Project Piaxtla: A Participatory Approach to Solving Health Problems in Western Mexico
Added on 2023-06-10
13 Pages3440 Words95 Views
|
|
|
Project Piaxtla 1
PROJECT PIAXTLA
By (Student’s Name)
Professor’s Name
College
Course
Date
PROJECT PIAXTLA
By (Student’s Name)
Professor’s Name
College
Course
Date
Project Piaxtla 2
PROJECT PIAXTLA
Introduction
Project Piaxtla was a health program in Western Mexico since it was community-based.
The project served over 100 villages in the area, and the local people run it. The founder of the
project, David Werner was also the main advisor. He founded the project in the year 1964, and
he was its main facilitator.
A participatory planning approach is used in communities to learn and engage with the
people. This approach ensures that the community is involved in the planning process as well as
the management. The primary aim of the participatory approach is to ensure there is harmony in
the views given by members of the community and that there is no conflict when the views are
not consistent.
Project Piaxtla
It was a community-based project in Western Mexico and helped over 100 villages. The
project was a health-based programme and sought to solve the issues of health that exist among
the local villagers (Rojo 2014). The project was located in the Sierra Madre Mountains, and it
was named after a local river that runs nearby. Local villagers entirely ran it.
The project was based in Ajoya which was the village with the largest population at that
time. The village, however, went through tough times in the mid 90's. This was as a result of the
North American Free Trade Agreement that caused a wide gap between the rich and the poor in
the country. This is because more people were out of jobs and the wages were falling. This
caused an increase in crime and violence in the country (Scrinis et al. 2015). Ajoya was
PROJECT PIAXTLA
Introduction
Project Piaxtla was a health program in Western Mexico since it was community-based.
The project served over 100 villages in the area, and the local people run it. The founder of the
project, David Werner was also the main advisor. He founded the project in the year 1964, and
he was its main facilitator.
A participatory planning approach is used in communities to learn and engage with the
people. This approach ensures that the community is involved in the planning process as well as
the management. The primary aim of the participatory approach is to ensure there is harmony in
the views given by members of the community and that there is no conflict when the views are
not consistent.
Project Piaxtla
It was a community-based project in Western Mexico and helped over 100 villages. The
project was a health-based programme and sought to solve the issues of health that exist among
the local villagers (Rojo 2014). The project was located in the Sierra Madre Mountains, and it
was named after a local river that runs nearby. Local villagers entirely ran it.
The project was based in Ajoya which was the village with the largest population at that
time. The village, however, went through tough times in the mid 90's. This was as a result of the
North American Free Trade Agreement that caused a wide gap between the rich and the poor in
the country. This is because more people were out of jobs and the wages were falling. This
caused an increase in crime and violence in the country (Scrinis et al. 2015). Ajoya was
Project Piaxtla 3
significantly affected as it was and still is a strategic location for illegal drugs exchange as they
are grown in the mountains. Due to this, the place faced a lot of robberies and attacks that caused
people to flee the area.
This led to the demise of Project Piaxtla as there was too much violence for it to continue
running. The people that still remain in Ajoya are not able to receive any health care programmes
as well.
When Project Piaxtle started in 1965, Mexico was ridden with poverty which caused
many diseases as well. This was known as diseases of poverty. At that time a lot of children were
dying due to diseases such as diarrhea and other diseases, and this was mainly caused by
undernutrition (Wallerstein et al. 2015). Since they did not have money, they were not able to eat
enough too, and this caused many health problems. The women were also, and a lot of them died
during childbirth as a result of being anemic.
All this was caused by the inequity that existed in the country. The land, power and
wealth distribution in the country was not equal as the poor people owned very little with the rich
scooping the more significant share. All these contributed to health problems that people in
Ajuya faced and hence the development of the Project Piaxtle (Van de Sande and Schwartz
2017).
