A Southern Sonora assistance tour with products and productive projects
Sonora DIF Director Karina Zárate Félix toured Southern Sonora municipalities in January to connect with and provide support to local residents, according to the Sonora state government.
DIF
DIF, the National System for Integral Family Development, is a community- service and assistance organization in Mexico. Its primary focus is to develop and strengthen the well-being of Mexican families.
DIF is an important component of Mexican society and provides a variety of family support services, such as child protection and food, housing and educational assistance.
The DIF organization consists of wives or designees of elected officials at all levels of government. The first lady of Mexico is the leader of the national DIF, spouses or designees of state governors oversee state DIFs, and the spouses or designees of municipal presidents (mayors) are responsible for local community DIFs.
Assistance to Southern Sonora
On her tour, Karina Zárate Félix presented products and financial assistance for projects as she visited the municipalities of Guaymas, Empalme, Huatabampo, Ethojoa, Navojoa and Alamos along with local municipal officials.
She visited marginalized areas to deliver orthopedic braces and scholarships for children. She awarded funding for 22 projects that had been requested by families to start their own business, such as a making tortillas, sewing, baking, selling hot dogs and welding.
Support for indigenous communities
Zárate Félix also visited indigenous communities accompanied by José Antonio Cruz Casas, the coordinator of the State Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples and Communities (Cedis).
The DIF director brought equipment funded by the national DIFerent Community program to establish public feeding spaces for indigenous children and elderly residents of Huatabampo, Navojoa and Alamos.
She also awarded financial assistance to indigenous families to acquire raw materials to start a business, in addition to offering free job training at ICATSON, the state’s job training agency.
A personal touch
In total, during her tour the director of DIF Sonora presented 156 products, scholarships and economic grants for early childhood care, job training, sports promotion, special education and orthopedic care. And she did it with a personal touch.
Zárate Félix met individually with people to hear their stories and become familiar with their needs. A one-on-one connection between a state official and the state’s most marginalized residents.
She expressed satisfaction at seeing the faces of assistance recipients and being able to fulfill the DIF work while being able to maintain closeness with the people.
And she mentioned sentiments from Sonora Governor Pavlovich, who said that there is still much work to be done because it is never enough, but Sonora’s families are not alone.
Source: January 16 press release, Government of the State of Sonora