Whale Watching with Manos Unidas

Sebastian Melani of Punta Mita Expeditions donated two boats to take the women from Manos Unidas on a whale watching expedition. There were 17 women in total who attended the journey!

A comprehensive manual of the whales and whale watching was created and given to each woman before the excursion. Even though these women were all from this huge Bay area, some of them had never been on a boat before, and most of them knew nothing about the whales.

Sandra Cano, a lifelong resident of Punta de Mita, daughter of a fisherman, wife to a lobster diver who has been around the ocean all of her life said “of all the years I have been seeing the whales, I had never learned as much about them and their behavior as I did today – thank you!”

Manos Unidas is our cooperative of women artisans based out of the Punta de Mita region. Aside from creating their beautiful handi-crafts through a cooperative setting, the women also take part in various workshops every month. Some past workshops have included holistic medicine, computer skills, yoga, and nutrition.

Photos by Nova Pennison

PEACE Ambassador: Esteban Uyarra

Esteban Uyarra is the founder and director of Trinchera Film School in Puerto Vallarta. This award-winning director, editor and cinematographer of documentary films has worked for several UK television channels, including the BBC and Channel 4. He uses film as a medium to increase social awareness about various causes while empowering local communities through interactive documentary film classes. Esteban teaches documentary film classes at Trinchera Film School to students who come from all over the world to learn from such an incredibly experienced teacher.

Esteban Uyarra is also a PEACE Ambassador.

Casa Comunidad's alternative school students spent one week with Esteban learning about documentary film-making. Students learned about cinematography and created short documentaries about their lives and their culture. We will post the documentary on the PEACE Blog in the coming weeks.

An ENORMOUS THANK YOU Esteban for lending your time to teach local children about documentary film!

PEACE Ambassadors are individuals from all walks of life who give their time and energy to furthering PEACE's mission and getting the word out about PEACE programs.

Photos by Nikhol Esteras Roberts

From a Volunteer's Perspective... Working at the Spay & Neuter Clinic

I have been volunteering at the free Spay & Neuter Clinics in Rincon de Guayabitos, La Penita, La Colonia and Los Ayala for the past 4 years. These Clinics are organized by PEACE and Jaltemba Bay Animal Rescue (JBAR). I have witnessed firsthand, the dramatic change in attitude of the local people because of what they've learned at these Clinics... how to take care of their animals, how to bathe them, and what to feed them (not just a few tortillas). A few years ago, they used to bring in their animals... now, they are proud to bring in their "pets". These animals have names, they have collars, and they are well loved. And if you walk the beaches, you will notice that there are far less stray dogs in the area... this too, is due to the great work of the Clinics. It has been an incredible transformation, and in such a short period of time.

The last Clinic was just held in Guayabitos from February 17-20, and it was a huge success. During this 4-day Clinic, we took in a whopping 153 animals, 144 of which we sterilized. This is a new PEACE record.

This is one of the most rewarding things I have ever been a part of. I am so proud to be able to give my time to this wonderful project, with these amazing people all dedicated to helping change the lives of the animals!

Allyson Williams

Proud PEACE and JBAR Volunteer

---

During the February Clinic in Guayabitos, Dr. Malcolm Macartney and his team from Victoria, BC, volunteered their time and talents. Here is a description of his experience...

"I was expecting to come into an area overrun with mangy stray dogs and cats that needed a great deal of veterinary attention, but to my surprise the animal scene in Rincon de Guayabitos, La Penita and Los Ayala seemed to be fairly good from an outsider's perspective. During the week that we spent at the Clinic, and in the town talking to locals and gringos, I became aware that it was because of the long-term efforts of the Jaltemba Bay Animal Rescue and PEACE Mexico that things have so dramatically changed for animal welfare this past decade. Lin, Lacy, Ally, the other volunteers, and PEACE should be congratulated for their efforts.

