Get your nonprofits noticed and funded!, 
March 9, 2007

Workshop
Grant Writing for Beginners
With Dr. Cynthia E Lynch
Tues, Mar 13, 10am–4pm
Sala Quetzal, 
Biblioteca Pública, Insurgentes 25
150 pesos

One of the greatest assets of San Miguel de Allende is the residents’ spirit of service to others. Even the casual visitor finds it difficult to resist. Anyone here for any amount of time is tempted to become involved with any number of the many nonprofit organizations San Miguel has. 

The effects of these organizations can be felt and seen every where in town. In an effort to support and strengthen the good works of these organizations the Biblioteca hosts a series of workshops to strengthen the nonprofit capacity and excellence in SMA.

The workshop provides participants with the skills and resources to begin intensive searches for grant opportunities for their organizations. It also includes “How-to” instructions, contact recourses, Meta search engines for finding funders on the Internet and much more. Dr. Cynthia E. Lynch of the University of Texas Pan America leads the workshop. All materials are provided. Register with Biblioteca Cultural and Artistic director José Luis.

Watch Atención for announcements of future workshops in this series include, capacity building, strategic planning, program evaluation, budgeting, and financial management later in the year. 

Aunt Minnie’s Medicine

Hernán Drobny, MD
Fri, Mar 9, 3pm
Sala Quetzal, Biblioteca Pública
Donations

Whenever my mother’s aunt Minnie had bronchitis, she treated herself with bee honey and lemon. We called it auntminniemycin since she always insisted to anyone in the family who had bronchitis or even a runny nose that this was the quickest and best treatment for the ailment. Aunt Minnie died some time ago but auntminniemycin lives on in our family. We tend to take shortcuts in making decisions, called heuristics in academic parlance, which involve basing decisions on our feelings and experiences and memories. Our feelings and emotions play an important role on how we make medical decisions. Irrational thinking which is based on biases, beliefs and feelings are hindrances in the critical thinking necessary for making rational and critical decisions.

These short cuts mean that a situation may not be fully considered and analyzed prior to making a choice. Having a clear understanding of the information available is necessary to make good medical decisions. In future I will discuss examples of the role of our emotions on how we make medical decisions, and on common misperceptions in how we view risk and how these may color our understanding and influence our medical choices.


Hernán Drobny divides his time between Ann Arbor, Michigan and San Miguel. He can be reached at 154-5104 or US 734 994-1026. More information on his practice is available at http://mywebpages.comcast.net/decision/. 

Wars and other ‘unnatural disasters’

Global Justice lectures
“Political Dimensions of ‘natural disasters’”
Mon, Mar 12, 10:30am
“Why We Fight their Wars”
Wed, Mar 14, 10:30am
Sala Quetzal, Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
50 pesos

The Center for Global Justice continues the “Snowbird Seminar” series on “natural” hazards and related gender issues. 

Natural disasters have political dimensions, and are undemocratic: their impacts fall more on some groups than others. In Latin America a terrimoto (earthquake) is often called a clasemoto because it affects poor people most of all. Many hazards also impact women and children more than men, and in different ways. These issues will be addressed by Center members David Stea, Professor of Geography and International Studies at Texas State University; and Cecilia Castro Garcia, doctoral candidate at Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana—Xochimilco, an independent consultant working throughout Latin America on issues relating gender to hazards.

Why fight their wars

It’s been four bloody years since the US invaded Iraq. It’s been over four decades since the US went into Vietnam. 

Why do ordinary people, not wanting to harm anyone, even wanting to do good—fight? Why do the people fight their wars—the wars that US leaders make?

Philosophers Bob Stone and Cliff DuRand reflect on how US leaders have been able to (mis)lead a peaceful people into war after war.