Yolki Ino Yolo

YOLKI INO YOLO | Acaxochitlán

Thanks to PSYDEH’s ongoing Global Giving “Fruits of Change” project, funded by private citizens living in 16 countries across four continents, the Acaxochitlán-based Nahua women leaders of Yolki Ino Yolo have created the foundation for future fundraising and project building, i.e., self-sustainability.

Their hand-sketch-inspired logo (RIGHT) complements the below first draft of the women’s self-composed NGO history, organizational poem artistically relaying the “essence” of their work, as well as their formal mission, vision, and values. Work is finalized in 2019.

ORGANIZATION HISTORY

In September 2013, Maricela Romero Cruz was invited by a friend to PSYDEH workshops in Acaxochitlán, where there was a debate about gender equality in the municipality. The communities in Acaxochitlán are indigenous and speak primarily Náhuatl, and there is still a lot of machismo in these places.

Maricela became more interested in PSYDEH. In 2014, she began to work with the organization on project design and implementation as a member of their first field-based team of indigenous women professionals. There were two women based in each municipality, one community organizer and one workshop facilitator. Part of their work was to identify women leaders in the various communities of Acaxochitlán, and she invited them to participate in the workshops and eventually to form their own organization. The first regional forum based in Acaxochitlán was a truly unforgettable experience, because we joined with other leaders to take a stand as empowered women in the region.

In 2015, we continued to grow, incorporating new women in our work. As women leaders from the communities of Santa Ana Tzacuala and Los Reyes, we formally organized our civil society organization named  “Yolki Ino Yolo”, which means “alive heart.” From 2016-2017, women participants continued to work to represent their communities. Maricela got involved in municipal politics. We gave workshops with the government about female civic participation, and today we continue to plan activities and projects for the benefit of our communities.

POEM

Que la naturaleza humana sea educar y compartir información por la comunicación, cimentando a través de nuestro ser y alma, los valores que se retornan en nuestras raíces como un árbol.

Que no defraudamos el sentir de nuestro corazón, que este color intenso sea nuestro fuerzo y escudo para no doblegarse ante la adversidad.

Que caemos en un sueño profundo donde exista la paz, la igualdad entre hombres y mujeres, con la madre naturaleza.

Y que al despertar de este grandioso sueno, florezca los frutos de nuestro árbol.

MISSION

Through communication, respect, and training for indigenous leaders, our mission is to strengthen our communities. With tolerance, we will promote actions that improve our work as a team, and we will use public and private resources together with honesty. With these actions, we will generate a mutual commitment to mission.

VISION

We envision ourselves as a strong, recognizing and attending to the different necessities of indigenous communities and promotes local, state, and national development. We aim to preserve pre-Hispanic culture and reflect it in ourselves as empowered women.

PSYDEH Non Profit NGO for Women in Mexico Women Organizations v008 compressor

VALUES

Fraternity: toward the leaders of indigenous communities.

Commitment: between the members of the organization and to indigenous communities and the projects we develop for them.

Respect: in decision-making among the members of the organization.

Communication: between women partners of the organization, using the Náhuatl language towards a common goal.

Honesty: in the management of projects and resources.

Teamwork: to obtain public and private recourses and the support of our indigenous partners.

Tolerance: towards every partner and ally.

Tolerancia: En cada una de las compañeras y afiliadas.

[kkstarratings]