top of page
Home
returning to strength no title.png

returning
to
strength

award winning documentary
(with Spanish subtitles)

justice for xochitl
justicia para xochitl

Anchor 1
Photo web site homepage.png

An alarming case of mistaken identity

please share

Un caso alarmante de identidad equivocada

por favor comparte

WHO WE ARE

WHO WE ARE

Atzin is a non-profit civil organization that focuses on priority needs like education, nutrition, water and health. Since 1997, we have worked closely with families trapped in acute poverty in the large village of Tlamacazapa, Guerrero, Mexico.

Atzin programs are based on principles of social participation; investigation with action; and environmental and economic sustainability.  Today, each program has many activities run by “promoters,” all local young women, with technical assistance from Atzin.

Consider the heart of development work: a sense of personal empowerment always begins with an inner spark of possibility and grows from within. The nurturing of that spark is our mission, one that opens up prospects, pathways and prosperity.  Indeed, we help change futures for the better.

Based in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Atzin in Mexico collaborates with a sister organization, Atzin Canada. Both are registered charities with no political or religious affiliations.

LEARN MORE ABOUT:

ATZIN-Logo-High-Quality-Mexico-redone-compressor.png
ATZIN-Logo-High-Quality-Canada-compresso
CirculoSabado.Capacitacioncompressed (1)
PROGRAMS

PROGRAMS

2 POSTED(1).jpg

HEROS OF THE HEART

Health and Healing

Program: Special Needs

WATER CARRYING.jpg

LIGHTEN THEIR LOAD

Environment, Water &

Sanitation Program

LinaClase_edited.jpg

LITERACY IS FOREVER

Community Education

and Nutrition Program

FilaPromotoras.jpg

A PLACE OF OUR OWN

Wellness Centre & Shelter Construction

NinaSewingcrop.jpg

REDEFINE PROSPERITY

Income Generation Program:

Women & Families

girlwithmask-compressed.jpg

COVID-19

Response

to the Pandemic

A UNIQUE MODEL

A UNIQUE MODEL

Model General Homepage final.png

People-centered development is the basis for Atzin’s work with groups and communities. Grounded in daily reality and guided by beliefs in a just and humane society, Atzin’s model is unique because:

  • local women (promoters) run the program day-to-day operations and planning;

  • stated principles guide program decisions as does regular assessment of context;

  • authentic participation by people is key to program success;

  • and importantly, the programs are integrated across four sectors, meaning that programs build on each other so that people can attain better skills, improve their life circumstances and achieve cultural well-being.

 

With all its contradictions, tensions and opportunities, a people-centered approach is a process of taking calculated actions in rhythm with deliberate thoughtfulness.  We realize that development work requires resolve - a persistent determination to create a more hopeful and humane reality. 

EXPERIENCES

 EXPERIENCES

Since 1999, over 50 people have volunteered full-time on site with Atzin, coming from Canada, United States, Germany and Mexico. Most had a steep learning curve during their time with Atzin, gaining considerable knowledge and skills in community health and development. Many others have volunteered from a distance, either as board members or as friends of Atzin and Tlamacazapa, taking on specific tasks and events. Their testimonies speak of experiences that helped them to grow as individuals and as citizens of the world. 

Volunteer photo Shekufeh crop.png

Thoughts in 2018 about experiences in 2007 and 2009

 

Volunteering with Atzin for a year in 2007 fundamentally shaped my personal and professional values.  Ten years later, those formative experiences continue to exert a significant influence on my daily life.  I learned the value of deep commitment and taking responsibility for the well-being of one another, especially the most vulnerable among us...

Shekufeh ZONJI

Health and Education Programs

Full-time volunteer (2007), Part-time volunteer (2009)

Working at Atzin was a chance for me to test my limits: physically (working hard, in the hot sun), linguistically (communicating in a foreign tongue), organizationally (planning the logistics and materials needed for a week of work) and personally (building the confidence and resolve that I could and would succeed despite challenges). I am a more disciplined, more organized, more forward-thinking person today because of my time at Atzin...

Elizabeth TILLEY

Engineer, Water, Sanitation & Environment Program

Full-time volunteer (2003- 2004)

Volunteer Elizabeth Tilley.png
Volunteer David Swann (1).jpg

February 2020

 

My second visit to Tlamacazapa, now as a Board member from Calgary, highlighted the tremendous challenges and the extraordinary progress of Atzin since my visit about 20 years ago. The most impressive measure for me was watching dozens of young women displaying confidence and competence as Atzin promoters of education, literacy and health, as well as their ability to speak out on human rights being central to their well-being...

David SWANN

MLA Alberta (2004-2018)

Board of Directors, Atzin Canada (2019-present)

PARTNERS

PARTNERS

3.png

OPIRG McMASTER

Located in Hamilton, Canada, the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) McMaster works with university students to achieve greater social justice, respect for human rights and a healthier environment. OPIRG and students base their work on principles of anti-oppression, the building of consensus, and conflict resolution. OPIRG McMaster has actively contributed to the development of Atzin programs in Mexico for twenty years by supporting volunteer service among students and organizing a wide variety of fundraising initiatives.

2.png

PAKILIA WIRKT!

As one of Atzin’s international partners, Pakilia wirkt! supports our community education program for children and young women. A civil organization located in Germany, Pakilia wirkt! aims to promote traditional craftmanship of high quality among silversmiths in Taxco, Mexico. Its work is based on the principles of sustainable community development and ecology, gender equality and the important roles of art and culture.

Visit: en.pakilia-wirkt.org/

1.png

ZAPAPRES

Members of Zapapres e.V., a civil organization based in Germany, partnered with Atzin in our early days, starting in 2001 with support for midwifery training in Tlamacazapa. Over the years, Zapapres e.V. has provided funding or organized volunteers on-site, most often focusing on the community education program for children. Zapapres e.V. responded quickly to Atzin’s covid prevention campaign in 2020. In May 2022, their collaboration will help finance the new ecological households pilot project, featuring kitchen gardens, concrete rocket stoves and rainwater catchment. 

Visit: www.zapapres.de

bottom of page