Campus Saltillo

Civic Engagement and Democracy

Bimester Project

MGP MEP Machely Flores

08-09-2014

Erick Valdés Juárez 1380109

Daniel Alonso Fernández Sandoval 1380747

Juan Carlos Flores Oyervides 999051

I. Introduction

The course Democracy and Citizen Engagement takes on the comprehension of how

society members get involved in those commonly ignored behavior patterns that make it the

way it is. Once the citizen understands the basics, he/she can get involved in further

activities related with the democratic spectrum, such as: decision making, participation and

any kind of passive or active involvement.

For this project our team was assigned to visit a Community Center in the Francisco I.

Madero neighborhood. The project itself was a surprise, we had never even heard about the

existence of places along the lines of this one, we did have an idea that there were centers

of support for the community, but we´d always conceived them just as temporary and with

few impact. Nevertheless, this project gave us the opportunity to change our minds,

therefore, also to apply and improve our knowledge through the activity.

Why is this project important? Because of the fact that we live in a society were

cooperation is crucial. Cooperation is the key to overcome the struggles this city have. It is

known that centers of support are located in places which need attention and have deficits

of some kind, we start this job starting from this supposition. The objective is to find and

propose a measure that could be used to improve the way things are done in the Community

Centers. Whether advice or a specific measure, it all is going to be presented in the present

writing.

For the realization of this project, there is a set of points to achieve in order to make it

functional and realistic. The methods to work on this activity were born from planning and

preventing the possible scenarios that could hit reality. Basically part of

this setting up list had to do with the act of locating the place and

making an effort to gather as a team to visit it together. For this, a

previous investigation was made. It is interesting to know, and in

consequence to express in this paper that there is no such thing as

information available on the web to reach these places. The only

dependence available for support is the City Council, medium used to

get the contact information.

Francisco I. Madero Community Center

Commonly called the “Francisco I. Madero penal” neighborhood due to its closeness with

the preadaptation center of the city has this Community Center within its streets:

When we arrived the center was closed. In the image below, a picture of an outside board

showing the place´s activities is shown:

Later, when the community center was opened, we headed ourselves with who looked to be

the place´s administrator, and so she was. The Community Center`s administrator is a

woman called Rocio Ariel Segura. We introduced ourselves as students from ITESM and

explained Rocio the purpose of our visit, to which she friendly agreed as to take our

interview and respond any question and matter of our investigation.

Rocio is shown in the image.

There are four principal questions which need to be responded as this project flows (we got

the answers from Rocio, the head of the center). It is also important to present the

background of the Community Center, further information and useful data for our project.

It all is presented next:

What is a community center?

A place where service and attention is given to the community in matter of necessities such

as public, health, and social ones.

What is its purpose?

To provide a space for people from all ages to unite them, and expand this union to more

neighborhoods, in order to help an amount from 8 to 10 colonies. They intend that everyone

in the community attends the space to fully use the benefits it provides.

How does it work?

People from around the neighborhood and far beyond can assist to take workshops and

realize activities such as sports, dancing, handcrafting,

Why is it there?

Madero´s center has been there for a long time. Nevertheless, since the new administration

it has fully worked to satisfy the needs of the people from around. Before it was used just to

attend social events.

The “Communitarian Center Madero” has been operating since April sixth, controlled by

the new Municipal administration. Asking Rocio about whether it was in an optimal level

or not, she responded it takes on the philosophy of continual improvement to develop.

Continuing our research, we needed to make somehow clear and feel tangible all the ideas

and points of the center, that´s why Rocio was asked to define her project as in a

short/medium/large term; in answer we got that it is intended to be as a source of “little

council” for the people, specifically as the medium to exercise their political and social

matters.

How does it helps the community?

When it came the moment to ask Rocio what activities does the community, she didn´t

hesitated about it. It appears that “Communitarian Center Madero” provides the neighbors

with medical service that include the assistant from doctors to make medical consultation, a

completely free service; it also includes the medication when possible. According to the

administrator, it helps to the ones that can´t make it to the medical centers due to different

factors (economically, closeness to centers, commodity). Some of the medical services they

try to cover are: pediatricians, general practitioner, optometrist, among others; and

depending of the neighbors most needs. In Saltillo there are some others “Communitarian

Centers” that already have their own pharmacies to allow the neighbors to have a better

medical assistance. The plan for all the “Communitarian Centers”, including the

“Communitarian Center Madero”, is to have their own capacities to supply the medicines

they need.

Is it fully functional?

Even though it has been active for 6 months, the “Communitarian Center Madero” is

working in full capacity of employees, but even the administrator says it could be

improved, as it a project that continues to develop during its running. This opens the

possibly for us to start to investigate what are the affliction of the neighbors, to know where

and how implement a theoretical solutions.

II. The Problem Statement

As the first step of the work, we have an agreement with the administrator Rocio Segura for

an appointment during the next week so we can have an interaction with some of the

neighbors, and we can state the project to them in a better and efficient way.

The next step will be the approached to the neighbors. We are going to submit a poll to

them so they can try to explain in a better way what they think are the afflictions that need

solutions, and they will be choosing from all the ideas they’ll propose the one they select as

the priority to them.