Participatory Approach
As mentioned earlier the participatory approach seeks to involve the community by
learning and engaging with them. The approach is used in projects to identify the needs, to plan
and monitor them to ensure that they are fulfilling what they were set out to. It seeks to ensure
that the community in which the project is being implemented actively participates in the issues
significantly affected as it was and still is a strategic location for illegal drugs exchange as they
are grown in the mountains. Due to this, the place faced a lot of robberies and attacks that caused
people to flee the area.
This led to the demise of Project Piaxtla as there was too much violence for it to continue
running. The people that still remain in Ajoya are not able to receive any health care programmes
as well.
When Project Piaxtle started in 1965, Mexico was ridden with poverty which caused
many diseases as well. This was known as diseases of poverty. At that time a lot of children were
dying due to diseases such as diarrhea and other diseases, and this was mainly caused by
undernutrition (Wallerstein et al. 2015). Since they did not have money, they were not able to eat
enough too, and this caused many health problems. The women were also, and a lot of them died
during childbirth as a result of being anemic.
All this was caused by the inequity that existed in the country. The land, power and
wealth distribution in the country was not equal as the poor people owned very little with the rich
scooping the more significant share. All these contributed to health problems that people in
Ajuya faced and hence the development of the Project Piaxtle (Van de Sande and Schwartz
2017).
Participatory Approach
As mentioned earlier the participatory approach seeks to involve the community by
learning and engaging with them. The approach is used in projects to identify the needs, to plan
and monitor them to ensure that they are fulfilling what they were set out to. It seeks to ensure
that the community in which the project is being implemented actively participates in the issues
Project Piaxtla 4
that it is facing (Lovan, Murray and Shaffer 2017). This is by providing interventions and
solutions to the project. The participatory approach combines findings and analyses which gives
the community members opportunities to act on the data that is uncovered.
The participatory approach has been used by rural communities in the developing world
in bettering their villages. The approach has been found to be the most effective in these areas.
This is because the rural poor can share ideas on the issues that affect them and how they can
solve them (Eldredge et al. 2016). They are the ones who can tap into their communities and give
an accurate finding as that is the reality that they live in every day.
The local people can share their perspectives so that they can create program or projects
that can help them. The participatory approach can be used to monitor and evaluate the Project
Piaxtla.
Issues of Project Piaxtla
Project Piaxtla focused on solving the health problems that existed in Western Mexico
however it had issues that conflicted with its primary goal. The issues are as follows:
Needs assessment and changes in needs assessments
When the project first started in the year 1965, Western Mexico was faced with a lot of
diseases mainly caused by poverty. A lot of the children were dying due to these diseases and
mothers were also dying during childbirth. This is because most of the mothers had anemia
(Busse, Aboneh and Tefera 2014). David Werner was able to assess the needs of the people in
the village through involvement with the community members. This is a principle in
that it is facing (Lovan, Murray and Shaffer 2017). This is by providing interventions and
solutions to the project. The participatory approach combines findings and analyses which gives
the community members opportunities to act on the data that is uncovered.
The participatory approach has been used by rural communities in the developing world
in bettering their villages. The approach has been found to be the most effective in these areas.
This is because the rural poor can share ideas on the issues that affect them and how they can
solve them (Eldredge et al. 2016). They are the ones who can tap into their communities and give
an accurate finding as that is the reality that they live in every day.
The local people can share their perspectives so that they can create program or projects
that can help them. The participatory approach can be used to monitor and evaluate the Project
Piaxtla.
Issues of Project Piaxtla
Project Piaxtla focused on solving the health problems that existed in Western Mexico
however it had issues that conflicted with its primary goal. The issues are as follows:
Needs assessment and changes in needs assessments
When the project first started in the year 1965, Western Mexico was faced with a lot of
diseases mainly caused by poverty. A lot of the children were dying due to these diseases and
mothers were also dying during childbirth. This is because most of the mothers had anemia
(Busse, Aboneh and Tefera 2014). David Werner was able to assess the needs of the people in
the village through involvement with the community members. This is a principle in
End of preview
Want to access all the pages? Upload your documents or become a member.
Related Documents