Written by Cyril Mychalejko
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
Dr. Jorge Bustamante
Central American migrants traveling through Mexico to the United States are facing violence and abuse by Mexican authorities, a UN official stated on March 15.
Jorge Bustamante, the U.N.'s Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, said that there are "reports of rampant impunity for instances of corruption, including bribery and extortion, violence against women, and trafficking in children…[and] that the impunity seems to be linked to abuses of power at the municipal, state and federal levels."
Bustamante's statement concluded a seven day fact-finding mission to Mexico, where he met with Government authorities and the country's Senate in Mexico City, Tijuana and Tapachula.
Corrupt Mexican police kidnapping undocumented Central American migrants for ransom is on the rise and could eclipse the lucrative business of working with drug smugglers.
"They kidnap migrants, ask them for information, relatives' phone numbers; then they extort money from the families," said Bustamante
Bustamante also noted that there were a number of reports concerning "rape, assault and abuses against workers in the domestic sphere."
His visit to Mexico followed the publication of a scathing report aimed at the United States for violating the human rights of a largely Mexican migrant population. He will submit a similar report to the Human Rights Council concerning his visit to Mexico.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
UN: MEXICO VIOLATING HUMAN RIGHTS OF MIGRANTS
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Join us at Elle for a silent auction and wine tasting on December 13th
You are cordially invited to a holiday Silent Auction and Wine Tasting Saturday, December 13, 2008 6:00 -8:00 PM
Elle Wine Country Restaurant , 3048 E. Broadway Tucson, AZ 85716
Please join us for a Silent Auction, Wine tasting and Hors d'oeuvres to benefit the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health Master Students of the Mexico-Guatemala Service Learning Project. Below are some images of prints that will be auctioned off, photographed by Chris Hinkle.
10% of wine purchases will be donated to our cause
Tickets
$25 For Students
$30 General Admission
Please RSVP to Allison Jacobs
At arjacobs@email.arizona.edu
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Donate Now!!
Paypal is now set up to accept your donations, so feel free to chipin! Every amount counts, so we encourage you to donate as much or as little as you can.
Project Proposal
“Bringing Our Service Learning Lens to the Mexico-Guatemala Border”
A proposal of: The Global Health Alliance and
The Border Health Service Learning Institute
Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health
University of Arizona
Introduction and Background
The mission of the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona is to promote the health of individuals and communities with a special emphasis on diverse populations and the Southwest. Our College focuses on ecological approaches that place a high value on service to the community and on research and practice that engages the communities that we serve. We have prioritized border and Hispanic/Latino Health, Tribal and American Indian Health, and Rural Health as critical to our mission within a conceptual framework that addresses the elimination of health disparities.
With a history of over twenty years of collaborating at the U.S.-Mexico Border our faculty, staff and students are engaged in a variety of research, practice and service partnerships within our Arizona border communities. These partnerships have provided the framework for the development and implementation of our Border Health Service Institute. The Institute provides opportunities for our students, faculty and community partners to engage in service learning around the important themes that impact the health of our border communities including: public health programs and interventions at the community level, migration, economic development and leadership and advocacy. Over the past summer the Institute implemented a week long course for MPH students living and working in the border region of Douglas and Agua Prieta at the Arizona-Sonora Border. They partnered with a variety of community based organizations throughout the region on both sides of the border to understand the complexities of health disparities and the relationship of migration, health and economic development within a framework of public health advocacy.
In 2006 our students founded “The Global Health Alliance” because of an interest in increasing the involvement of our College in global health issues. GHA’s mission is to improve the well being of diverse populations, both locally and abroad, and to help create a multidisciplinary, culturally competent public health workforce. The Alliance strives to enhance the academic experience offered by the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health by encouraging student and faculty involvement in global health initiatives, and by contributing to existing knowledge through research, participatory discussion and community involvement.
The Alliance has been extremely active over the past three years bringing front and center presentations and activities including hosting speakers from the UNFPA on the health and reproductive rights of women, hosting a border deaths conference, hosting a micro lending day, and providing monthly service opportunities in the Tucson Community, to our College. Of particular interest to our students is the issue of the increasing migration from Mexico and Central America to the United States and the border crossing deaths that have resulted from immigration policies which pushed the migrant stream across the Sonora-Arizona desert and into “our own backyard.” The students organized a “Border Deaths” Conference and invited researchers from throughout the University to present their work on this issue and developed a policy component to pursue actions that could impact policies that contributed to these deaths. They have worked with a variety of organizations including our own College, the University, the U.S.-Mexico Commission the Arizona Public Health Association and the American Public Health Association to begin a dialogue as to the role of public health in solutions to the “border deaths.”
