Philosophy

Philosophy

We believe in providing opportunities and not giving handouts. We also believe in accountability and transparency. We believe that this approach will bring about lasting change because it is inclusive and fair. It may not be the quickest way to see change, and certainly is not the easiest. It takes time and commitment. It takes consistency and determination.

We are not affiliated with any religious or political organizations as we are inclusive and are seeking to bring communities together.

Giving handouts never is a sustainable model for community development work. To create lasting change, local people must affect the change of mindset themselves.

This model takes time, patience and persistence. The payoff is immense as community pride develops and the community starts to believe they can face any challenge that awaits them.

Transparency and accountability are difficult to deploy in a town of 2000 people.

We developed a wiki to track opportunities given in El Transito to help us track accountability and maintain a transparent relationship with people we help in El Transito. When you are working with that many people at one time, it is hard to keep track of who has been given an opportunity and their performance. The wiki records every opportunity, every emergency, every volunteer hour a resident has worked with our organization. This helps us track and understand what programs work and where we are making an impact. It also helps us make sure that those who are working to make changes in their lives are awarded more opportunities.

We like to give first chance to those who have shown the most commitment to changing their own lives and their communities.

Our philosophy is not an easy or fast solution to transform a community, but the results are incredible once they begin to emerge. After twelve years in El Transito, we can see permanent changes beginning. The town has an emerging tourism boom. We attribute this to many factors, and we believe our contribution to keeping the town clean has been a big factor in attracting tourists and businesses.