SAN JOSÉ COMMUNITY CENTER FOR CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT

The CSP directs the San José Community Center for Childhood Development in the neighborhood of Jardines de San Juan, within the parish territory of Santo Tomás Apóstol, in the south of Mexico City.
 
This center serves a marginal population at risk of social exclusion, made up of young families that are displaced from other parts of the country. This community center has existed for 20 years, carrying out the following activities and programs:
 

PRESCHOOL EDUCATION AND MATERNITY CARE
  
The center cares for 120 children up to age six in a preschool program, provides maternity care, nutrition, and infant healthcare. The children attend the center from Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Children are separated into four age groups, each led by a community educator that uses pedagogy corresponding to each group. The students are monitored and evaluated quarterly for cognitive and psychomotor development.
 

EARLY STIMULATION

Our comprehensive educational approach is complemented by a program of psychological care and early stimulation. A trained educator works weekly on an individual basis with boys and girls that show inappropriate classroom behaviors (aggression, apathy, language, or psychomotor delays, etc.). This work is done with parents, to help them develop and use approaches with the children to resolve conflicts, through games, crafts, and other skilled exercises.
 

NUTRITION AND INFANT HEALTH
 
All the students receive three meals daily to fortify their diets. Concurrently, three times a year the students’ height and weight are monitored to detect possible growth delays. Throughout, a volunteer nurse monitors the nutrition, state of health, and growth and development of the children.
 

PARENT MEETINGS
 
As the courses take place, three meetings are held with the parents of the children from each classroom. A general meeting also takes place with the objective of supporting them in knowing, understanding, and accepting the strengths and weaknesses of their children. These meetings also encourage the educators to dialogue with the parents, sharing experiences, clarifying doubts, exchanging suggestions, and planning actions in relation to the needs presented by the children.
 

TRAINING WOMEN
 
Training activities for neighborhood women are offered through the San Jose Community Center. The goal is to help the women improve their economic situation, increase self-esteem, and benefit their families.
 
The center also has the capacity to provide community’s early childhood teachers with training, scholarships, and professional experiences, so that all the educators who work at the center are in turn beneficiaries of it. At the same time, with the help of volunteer professionals, the whole team that works at the center receives workshop training in specific learning areas on Saturdays to improve the quality of care offered to the children. These courses include topics such as, how to speak in public, healthy and economic food, arts and crafts, family economics and savings and others.
 
SOCIAL AWARENESS
 
University-aged students of the city are encouraged by the community center to develop well-formed social conscience and awareness, as well. These students are encouraged to collaborate on social service projects and in the many activities that take place at the San Jose Community Center for Childhood Development. While the child development classes take place, groups of volunteers from colleges and schools, institutions, and families collaborate with the children in organizing playful and educational days. This gives the volunteers an opportunity to become aware of the social exclusion in which the population of San Juan lives.
 

COMMUNITY BAZAAR
 
The community center runs a bazaar which is open daily for the community to purchase all sorts of donated items, such as clothes, shoes, toys, kitchen utensils, furniture, books, and decorations. The objective of this initiative is to facilitate purchases and in turn raise funds for improving infrastructure and covering the expenses of the San Jose Community Center.