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| Students and Professor Ann Lutterman-Aguilar with Flor Dessiré León Hernández and Jerry Martínez Águila |
Flor Dessiré León Hernández, led a two-hour session that explained the work that CIDHAL does to benefit the community and help women who otherwise would be hopeless. The work accomplished at CIDHAL is inspirational and functions in such a way that comforts many. The mission statement of CIDHAL says it all: “The completion and participation of all kinds of social, cultural, scientific, and educational means to initiate, promote, promote or encourage communication and exchanges for human development in all its aspects in Latin America mainly women, irrespective of any political or religious ideology.”
Throughout the session, we learned about many issues that women face in all parts of the world such as motherhood, sex education, and the hot topic of abortion. It was fascinating to learn about such topics that are often debated in our own cultures but in a different context with many different culture norms involved in greater Mexican society. The trip was rewarding and inspirational to say the very least. For more information on CIDHAL and its work, check out their website at http://www.cidhal.org/.
-Sam Krogstad (University of St. Thomas)
I also enjoyed our visit to CIDHAL, as it is one of the ways that I have been introduced to the term 'popular' organizing. For example, by the 1970's, CIDHAL was organized through a type of 'popular feminism,' which included working for poor women on themes including sexuality, health, and domestic violence. The use of the term 'popular' refers to a more grassroots kind of organizing, with a focus on working with the poor and working-class. I personally think this is extremely important, as I know from the history of feminism in the U.S., many poor women felt excluded from the dialogue of /arguments raised by / positionality of the majority of middle and upper-class white women who ran the movement. This concept of 'popular' organizing complements what we learned in a recent lecture by Professor Ann Lutterman-Aguilar about liberation theology and Base Christian Communities (BCCs). BCC grassroots organizations espouse a 'preferential option for the poor,' meaning intentional solidarity work with those who are most marginalized or oppressed in society. It was exciting for me to hear this term and learn that it comes from a Spanish translation, as I had only heard of it as an idea supported by Paul Farmer and Partners in Health, a well-known organization that works for community health in Haiti and other countries. Bringing us full circle, CIDHAL was also founded with a vision of liberation theology. For all the good work CIDHAL does, it is also important to see limitations of different ways of organizing. CIDHAL is an example of an organization that can be limited by funding, and in another talk we did hear a critique that CIDHAL will work on whatever they find funding for, which means they do not necessarily work on a pressing issue if there isn't money. Many BCCs, however, will work on the pressing issue whether there is money available or not.
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