Myself, Dr. Diane Cruickshank and two animal health technicians, Jen and Sorcha, from our clinic in Victoria, British Columbia, traveled with suitcases full of surgical and medical supplies for the four-day long Clinic in Guayabitos. Lacy and Paul Mutch graciously allowed us to stay at their beautiful home for the week, which worked out well as it was situated close to the Clinic.

The work was hectic and hard on my back. For a volunteer-run Clinic it ran like a well-greased machine. Experienced and new volunteers from the community worked hard during the Clinic. Some told me they had worked these Clinics for at least the past 5 years, and that it was the highlight of their winter months in Mexico!

There were teams of people who managed the patient intake, recovery, autoclave room, and surgery... all amazingly talented and cheerful folks. They kept us busy in the surgery suite. During this Clinic 144 pets and strays were sterilized, and also treated for worms, ticks, fleas, and lice over the course of the Clinic. Quite a feat, especially since it rained and blew hard for two of the days.

Dr. Antonio Carillo, Lalo, Paulina and the rest of the PEACE team were simply outstanding in their skills and knowledge. They made us feel welcome, and it was nice to get to know them outside of the Clinic setting as well. I learned a lot from them. The combined experience of working with all of the Clinic people, and helping improve the lives of animals made this a very worthwhile experience that I know the staff of the McKenzie Veterinary Services want to be a part of in the future. We'll be back!"

Dr. Malcolm Macartney

McKenzie Veterinary Services

Victoria, BC Canada

We LOVE our Volunteers

Here at PEACE, we often rely on the love and hard work of our dedicated volunteers. Over the years, we have had teams of people who have helped us build parks, teach English, develop and carry out programs, help countless numbers of animals, design and create graphics and imagery that we use every day... and the list goes on and on. We love and appreciate the volunteers that pass through our doors every single day.

In January, we were lucky enough to have a team of amazing students come help us to reach our goals. The team from Northern Illinois University had specific work plans before they arrived at the PEACE office. In order to offer the best possible volunteer experience, PEACE team members work together with volunteers to predetermine what their work schedule will be.

Dina Bach, Barbara Bach, Anna Stopa, Molyka Rath and David Hansel helped with important PEACE projects and initiatives. Dennis Barsema, a professor of Social Entrepreneurship and Micro-finance at Northern Illinois University, got the wheels rolling on this connection, and for that, we are incredibly grateful.

Here is a list of a few of the things they accomplished while there were here: 1) Made huge steps towards the completion of our 2009 Annual Report; 2) Set the groundwork for our micro-financing initiative; 3) Wrote and finalized the curriculum for our fabulous "Celebrate The Beat" program; 4) Created the curriculum for our Financial Education workshops with Manos Unidas; and 5) The PEACE team received a series of much needed Excel classes!

We also had a few visitors from the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD). Students from UMD have been to the Bay before, and have worked with several different non-profit and community groups in the area. Ivy Berg chose to focus her volunteer time working on curriculum development for Casa Comunidad's educational programs. Ivy and her friend Stephanie helped the Casa Comunidad Directors with the English curriculum and visual aides for English teachers.

In addition, we had another visit from our returning volunteer, Peter Doering, who donated three brand new Compaq notebooks to PEACE. During his stay, he gave several computer workshops to the PEACE team, as well as computer skills classes to students and teachers in the community. He also took groups of children to the movies, played games with them, and much more. Peter is a dedicated PEACE volunteer who has helped us tremendously in furthering our mission and reaching our goals. We look forward to his visit again next year!

Currently, we are working with several other volunteers, both long- and short-term. We will have more to come on them soon, but just so they all know... THANK YOU for everything you are doing, and continue to do for us, we greatly appreciate all that you do!

Do YOU want to volunteer at PEACE?

If you are interested in volunteering at PEACE, contact Nicole Majewski at nicole@peacemexico.org.

If you would like to become part of our amazing summer internship program, email internship@peacemexico.org. You can read more about our internship program by clicking here.

If you want to make your volunteer time in Mexico a retreat/vacation, check out one of our PEACE Partners at Destination: PEACE.

