Cross-Border Networks Create Bi-national Trust & Development

Amarilis Castillo
Las Matas de Farfan, Dominican Republic

The borderlands of Haiti and the Dominican Republic are one of the most challenging areas of the country -- rife with poverty and conflict. Thanks to Amarilis Castillo, however, the most impoverished people are receiving help that is making a sustainable difference in their lives.

Amarilis, a native Dominican, spent 24 years as a successful psychologist and social worker in the United States but never forgot the poverty along the border. When she returned to the Dominican Republic in 1999, Amarilis donated land for the Armed Forces vocational school. Today, the school provides a rare opportunity for students as they are able to take classes in woodwork, carpentry, baking, electricity, sewing and repairing air conditioners.

In 2002, Amarilis worked towards reforesting the border by helping 88 families to plant avocados and other tree fruits. Through collaboration with PADF's Nuestra Frontera in 2004, she was able to improve the quality of her work, expand to reach a total of 120 families and engage the public and private sectors.

Amarilis was also one of the leaders who created a network that links together the 23 strongest Dominican civil society organizations. She dreams of linking this network with one from the Haitian side so that they can truly talk about "their border."

Teaching Skeptical Farmers that Protecting the Environment is Profitable

Henrique Gelinski Brazil

In rural Brazil, landowners commonly give in to social and economic pressures and exploit natural resources until they have been exhausted. Henrique Gelinski is the exception -- and the catalyst for change. He values the clean water, fresh air, medicinal plants and majestic beauty of his land in Sao Joao.

For Henrique, short-term profits do not come first. He and his family use methods to preserve the land, including organic farming, lower impact direct planting and management of planted forests for firewood consumption. Conservation has become a way of life for Henrique, and as a result, he has become a leader and role model for his fellow landowners.

At first, his neighbors did not understand what Henrique was doing. Instead of conflict, he worked with them to understand his techniques. Following Henrique's lead, rural landowners understand the value of wild growth forests for the first time, and are learning about how to change their own actions in order to preserve their property.

Today, Henrique's techniques have become a model for raising awareness, promoting environmental education, and mobilizing the local community. He has even shown that nature conservation and development can come together with a native beekeeping project that will generate income.

Beauty is More Than Skin Deep

Nicole Orelus
Cité Soleil, Haiti

Life for women in Haiti is especially difficult -- and it much worse for young, single mothers. Without skills, these young mothers often continue in a cycle of poverty and are more likely to become the victims of domestic violence. Nicole Orelus realized that she needed to intervene.

Through Nicole's cosmetology school, Ecole de Cosmetologie Communautaire, she provides some of the most vulnerable young girls with training in cosmetology, as well as educates them about family planning and non-violence. As a result, these women can provide for themselves through a skilled trade. Her classes on family planning have helped to educate the young girls and her graduates have put off getting pregnant.

There have been two groups of graduates from her school -- in November 2009 and most recently in February 2010. Her cosmetology school was selected by the community to receive funding from PADF's community driven development program called PRODEPUR, which allowed her to expand the classes and provide more in-depth training.

Nicole loves what she does and enjoys watching as positive social, economic and professional changes take place in her students.

Preserving a Rich Heritage through Modern Development

Flor Nancy Muelas
Misak, Colombia

On the surface, the mountainside community of Misak, Colombia, is extremely beautiful and tranquil. It is also has its challenges.

Drug traffickers and armed insurgents have led to violence in the picturesque area. These forces, along with the need to generate employment, place pressure on 15,000 natives and their rich indigenous culture.

Flor Nancy Muelas understands how important it is to preserve the native population's traditions, culture and sense of community. As an indigenous woman herself, she earned a university degree and uses the classroom lessons to improve the lives of her neighbors in Misak. Today, she is working with other members on Indigenous Council of Guambia to create income-generating activities, including trout fishing farms, a fish processing plant and a bakery.

These endeavors have generated economic opportunities -- without losing their traditions. For example, when the council built a grain mill, residents channeled water from the mountain to power the mill instead of a diesel-powered generator.

The development projects and Flor Nancy's work is supported by PADF with a grant from the USAID.

By Uniting Parents, a Principal Transforms a School in Rural Mexico

Monserrat Guzmán Salamanca
Puebla, Mexico

Two hours south of the metropolis of Mexico City is a community of 674 people who survive by tending to small plots of land. Opportunity for economic advancement seems remote to most of them.

Monserrat Guzman Salamanca is trying to show the next generation of residents in San Miguel, Puebla, that opportunity presents itself to those who are better educated and prepared. In a community where the average person has only six years of formal education, the task is tough.

Monserrat -- who is the principal of a public school with 63 children -- decided early in her tenure that a key to a child’s success in school depends on the level of commitment by the parents. By engaging them in the children's education, she knew that the students would do better and actually continue their education.

They formed a parent-teachers association and drew up a list of school projects. With supplies from the municipal government and labor from the parents, they renovated the classrooms, installed new bathrooms and built a library. They transformed the school from a building to a learning center, which is rare in small, impoverished communities.

It has paid off. Last year, one of Monserrat's students earned the recognition of being the best in the nation, which included a visit with the president of Mexico at the official residence.

Monserrat's work is supported by a small grant from Royal Caribbean International.