Self-development as it applies in the context of sustainable international development usually begins with self-respect. Using Tia’s villages as an example, once the Community Health Workers or Promotoras develop confidence in their abilities and personal worth, they organize and begin looking for other ways to improve their lives and their communities without outside supervision and encouragement.
Without any suggestion from Tia, each example appears spontaneously in almost every Tia village:
“Developing Women in Developing Nations”, the most recent issue of Thunderbird Magazine, contains an article by Kathy McCraine, “Tia Laura’s Clinics of Hope” (begins on page 30). The issue focuses on women and their role in fostering growth in emerging markets as entrepreneurs and managers. Laura Libman and the Tia Foundation are featured in an 8 page, full-color story as an illustration of a social entrepreneur creating a positive impact on women in impoverished communities in a developing nation.
Photojournalist, Kathy McCraine beautifully crafted this article and took all the stunning photographs too!
Hi! My name is Wynona Heim, the new intern at the Tia Foundation for the summer! I’ve attached a picture of myself with my family, taken earlier this year, so that you know who I really am. I have a great husband, Jeremy, who works as the Curriculum Specialist at the daycare center our children attend. My daughter Rhiannon is 4 years old, loves animals, and is enjoying swimming lessons this summer. My son William will turn two on September 4th, and is a precocious little toddler who loves being outside, and is especially excited to be learning to ride horses and swim this summer.
I am absolutely LOVING working with Laura at the Tia Foundation. I am a Master of Arts student at the Thunderbird School of Global Management, and I will be graduating this December with a Masters degree in Global Affairs and Management, emphasizing in International Development and Public Policy. I have a passion for sustainable development initiatives such as the programs that the Tia Foundation is instituting in rural Mexico. I truly believe that the future of developing economies lies in improving the quality of life for the people that live in those nations. Once basic needs (such as health care!) are met, those people will be free to develop further opportunity, and live their own dreams.
I am so excited to be a part of the wonderful work that Laura and the Tia Foundation are doing! I will be going to Mexico later this month to do some field work – I can’t wait to tell you all about it!
The cost per person for Tia’s full menu of services is less than $5 per person, including general and administrative costs! That five dollars provides training and full medical kits for the promotoras, community and school education, follow up studies and true sustainability. In fact, over 80¢ of every dollar Tia receives, goes to directly to project costs.
In the last year, Tia has trained 75 new community health workers, serving over 25,000 people! The most recent graduates of our program are the 22 community health workers from the Municipality of Teocuitatlan de Corona, Jalisco, Mexico . With the help of Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara’s Community Medicine Program (PMC), nearly a thousand people have received direct medical care from the PMC during our first year. The picture above is our first graduating class.
Tia Foundation 