The San Miguel UNAM Project
By Ali Zerriffi

What was at first a kind of a mirage was made official in October when Mayor Jesus Correa, Doctor Roberto Ivan Escalante of the UNAM and yours truly signed a formal letter of intention to provide continuing education to the people of San Miguel.

It is now a real project with a timeline and a firm commitment from the municipal government, the university and the Biblioteca Pública. The administration of Mayor Correa has promoted, as part of its overall development plan, the growth of university level education in San Miguel. A public university, housed at Pipila High School, is now offering courses in the field of tourism and an agreement was signed with the International College for Experimental Learning to build a campus in our municipality. The ICEL has created and is promoting an alternative educational program by offering programs in fields that are very much in demand in the job market and by making a diploma in a technical field a viable and practical option.

The idea of bringing long distance and continuing education to San Miguel was supported by Mayor Correa and Lic. Francisco Peyret, Director of the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and International Relations, who spearheaded the project to find a local institution to partner with the municipal government and the UNAM.

The Biblioteca Pública has been chosen to house and administer the program and its staff and board are proud to be part of this exciting new venture, a venture that already has the enthusiastic support of all the community.

Phase One has already been launched in the sense that plans are being drawn to install computer servers and high speed internet connections so that the Research Center can start as soon as possible. The Biblioteca Pública, thanks to the help of the municipality and the government of Mayor Jesus Correa, is studying ways of maximizing the use of its available space and provide additional space for classes, seminars and workshops.

UNAM will provide all the technical support plus, of course, the curriculum of both the Faculty of Economics and the Faculty of Philosophy. Other subjects will be available on demand from all the departments of the university in the form of workshops or seminars tailored to specific needs.

The target date for the beginning of operations is the end of February and we all welcome suggestions for programs that may appeal to members of the public and private sector as well as members of the local organizations.

We would also like to invite members of the community whose past or present expertise can be of some value to our community to step forward and participate in this educational project as professors, workshop leaders or in any other form that could help develop continuous education and training in San Miguel and the Bajío region.

Civic Meeting

Basta Ya a la Destrucción de San Miguel
Fri, Nov 9, 7pm
El Recreo Cultural Center
Recreo 4

The group Basta Ya a la Destrucción de San Miguel invites all foreign residents of San Miguel de Allende interested in preserving both cultural and natural patrimony to join us in the forming of the civil organization “Va por San Miguel.” For more information, email: bastayasma@gmail.com  or www.vaporsanmiguel.blogspot.com. 

San Miguel Democrats Abroad impeachment drive becomes national effort in Mexico
By Georgeann Johnson
COMM impeach.jpg

(L to R) Atty.  Judith Jenya, San Miguel Democrats Abroad;  Gretchen Sullivan, chair;  Bruce Rossley, vice chair; Georgeann Johnson, executive committee member

The Impeachment Forum sponsored by San Miguel Democrats Abroad (Atención, October 19) resulted in petitions calling for the impeachment of George W. Bush and Richard Cheney being circulated not only in San Miguel, but also by Democrats Abroad chapters throughout Mexico.

At a meeting of Mexico Democrats Abroad held in Mexico City on October 25, and attended by many members of the San Miguel chapter, the national organization voted almost unanimously, with only one abstention, to support the impeachment resolution sponsored by the San Miguel de Allende and Lake Chapala chapters of Democrats Abroad.

Gretchen Sullivan, chair of the San Miguel chapter said, “We are delighted that our entire national organization, including every chapter of Democrats Abroad in Mexico, has enthusiastically come together behind the impeachment effort that began in San Miguel. The impeachment resolution adopted nationally calls for hearings on the Bills of Impeachment to begin immediately before the House Judiciary Committee.”

She noted that the impeachment petitions now being circulated throughout Mexico call for the same action by the Congress, but are signed by individuals regardless of party affiliation. Sullivan added, “Impeachment petitions are still available for circulation by emailing SMA Democrats Abroad at smademocratsabroad@mexicomail.com. All petitions should be returned by November 15, for forwarding to the Speaker of the House, the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee and the Chair of the House Democratic Caucus.”

Georgeann Johnson is a member of the SMA Democrats Abroad executive committee and attended the Mexico Democrat Abroad country meeting in Mexico City on October 25. Georgeann has been a resident of San Miguel for 15 years.

How to participate in the Global Primary
By Bruce Rossley

The Global Primary in person voting takes place on February 5, 2008. Wherever local chapters of Democrats Abroad are located, the local organization is required to have a voting site for in person voting established by November 30, 2007. In Mexico, that means that voting sites will be located in Mexico City, the Lake Chapala region and San Miguel de Allende. Voting times and sites are to be established by the local chapter and must be publicized.

Atención will have more information about this exciting event in upcoming editions, so please stay tuned.

November Mujeres en Cambio Middle Eastern Luncheon
By Joan Strouse

Mujeres en Cambio Luncheon
Thurs, Nov 15, 2pm
Hacienda de las Flores
Hospicio 16
Advance tickets 120 pesos 

Hacienda de las Flores will be the venue for our November 15 luncheon. Nancy Elias, from the new Lebanese restaurant El Meson de Terraplen, will be our guest chef. We encourage you to join us for this Middle Eastern meal of falafel, cabbage rolls, baba ghannouj, and hummus.

Mujeres en Cambio members also will prepare a wide selection of salads, side dishes and desserts.

Please come and learn more about our programs to provide educational assistance to rural Mexican women. In 1995, Mujeres en Cambio began giving scholarships to a mere eight students. Thanks to the generosity of many, we currently are able to give small monthly scholarships to 130 young women in middle and high school and to 28 college and university students. 

This luncheon is limited to 50 people and entry is by ticket only (they sell out quickly).

