been built by the community. So the completion of the classrooms in Cruz Quemada (originally he worked on the 5th grade classroom but he decided to complete the kindergarten classroom as well) made it possible for approximately 60 children to attend school.
Mary emphasized the importance of the funds that Sergio has received through IF for some of Sergio's clients who are most in need. The funds provided through IF during 2013 were used to pay the costs of rent, utilities and maintenance of Sergio’s clinic and museum; medical supplies; and transportation costs to visit patients in the local villages who are unable to come to the clinic. read more about Don Sergio's work in Chiapas, Mexico
(New York Time article August 2013)
Sergio and his work in Chiapas was the focus of a New York Times article on August 14. The online article also includes a short video and slide show. To access the article click on this link "In Mexico, a Healer Who Asks Nothing in Return".
In Mexico the government will provide a teacher for public school classes only when an adequate school room has been built by the community. So the completion of the classrooms in Cruz Quemada (originally he worked on the 5th grade classroom but he decided to complete the kindergarten classroom as well) made it possible for approximately 60 children to attend school.
Mary emphasized the importance of the funds that Sergio has received through IF for some of Sergio's clients who are most in need. The funds provided through IF during 2013 were used to pay the costs of rent, utilities and maintenance of Sergio’s clinic and museum; medical supplies; and transportation costs to visit patients in the local villages who are unable to come to the clinic. read more about Don Sergio's work in Chiapas, Mexico
(New York Time article August 2013)
Sergio and his work in Chiapas was the focus of a New York Times article on August 14. The online article also includes a short video and slide show. To access the article click on this link "In Mexico, a Healer Who Asks Nothing in Return".
