Improving the lives of people in need through

better health, education and social justice

In many parts of Latin America social services that Canadians take for granted are often unavailable or insufficiently supplied, especially to people who live in rural areas. AMISTAD CANADA, a fully registered charity under Canada's Income Tax Act, undertakes projects that contribute to filling these gaps.

Our work, which got underway in 2010, is in Mexico. Our projects are implemented in cooperation with Mexican NGOs that have proven track records in providing much needed social services. In 2012 we are working with four partners:

CASA (Centro Para los Adolescentes de San Miguel de Allende)

Casa Hogar Santa Julia

Feed the Hungry

La Biblioteca de San Miguel de Allende

CASA Partnership has long history

CASA, founded in 1981, provides an extensive array of health, education and cultural programs for women and adolescents. More than two decades ago, a group of volunteers from Toronto, who called themselves Canadians for CASA, began raising funds to support CASA's activities. This informal group endured (for more detail, see Our History) and in 2009 it provided the foundation for Amistad Canada. CASA appropriately became our first NGO partner.

CASA operates the only accredited school of professional midwifery in Mexico and is actively involved in the enhancement of  midwifery services and education. Amistad’s inaugural project is contributing to that enhancement by funding the position of a Clinical Coordinator, with responsibilities for organizing the work of midwifery students in a variety of clinical settings, including the re-introduction of midwifery services in hospitals.

This ground-breaking work is going on in two hospitals and a primary health-care clinic in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato State. In addition, as a result of CASA’s work with federal and state health authorities to enhance the role of midwifery in Mexico’s health system, and with the placement of CASA’s graduates throughout the country, Amistad Canada’s project will also have an impact on woman-centered birthing care elsewhere in Mexico.

For more details, see Our Projects.

To learn more about CASA, see Our Partners.

Santa Julia girls benefit from educational support

CASA HOGAR SANTA JULIA provides a home for abandoned girls in San Miguel de Allende.

In the summer of 2005, it came to light that 30 abandoned girls and four Catholic Sisters from a Dominican Order were living in poverty, hunger and squalor at a children's home in San Miguel. Support for them came almost entirely from begging in the streets. Publicity about the unsafe and deprived lives of these children led to the creation of the Santa Julia Advisory Council and work began on providing these children with proper care, shelter and opportunities for productive lives.

Today, in a new location, Casa Hogar Santa Julia is a safe and well-functioning place to live. The 40 girls who now make it their home are well-fed, attending school, and receiving emotional, psychological and medical support.

An important part of their loving care is an effort to see that they have the kind of educational opportunities that normal children have.

While all of the girls are in school, in light of their personal histories many of them need extra help if they are to do well and take up the opportunities that come with a good education. The Amistad Canada - Casa Hogar Educational Support Project is focused on responding to this need. It funds auxiliary educational support for the Santa Julia girls in the form of help from educational psychologists and qualified teaching assistants.

To make a donation in support of this project and receive a Canadian tax-receipt, click here.

To learn more about Casa Hogar Santa Julia, visit their website by clicking here.

Feed the Hungry and Amistad Canada cooperate on Nutrition Education Program

Feed the Hungry is committed to improving the health and well-being of children in greater San Miguel de Allende by alleviating hunger through school meals, family nutrition education, and community development programs.

Started in 1984 by members of St. Paul’s Anglican Church to feed indigent hungry people, it has grown into a remarkable program that now runs 27 kitchens, which feed 3,600 primary school children a nutritious hot meal every school day of the year. They also provide supplemental food to the kitchens of eight San Miguel charitable organizations that feed orphans, the elderly disadvantaged and people with special needs. FTH manages to do this at a cost of less than $3 per week per child.

Integrally connected to the school meals program is a family nutrition education initiative, El Plato del Bien Comer (the ‘Healthy Meal Plate’). Through the efforts of a professional Nutritionist, mothers of many of the school children being fed are led to improve their families’ diets. Amistad Canada’s efforts are focused on this education program.

The Amistad Canada – Feed the Hungry Nutrition Education Project allows Canadians to support this public health effort and receive a tax receipt in return.

To make a donation in support of this project, click here.

To learn more about Feed the Hungry, visit their website by clicking here.

La Biblioteca now has a Canadian Education Project

Amistad Canada’s work with a second partner — La Biblioteca de San Miguel de Allende — began in February 2011.

Founded in the 1950s, La Biblioteca has long been an important centre of educational and cultural activities for the Mexican and international communities in San Miguel and the surrounding area.

In addition to normal library services, an important part of its work has been the provision of scholarships and free classes for young Mexican students. These programs allow many students to extend their formal education beyond what would otherwise be possible, with positive effects on their employment opportunities and on the quality of life for their families.

The Amistad/Biblioteca Canadian Education Project will now allow Canadian donors to support these youth education programs and receive Canadian tax receipts for their donations. For more details, see Our Projects.

To learn more about La Biblioteca, see Our Partners.

To make donations in support of any of Amistad Canada’s projects, click here.