Community Yoga Program

Casa Comunidad's Community Yoga Program continues to teach and inspire children through free weekly yoga classes. Nikhol Esteras Roberts, Co-Director of Casa Comunidad, teaches yoga to children in the kindergarten in Corral del Risco on Thursdays, and at Emiliano Zapata on Fridays. There are at least twenty students in each class.

While the kids do yoga, Nova Pennison, the other Co-Director of Casa Comunidad, teaches free English classes to their mothers. By offering English to the mothers, and yoga to the children at the same time, the mothers have the opportunity to focus on learning without being distracted. Wow, what lucky ladies.

If you are interested in volunteering in this program let us know! We are always looking for English teachers and assistants, as well as yoga helpers. Or, if you would like to donate yoga mats or ESL materials we would be incredibly grateful. Contact nikhol@peacemexico.org.

Photos by Nikhol Esteras Roberts and Nicole Majewski

Manos Unidas Baskets are Shipping Out!

Manos Unidas por la Mujer is one PEACE's four principal programs. It empowers women to move toward financial independence by providing business resources, education and training. Through the Manos Unidas program, local women learn how to make different handicrafts, which are then purchased by PEACE and other wholesale clients to be sold to the tourist market at small stores and kiosks in the area and through the online webstore.

This "Fair Trade" concept proposes that when purchasing any product, we should think about the people behind the creation. In the global market place, the person making or creating the products are typically the ones that make the least amount of money. Fair trade in action makes sure the persons making the products receive a FAIR percentage of the finished product, sometimes referred to as a "living wage", and it changes from country to country. Fair trade can only be practiced when the consumer chooses to purchase products made and traded under this philosophy. It ensures that the person making or creating the products receives a fair percentage of the total of which the product is sold commercially. The goals of the Fair Trade philosophy are a) to create sustainable income for the creators and manufacturers of products; b) establish a fair or "living" wage; c) establish and maintain continuous cooperation with the producers and manufacturers for the buying and selling of their goods; and d) to create new markets for goods marketed under the Fair Trade philosophy.

PEACE has been working closely with several local businesses who provide Manos Unidas products in the stores, boutiques, restaurants, etc. to sell to their customers. In addition, we are also working on getting these products exported to the US and Canada.

Our first large order will be shipped out next week. We have teamed up with Fair Indigo and will begin working closely with them in custom-made products so that they can distribute them through their website, which also promotes Fair Trade and artisans from around the world. The women of Manos Unidas have created over 100 woven baskets using recycled newspapers for this order. We hope this is the first of many orders that we will be doing with Fair Indigo and other companies like them.

Thank you Rebecca and Children Inspire Design for their collaboration on this project!

If you, or anyone you know, are interested in hosting a PEACE party with Manos Unidas products, distributing Manos Unidas products in their businesses or boutiques, or sponsoring a woman of the coop, please contact us via their website at Manos Unidas. For information on selling Manos Unidas products, please contact Emily L'Hoist at emily@peacemexico.org.

Vote and Raise Funds for PEACE via Spay Day

Spay Day is The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International's annual event to inspire people to save animals' lives by spaying or neutering pets and feral cats.

You can help raise funds for spaying and neutering by entering the Spay Day Online Pet Photo Contest. Entering is easy and free. Click here, upload a digital photo of your pet and write a short paragraph about them. Your pet will be judged, and you can win prizes. Better yet, you can also compete with other pets for votes in the Fundraisers Category... this is where PEACE comes in. Just name PEACE as the charity you want to support, forward your pet's photo page to your friends and family, and then ask them to donate to vote for your pet (and list PEACE as their beneficiary for their votes as well)! Every dollar donated in your pet's name will help spay and neuter pets to control overpopulation... and give your pet another vote.

The more people who vote for PEACE, the more money we raise towards Spay Day and towards our organization.

So, get online and vote... the contest ends February 26th!

Celebrate The Beat are Back!

