About Walking Together for Health and Development

Walking Together for Health and Development (Caminamos Juntos Para Salud y Desarrollo) is a nonprofit organization working in Tlamacazapa since early 1997. Walking Together started by talking with women about what they needed to improve their lives. A small international team of volunteers slowly began working with villagers to examine and resolve the many problems in Tlamacazapa. Now, Walking Together has many program activities that intentionally integrate to form a holistic approach to community development. The three main focus areas are:

Self-Sufficiency - Programs focused on increasing both community and individual value through income-generating programs. These programs include women's weaving groups, women's quilting groups, training of traditional midwives, training for men in masonry skills and training of both men and women in small business development.

Rebuilding Community - Programs focused on exploring new ways of living by rebuilding both the trusting relationships and the physical infrastructure of a healthy community. These programs include the construction of rainwater catchment tanks, household sanitation units, and community facilities.

Strengthening Self - Programs which create confidence and build capacity through the process of striving for improved health and healing. These programs include investigations into: the causes of high perinatal and infant mortality rates; the sources of contamination of local drinking water; and the causes of birth defects and physical disabilities. These program activities also include a free primary care clinic and access to free dental care.

From a humble home renovated as a center, volunteers work with local promoters to monitor the growth of young children, build dry toilets with families, teach women how to cook with soya, and provide primary health care and emergency dental services. Adolescent girls train as health promoters; other women learn midwifery. Water analyses initiated by Walking Together in 2000 and continued to the present reveal heavy metal contamination, complicating the drinking water situation. The long-term vision is clean water for all.