Social Work in a Latin American Context

 

Local Social Work Advisory Council Members

 

The Social Work semester program is supported by a local Mexican Social Work Advisory Council that collaborates with the faculty and staff to provide guest lectures on their topics of expertise, identify other appropriate guest speakers for the social work courses, help set up potential placement sites, assist with fieldwork supervision, and provide general guidelines and support for the semester program. The following are autobiographical statements by each of the council members.

                       

Josefina Vazquez

I was born in Mexico City in 1950 but my social awareness was born many years later in 1970 when working in a “Chatina” indigenous community in Panixtlahuacac, in the state of Oaxaca.  I have a Bachelors Degree in Social Work from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM ), 1966-72,  Hence, I was there during the student movement of 1968, a year of terrible repression and one in which the army occupied many schools, including mine.  For 21 years I traveled throughout my country, working on projects related to peasant or “campesino” organizing, social activism, and the promotion of cooperatives in the states of Michoacan, Queretaro, Puebla, Veracruz, and Oaxaca.  In the 1980s I had the opportunity to collaborate with CGE in the social work courses coordinated by Professor Rosemary Link, where we shared experiences of social work in Mexico and the participative methodology we use with campesinos in Morelos. I am the mother of four children and have a beautiful granddaughter.  My children and I share Zapata’s ideals, and they have proven their love and respect for my work – a fact that gives me the courage to continue.

 

Gracia Aramburu

I was born in Mexico City on November 26, 1933.  My parents were Spanish descendants but were born in Mexico.  I was the only child and didn’t meet my father, as he died a year after I was born.  My mother remarried and had three more daughters.  I am now part of a religious order, the Madres Auxiliadoras (Auxiliary Sisters), which I joined in 1956.  Before entering the convent, I studied Accounting & Auditing.  Later I studied Social Work at the University of Mexico and felt much happier as a social worker.  My experience as a social worker has been very broad in Mexico, as well as in Colombia, where I lived for 15 years, working in a school with children and parents.  When I returned to Mexico, I worked in a grassroots housing organization.  A few years ago, I worked in Ciudad Juarez (in northern Mexico), focusing on gender issues with women’s groups, and this is the work I like the most:  conducting training workshops with women and promoting a gender perspective.  I am an extroverted, enthusiastic person, and I like to work with others.  I belong to the women’s group “Imelda Tijerina,” which was named after a great fighter for social justice.  I have been in Cuernavaca for two years, during which time I have been in frequent contact with CGE, especially with the social work students.  I love to walk, admire nature, and work with women so that they can feel happy and live with dignity.  I love my profession and my religious order very much.

 

Maria Luisa Mejia

I am a social worker and have a Masters degree in Planning & Development.  I am currently a full-time researcher in CEDEFT, the Centro de Experimentación para el Desarrollo de la Formacion Tecnologica (Experimental Center for Development of Technological Formation/Education).  I am responsible for three types of programs.  The first is education with a gender perspective, which includes income-generating projects for women; self-esteem workshops; conferences and puppet plays about intra-familiar violence; and training of women community organizers.  The second is environmental education, which includes composting workshops for schools and communities; the creation of vegetable and herbal gardens; exhibits on environmental rehabilitation; and ecological days in schools and communities.  The third is teacher-training, which includes the following courses and workshops: “Nine Steps for a Good Working Environment;” “Design of Community Projects;” and “Design of Environmental Education Programs.” I am currently working in the following communities:  Cuentepec, which is an indigenous village in the municipality of Temixco, Morelos; Cuatetelco, which is a rural community in the municipality of Miacatlan, Morelos; and Coajomulco, which is a small town in the municipality of Huitzilac, Morelos.

 

Marta Delgado

I am 44 years old and I have been a social worker since I turned 21 in 1981.  I am married and have 2 sons; one is 19 and the other one is 16.  My first job was in the state prison for a year.  I then worked in the juvenile detention center for 3 years, where I took a course in criminology to have a better understanding of my work, and of the offenders.  After that, I worked for the Federal Fishing Department as part of a group in charge of creating, organizing and training the first fishing cooperatives in the state.  Through that job I learned not only a lot about rural communities but also about aquaculture-to fish, to make fishing nets and especially to work with fishermen.  My workmates chose me to be the general secretary of our union for the state of Morelos for 3 years.  Then in the National Meeting of the Union I was elected president of the National Commission for Vigilance/Surveillance and Taxes for another 3 years and I had to move to Mexico City, as I had to travel all over the country.  I was also part of the State Committee of the Partido Socialista Unificado de México (Socialist Unified Party of Mexico ) and was also founder of the Partido de la Revolucion Democratica – PRD (Party for the Democratic Revolution).  Currently my work is in the community in which I live. I am supporting the creation of a technological junior high school, the construction of our parish and politics.  In order to preserve our traditional celebrations,  we created a dance group which performs the most representative dance in Morelos-the “Chinelo Jump”, which we perform with members/neighbors of our community.

 

Juan Manuel Zaragoza

I am a graduate of the National School of Social Work at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), where I served as an advisor for the Technical University Student Council.  I was also a coordinator at the Technical Social Work School “Jose Cardijn” in Leon, Guanajuato for four years.  I then served as the Chief of the Social Area of Delegation VI at the National Fund Trust for Popular Housing, coordinating social work with community organizations that were demanded affordable housing.  I was also one of the directors of the non-profit organization “CED,” the Centro de Encuentros y Diálogos (Center for Encounters and Dialogues) in Cuernavaca for thirteen years, during which time I coordinated programs that promote municipal democracy.  Through that work I became sensitive to environmental issues, gender issues, and the rights of indigenous communities and municipalities.  From 2001-2003, I worked as a trainer, along with two other people, to train approximately 1,200 Mexican municipal police officers regarding human rights and community policing.  Currently I am a member of the training team for the Centro de Estudios Municipales (Center for Municipal Studies), where I work with approximately 2,500 public workers in the Mexico City government, teaching them about ethics and public service.  I live with my wife Judy Shevelev and my 17 year old daughter in a small town near Cuernavaca.  Our town of Ocotepec preserves many pre-hispanic traditions, the most famous of which is the celebration of the Day of the Dead. Our town is surrounded by a beautiful forest, where I walk or jog almost every morning, and where the world’s problems are seen and understood differently.

 

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