In preparation for the launch, Dr. Rico from Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara’s PMC (Community Medicine Program) and I conducted a needs assessment for the villages in the Ojuelos Municipality. There is one small clinic in La Granja which serves 6-8 communities. This clinic is only open one day a month and is staffed by a medic.

Each of the communities has anywhere from 300-800 people, so this clinic is quite busy when it is open. Dr. Rico and I have decided to train about 10 promotoras to begin with, in the villages of La Granja, Salitrillo and Los Morenitos. Since there is a problem with malnutrition among the children, we will be establishing school and community gardens her

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We were fortunate enough to travel with two people who know this area very well. One was Eva who is the adult education coordinator for the area. It is her job to give opportunities to the adults in the communities to complete primary and secondary school. She also trains the teachers at the schools so they are knowledgeable on how to teach adults. The other friend was Carmen, who lives nearby in La Presa. She will likely be our Supervising Promotora. She grew up and continues to live in the area and knows most of the people and their needs. We are very fortunate to have the benefit of their local expertise!