Proposed Project
Together, the work of the Border Health Service Learning Institute and the GHA has resulted in a thirst for a broader understanding of these issues including the perspective of communities at the southern border of Mexico and Guatemala which is home to so many of the migrants that are entering the United States through our Arizona-Sonora Border.
The Global Health Alliance (GHA) in collaboration with the Border Health Service Learning Institute is organizing a service-learning project in the border region of Mexico and Guatemala. The proposed project would be a nine-day service-learning project in the border region of Mexico and Guatemala in conjunction with the Martin Luther King Jr. ‘Day On’ campaign. The ‘Day On’ campaign incorporates Dr. King’s vision of social justice, equality, hope, and compassion with the goal of service to celebrate Dr. King’s legacy. GHA has incorporated Dr. King’s vision of service into many of their activities.
The project would take place from March 14-22nd. There would be 10-15 students and 2-3 faculty members from the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. We would partner with area public health agencies, academic institutions and community based organizations at the Mexico- Guatemala border. Potential partnerships might include the Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica in Tapachula, Chiapas, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur Mexico and Café Justo, a local fair trade coffee cooperative in San Andres Urbina, Chiapas. We would also partner with additional organizations in both Guatemala and southern Mexico to work on projects rooted in the community. Though our time is limited to only nine days it is our goal to be able to support existing projects and get a better sense of the issues specific to the border region.
Faculty Involvement
The faculty who would collaborate with GHSA on this project includes: Cecilia Rosales, Associate Professor and Jill Guernsey de Zapien, Associate Dean for Community Programs. Both faculty members provided the overall leadership for the development of the Border Health Service Learning Institute.
Dr. Rosales has worked in the health arena for over twenty years and in the field of public health for fifteen years. She served as Director of the Office of Border Health for the Arizona Department of Health Services for 5 years prior to accepting her current position as an Associate Professor at the College of Public Health. She was featured in a congressional exhibit “Changing the Face of Medicine: Local Legends, Women in Medicine in 2004. In 2005 she was recognized for her outstanding service to the region by Governor Janet Napolitano. She was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the U.S. Mexico Border Health Commission representing Arizona. Dr. Rosales has demonstrated her outstanding expertise and scholarship in the areas of program development and implementation, public health administration and policy and health disparities research related to the Southwest. Her comprehensive understanding of the region has resulted in a unique contribution to the body of knowledge associated with Hispanic, border and binational health in general and to strengthening community based participatory research and collaboration in the Southwest. Dr. Rosales serves as the Principal Investigator of our NIH funded EXPORT Center which focuses on the elimination of health disparities among the Hispanic and Native American Population in Arizona and teaches border health policy among other courses at the College.
Dean de Zapien is the Associate Dean for Community Programs With an academic professional appointment, Dean de Zapien has been involved in community based public health interventions and research in Arizona and throughout the Southwest and Mexico for more than twenty years. As co-investigator of numerous initiatives that are focusing on underserved populations in the southwest and northern Mexico, Dean de Zapien partners across the university to work directly with communities to develop strategies for prevention interventions and the elimination of health disparities. She is particularly proud of her collaborative work with the promotora movement throughout Arizona, her long-term commitment to community based participatory research and action, and her binational collaborations. She received the first Henry Koffler Award for Outreach and Service which recognizes one individual throughout the University of Arizona for his/her outstanding work in this area. Most recently, she is serving at Principal Investigator of a Community Campus Partnerships for Health grant which established the Border Health Service Learning Institute. Dean de Zapien teaches a community based participatory research and policy course and a public health advocacy course at the College.
