People of San Miguel - Nadine And Alejandro:Think Globally, Act Locally

By Natalie Taylor

Nadine Goodman came to San Miguel from New York in the 1970s. A friend owned a house here and suggested she visit so that she could study Spanish. It was not intended to be a permanent move, but in 1981, Nadine met her future husband, Alejandro González Rullán, and settled here. Alejandro was an actuary who had studied at UNAM. But he was also an activist, and his concern with social justice was in sync with Nadine’s beliefs. In the US, Nadine was always involved in public health, and in San Miguel, she and Alejandro saw an opportunity for community support through improvement in healthcare and social concerns.

They founded CASA, Centro para los Adolescentes de San Miguel de Allende, an organization dedicated to addressing issues of gender-oriented discrimination. It was evidenced by a disregard for educating girls, a lack of sex education, and no access to birth control. Without these means, many young women become pregnant early; then pigeonholed as wives and mothers, often taking menial jobs, with no possibility for personal growth. Nadine and Alejandro decided to break this loop with education and support, giving young women a path with choices in life. Through CASA, they started to offer sex education, free contraceptives, and abortion services. For those who wished to have children, they provided prenatal care, midwife services, and follow-up parenting skills.

Over the years, CASA has evolved into a comprehensive social program not only for girls but for boys as well. In a closed, traditional society, young men suffer as well because of imposed roles that may not fit their wishes, often with expectations without realistic means of achieving them. They have taken a holistic approach to addressing these issues and developed various programs to tackle each of them. They see CASA as a social movement about sexual and reproductive rights and justice. They firmly believe that everyone is entitled to full control over their body.

As part of their program, they began a midwifery school and a maternity hospital with free delivery for low-risk births. Through the years, over 11,000 babies have been born in that facility. They also created a professional healthcare team that provides physical and mental care, preparation in good parenting, including nutritional education for the entire family, and childcare facilities through a daycare center. All this information is distributed through school workshops, health fairs, government institutions, and social media. Midwifery is now an accepted practice in Mexico because of their efforts.

In addition to services related to physical health, CASA encompasses other social objectives. One is helping those who have dropped out of school and become vulnerable to negative influences that can ruin their lives. Ranchero Pandillero, an offshoot of CASA, works to reduce violence and substance abuse among young people by providing artistic and cultural opportunities with street art, music instruction, a recording and art studio; competitions encourage excellence. Respect, unity, and peace are promoted through hip-hop culture in a setting where young people can freely express themselves. Cascabel, a radio show on 92.1 FM, provides information and encourages participation by young people.

Another important aspect of what CASA has done for the community is giving out scholarships. These, however, focus on those who are usually the last to receive such help. They are the less successful ones, those in the lowest income, and with the lowest possibility of receiving a scholarship through the other organizations in town. Scholarships offered by CASA target the least of them, those who need a push from the very bottom to be able to move up and improve their lives.

Many positive rewards have come about through the work of Nadine and Alejandro over the past forty-five years. Their focus on all aspects of education has brought about an appreciation of its  value and a sense of interconnectedness within the community of San Miguel. With a better understanding of their bodies and their life choices, young people feel more hopeful about the future. CASA is now an AC and a 503 organization working with local, state, and federal governments. Their hope for the future is to leverage resources between non-profit organizations and government, and build a path away from social and economic disparities. They believe in these universal ideals, but the work starts at the grassroots level.

For donations or general information, visit their site: www.casa.org.mx

For those interested involunteering, the email is:recursos humanos@casa.org.mx or phone number: 415 154 6090

www.natalietaylor.org