PEACE is ready to welcome the team from Celebrate The Beat once again this year. They arrived this weekend, and started working with the children at the primary school of Corral del Risco. We are so excited for this years performance!

A little background of "Celebrate The Beat"...

Celebrate The Beat (CTB) is a not-for-profit Colorado-based organization. Their mission is to teach inspirational music and dance classes that help children discover their potential by motivating them to believe in themselves, to value artistic expression, and to develop a personal standard of excellence; to use dance as the medium to teach children a valuable life lesson: that energy, discipline, hard work, commitment, and joyful concentration can lead to success; and to set high standards, and support children as they learn to meet those standards by trying their hardest and never giving up.

During and after school hours, this team of teaching artists serve entire grades, or an entire school, by creating a music and dance extravaganza inspired by that year's education theme. The artists are professional dancers, choreographers, musicians, and composers, who believe that the arts should be an integral part of every child's education. They have traveled all around the US and also to Mexico to share their program with grade-school children. We are lucky enough to have had the opportunity to work with them last year with the children of the primary school of Emiliano Zapata, and it was a huge success! This year, the team in Corral del Risco will be led by artistic director Tracy Straus, musical directors Tim Ribner and Marc Malcuit, and CTB teachers Heather Kratz and Jon Swarthout. The CTB students will learn dances inspired by Dr. Suess's "Horton Hears a Who" and create a 15-foot banner also inspired by Dr. Suess. So much fun!

We have two amazing opportunities for you to see the children and their grand performance. The first is for parents and family friends on Friday, February 19 at the primary school in Corral del Risco; the other is an evening performance at the Hotel des Artistes Sky Bar in Anclote on Saturday, February 20 at 5:30pm (Jalisco Time), which will include cocktails, live auction, music and a performance by these amazing children. Please join us if you have the chance... it will be an experience to remember! Details on the event will be coming soon. If you have questions, contact Nicole at nicole@peacemexico.org

For more information on Celebrate The Beat and their amazing project, please visit their website at http://www.ctbeat.org/

Photos by Nikhol Esteras-Roberts and Nicole Majewski

1st Annual Chalk Walk in Bucerias

The First Annual Chalk Walk took place in Bucerias on January 20-22, and was a huge success! One whole block on the main avenue, Lazaro Cardenas, was closed off for the event. Christy Beguesse, the owner of Broken Art Gallery in Bucerias, organized the event along with a team of volunteers from around Bucerias and La Cruz. The intention was to bring a Mondannari Festival to Bucerias to stimulate tourism and initiate an annual cultural event. Several professional chalk artists from both the US and Mexico participated during the 3-day event. Lori Escalera and Julio Jimenez were two of the artists. PEACE was asked to participate by providing volunteers and the children for the workshop. Over 20 children between the ages of 3-15 spent Friday morning taking a small workshop from the artists. They were given a bag of chalk and a square to create their artwork. What a sight!

Free Dental Clinic at PEACE

Between January 18-29, PEACE's main headquarters at Casa Campesina was turned into a dental clinic. During those 10 days, 12 dentists and 4 dental hygienists performed FREE dental work on over 150 children and some of their family members. The students were told about the service in advance, and they had to fill out permission slips and turn them into their teachers. This service has been offered by PEACE for about 3 years now, and also in other facilities around the Bay. The participating dentists are a team from the US and Canada who have been coming down to Mexico for over 5 years to provide this service for children and communities who cannot afford it. The lead dentist in the 2nd group that visited PEACE was Douglas Hymas from Idaho. He told us that he has been doing this for so long that they now have a storage space at a colleagues place in PV where they are able to keep their large equipment, chairs, etc. These is no website for these dentists, no form of recognizing them for their good deeds via the worldwide web... the smiles on the children's faces are enough for them!

THANK YOU Douglas and your amazing team!

If you have any interest in learning about Doug and his mission in Mexico, please contact him directly at dlymas@gmail.com

Photos by Nova Pennison