Tickets are 120 pesos, on sale now at Casa de Papel, Mesones 57A (the China Palace building).

For more information, visit www.mujeresencambio.com , or call Joan Strouse at 152-2820 (no luncheon reservations by phone, please). Our December Holiday Luncheon will be December 13 at Hacienda de las Flores.

Nick Faldo announces pledge to support casas hogares
By Robin Loving, photos by Kelly Lynn James

Nick Faldo and Casa Hogar Kids celebrate the Las Ventanas donation

According to Nick Faldo, professional golfer and designer of the golf course at Ventanas de San Miguel, the 100 casas hogares kids—children in dire family circumstances who must live in group homes that depend on community support for everything they need—will have greater security than ever thanks to a five-year pledge of support from the golf resort. The US$150,000 pledge by Ventanas will be distributed to the three casas hogares in San Miguel over the next five years. That amount will cover 10 percent of each of the casa’s overall expenses per year.

“As members of the San Miguel community, we feel it’s imperative to help support these kids who cannot support themselves,” said Faldo. “We hope our example will spur others to consider these children’s needs and join us in ongoing support so that every child may heal and become happy and productive,” he continued.

“We are so grateful for this donation,” said Madre Maria de Jesus Ortiz Balderas, director of Casa Hogar Santa Julia Don Bosco, AC, where the announcement was made. “This is an unprecedented gift in the nearly 50 years of our combined casa hogar history,” she stated. “This will ensure that we can spend more time helping our kids grow beyond their sad pasts into a future of great hope,” she continued.

It takes about US$100,000 per year to operate each of the casas hogares, including Sollano, another girls’ home, which formally goes by Casa Hogar Don Bosco, AC, and Mexiquito, a boys’ home formally known as Santuario Hogar Guadalupano, AC. About 40 percent comes from donations in kind, leaving about US$60,000 to be raised for each casa each year. Until two years ago, small charitable donations were the only sources of sustaining support received by Santa Julia. Since then, Patronato Pro Niños has pledged complete healthcare support for all the casas hogares kids, and more. In addition, Feed the Hungry donates more than one meal a day to each of the casas hogares.

Tax-deductible Mexican and US donations to San Miguel’s casas hogares may be made to the San Miguel Education Foundation and delivered either to Border Crossings in San Miguel at Relox and Mesones or mailed to 9902 Crystal Court, Suite 107, Laredo, Texas 78045.

For more information about Nick Faldo/Las Ventanas, contact Todd Jurgens at Todd@VentanasDeSanMiguel.com.  For more information about San Miguel’s casas hogares, contact Robin Loving at robin@robinloving.com,  152-3709 (SMA), or 925-418-8003 (US).

Microloans available to local women for small businesses
By Michael Wein

The Michael Paul Wein Charitable Foundation is exploring ways to provide credit and small business loans to local Mexican women to allow them more economic independence and a chance to “get ahead.” We all know that it is hard for people who don’t already have money to borrow money from a bank. This program would lend small amounts at exceptionally low interest rates to women who have good ideas for new businesses. The foundation will provide the funds and be available to oversee the project.

The project is modeled after the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, which Muhammad Yunus started in 1983 to provide microcredit to women. The bank now has 2,300 branches in two dozen countries, with US$7 billion in loans and a repayment rate of 98 percent. The bank has been so effective in alleviating poverty that the Nobel Committee awarded it the 2006 Peace Prize, the first time a business corporation has won a Nobel Prize of any kind.

We envisage talking to applicants wherever we may find them, determining which business plans are most viable, regardless of levels of literacy or experience. The program will be staffed by volunteers, with translators to talk with, and get information from, interested women. Women who cannot read or write can apply by giving a verbal description of what they want to do and how they plan to accomplish it. The women must be able to explain in detail what they want to do. It could be selling something or offering a service. They should be able to describe their idea, including income, costs and profit they expect. Specifics about loan applications and business plans are available at http://mpwinsma.bravehost.com/loans_to_women.htm.  

It is our hope that all who are currently active in the community and the campos who would be able to spread the word and distribute information about our program would do so. Think of specific people who would be suitable for loans like this. And we would especially like you to consider handling and controlling a portion of the loan funds that we provide and act as one of the centralized loan pools. Planning details, in depth, were posted October 23 at the above web address.

Committed volunteers are needed to do much of the work. The most necessary skill now is the ability to communicate in Spanish with the applicant. This ability will be utilized in the review and granting of the loans (on the spot). More fluent volunteers will translate questions and answers at the periodic meetings between loan recipients and our resident business experts. Dedication to the idea of providing loans to women to start businesses that can sustain them and their families is a necessary plus.

An important part of the program will be classes for the women to teach them how to effectively run their business. These periodic meetings will enable us to share ideas on how to resolve problems in running businesses.

Should you or your organization have any interest in participating in this plan to provide the economic necessity of credit to women, please write us at mpwinsma@gmail.com.  

Wool and Brass Fair

XXX Feria de la Lana y el Latón November 17–26, 10am–9pm Inauguration, Friday, November 17,  6:30pm Plaza Cívica

A wide variety of Mexican handicrafts will be on sale at the 30th annual Feria de Lana y Latón (Wool and Tin Fair) that opens this Friday. The fair, organized by local artisan groups in collaboration with the municipal Department of Tourism, Economic Development and International Relations, features more than 100 stands set up in the centrally located Plaza Cívica. Textiles from Jalisco, Oaxaca, Colima and Toluca, among many other imported and local wares, will be on offer. Department director Francisco Peyret stated that he hopes to see more sales and support for local craftsmen at this year’s fair.

Day of the Dead Photo Gallery

Sanmiguelenses remembered their loved ones at the old panteón and the altar at the Biblioteca Pública.