Project History
The idea to develop this project came as a result of a weeklong service learning class on the U.S.-Mexico border in August 2008. Two concepts became clear in this course that we would like to expand on in our proposed plan. First, migration is occurring around the world and is resulting in unique health and social justice issues. Observing these issues first hand in both northern and southern Mexico may help to better frame the root causes and opportunities for ameliorating these factors as we become public health professionals. Secondly, this course made the importance of service learning evident. One of the biggest impacts of the course in August was the service aspect. From the personal experience of being involved in a service learning class students found that they are now better able to put a face, a name, and a real memory into their work and see what works, what does not, and why, all from a community level:
“It’s no longer a problem of ‘them’ because we now know a little about ‘them’. ‘Them’ becomes Raul, Sergio, and their families. We exchanged names, we worked together on a project, and we shared dinner. The theories and polices we discuss in class have real world implications and we have experienced a snapshot of those implications to keep now that we have taken part in a service learning project. The ‘classroom’ became real. For the first time as students all of our senses were engaged. Service learning allows us to engage first hand in communities and see public health theories in practice in the real world.”
The Border Health Service Learning Institute has not only invigorated the students and faculty that participated in the course but also the members of the community we partnered with. Community members shared that the collaboration:
“reconnected me with my passion to see change” and made me feel valued as a public health worker”.
“I felt so proud of my community seeing students engaged in working in the community.” The community forum helped to consolidate agency work on both sides of the border and highlight windows of opportunity for all of us together to work for change.”
Goals and Objectives
The goal of our service learning project is to assist future public health professionals in understanding the complexities of the economic, political, social, and health effects of migration and border environments and to help them better understand, assess and evaluate the role public health plays in relations to the broad social complexities that affect the health of border communities and migrant populations. The project is designed as a service learning project as research has shown that engaging students in service learning is an effective way to help students in assessing complex social issues. Service learning is a collaborative approach which balances service and learning objectives, addresses community concerns and broad determinants of health, involves community partners throughout the process, and emphasizes reciprocal learning. It includes a reflective practice to facilitate the connection between practice and theory as well as to foster critical thinking, and develops attitudes, knowledge, and skills for civic engagement and social justice.[1] The service learning project also aims to support the current work of community members through enhance collaboration. and will provide a platform for community members to highlight and invigorate community organization.
Figure 1.1 contains detailed learning objectives and activities:
Figure 1.1
| Objective | Activities | Assessment |
| Collaboration within the border communities will be enhanced | Establish a community forum where members can share their work and concerns | Community partners feedback |
| Partnerships between the community and the University will be established | A proposal of future partnerships will be created following the week long experience and the community forum | Completing of proposal and implemented collaboration via future student internships and support of community efforts |
| Students will gain an understanding of health issues in the border region from a public health perspective | Read pre course readings, accompanying the Mexican National Institute of Public Health in Tapachula on community prevention activities | Student presentations and reflection essays |
| Students will gain a community perspective on health issues on the border | Community service activities, attend community functions | Student presentations and reflection essays |
| Students will gain an understanding of the role that Public Health plays in broader social issues | Pre course readings, participate in services activities that look at social issues | Student presentations and reflection essays |
| Students will be able to assess the effects of international policies on border populations | Pre course readings, and participate in community services activities | Student presentations and reflection essays |
| Students will understand the economic complexities facing the border population | Pre course readings, and participate in community services activities | Pre course readings, and community services activities |
Project Budget
The estimated budget for the service learning experience is $30,000. This is based on allowing 15 students and 2 faculty members to attend. This budget includes transportation, lodging and food for 17 people. Figure 1.2 includes a detailed breakdown of the estimated costs.
Figure 1.2 – Service Project Budget
Figure 1.2
| Transportation | Individual | Group | Total |
| Airfare: Aeromexico Airlines (PHX 9:25a TAP 10:30p, TAP 1:25p PHX 7:55p) | Price per person: $850 | $850per person x 17 participants | $14,450 |
| Rental vans in Tapachula | $160 per person | $160 per person x 17 participants | $2,040 |
| Lodging | | | |
| Travelodge Loma Real 9 Rooms (Double Beds) | $400 per person | $400 per person x 17 participants | $6,800 |
| Food | | | |
| Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Snacks | $30 per person/day | $30 per person/day x 17 participants x 9 days | $4,590 |
| Other | | | |
| Class Supplies – Pens, Pencils, Notebooks, Binders, Paper, Printing, etc. | $120 per person | $120 per person x 17 participants | $2,040 |
| Grand Total | $29,920 | ||
For more information regarding this proposal please contact:
Casey Eastman: eastmanc@email.arizona.edu
Allison Jacobs: arjacobs@email.arizona.edu
Global Health Student Alliance
Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health
University of Arizona
