Aurelio Joaquín

Aurelio announced his leadership will focus on health and education. The mayor’s spouse (First Lady) serves as President of DIF, the government social service agency. María Luisa Pieto de Joaquín will support Aurelio’s focus through a DIF sponsored program to educate children and families on healthy eating.

Education, health and nutrition are such critical areas of need for the many children and families with limited resources whom we are trying to help through Friends of Cozumel. I’m VERY encouraged by both Aurelio’s and Maria’s public commitments to improve health and support education that could immediately benefit families as well as having a positive long-term impact for the community.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out over time. Wouldn’t it be great if resources become available to encourage local non-profit organizations like NUAFA (Heart of Family Support) to echo the health and education focus at a grassroots level?! We don’t yet know if/when the Acuerdo San Gervasio (ASG) grants may be funded. During past administrations this partnership between the government, business and non-profit sectors proved to be a valuable resource to implement programs that truly change lives. NUAFA developed “Los Talleres” job skills training workshops for women and relocated to a larger facility to enhance quality of care and pre-school education, both a direct result of ASG grants. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more. ~ Karen