February 28, 2022 – Recently, construction began on a new Community Learning Center in the Mitontic municipality, located in the highlands region of Mexico’s Chiapas state and home to a large indigenous population. What is more, we are particularly proud that the establishment of this latest Community Learning Center is being led by two of WPDI’s Youth Peacemakers active in the area, Victor and Jose. Thanks to their initiative and efforts, the community will soon have access to opportunities that will allow them to gain new knowledge and skills, improving both their personal livelihoods and that of their communities as well.
The concept behind the new Community Learning Center in Mitontic first came about in spring of last year. The two Youth Peacemakers have a long history of working with local indigenous populations in the area through their innovative Healthy Food Production initiative, which has been recognized by the Government of Mexico as well as the United Nations Development Program for its efforts to provide training as well as a community garden for 300 local families. Accordingly, they were aware that the local population lacked access to knowledge, skills, and connectivity; even if, on a map, Mitontic is “only” 15 miles (24km) from San Cristóbal de las Casa where WPDI maintains the very center where Jose and Victor were trained as Youth Peacemakers, traveling this distance can be highly impractical for residents of poor and under-serviced communities. Therefore, they took the initiative to present WPDI with a plan to expand the reach of our approach to their hometown.
Representing an ambitious move to deploy WPDI’s model to a new area of Chiapas state, Victor and Jose proposed opening a new Community Learning Center to provide local people with opportunities to develop the knowledge and skills they need to improve their livelihoods. To finance their project, they also succeeded in raising additional funds on their own from the Embassy of Australia in Mexico, demonstrating acumen, energy, and dedication. When the center officially opens later this spring, it will host regular vocational and civic trainings in topics including Conflict Resolution Education, Information & Communications Technology, and Business & Entrepreneurship. Community-wide events, such as dialogues, will also be conducted there, and the center will also host a computer lab that can be accessed by the public.
While workers only broke ground on the center a few weeks ago, they are already making great progress, thanks in large part to support from the wider community. Indeed, the local population has turned out in force to donate their labor, food, water, and other supplies. As a result, the center’s structure has already been built ahead of schedule. Not only does this bode well for the center’s development; it also showcases the motivation of the community to make this project a success.
As Victor himself told us in a recent update, “We are very close to finishing construction and we can all see the ideas and potential of the project.” He continued, “So many people have been willing to be part of the process, showing their commitment. Everyone is very excited by the idea of starting activities and filling the center with young people.”
