Centro de Esperanza Infantil
Centro de Esperanza Infantil (Center of Hope for Children, or CEI) was founded in the late 1990’s around the same time as Oaxaca Streetchildren Grassroots (now Oaxaca Youth Empowerment, or OYE.) Both organizations were created to support access to education for students from low-income families. Each organization has their own board of directors and staff. CEI enrolls students in their program and provides direct services in two centers in Oaxaca, Mexico: Casa Jodi and Casa Emilie. OYE provides financial support to CEI via fundraising efforts and offers additional technical support through marketing, evaluations, grant writing, and more.
Casa Jodi
Academic Tutoring
For students who are struggling in specific classes, academic tutoring is offered in a variety of subjects, especially related to math and languages. CEI staff track before and after metrics to determine student success.
Mental Health Services
Psychological services are offered on-site several days a week to all students in the CEI program.
Computer Lab
Students have access to computers and a printer to work on homework or do research for school or potential future careers.
Enrichment Workshops
Different types of workshops and capacity building activities are offered throughout the year at Casa Jodi. Activities may include guitar classes, sewing courses, photography workshops, English lessons, and more.
Meals Program
A hot meal is served daily to any student in the CEI program and any family member than accompanies them to Casa Jodi.
Cultural Exchange
Volunteers and visitors arrive from a multitude of countries to interact with the students and staff at Casa Jodi. Student groups may arrive and participate in exchange activities with CEI students.
Casa Emilie
A generous gift in 2022 from Dr. Herbert Steiner of Berkeley, California, enabled Oaxaca Youth Empowerment and Centro de Esperanza Infantíl to open a satellite center in Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán. The center is named Casa Emilie in honor of Dr. Steiner’s late wife, Emilie. “She wanted to help the children of Oaxaca,” he said. “I am just carrying out her wishes.”
“Fifty years ago, my wife first visited Oaxaca and fell in love with its people, their culture, and their way of life. In the intervening years deep friendships developed, and she returned often to experience the beauty of the region and the warmth of the people. At the same time, she saw a lot of abject poverty ... and decided to try to help to expand the educational opportunities of the poor children in the region, and thereby to offer them a brighter future.” — Dr. Herbert Steiner
Extending Service into the Community
Casa Emilie is the result of nearly a year of planning between the donors, Oaxaca Youth Empowerment and Centro de Esperanza Infantil, with the goal being to bring services to the CEI families who don’t live downtown and find it difficult to get to Casa Jodi.
Casa Emilie focuses on after-school and weekend tutorial services, educational activities and field trips, medical, nutritional, and psychological counseling, computer access, support for parents and daily meals.
Casa Emilie now accepts all community members living in the Xoxocotlán area, not just families in the CEI program.
Help support our efforts to help the students to continue studying and achieve their goals. Make your tax-deductible gift today so the future of Oaxacan youth remains bright.
Oaxaca Youth Empowerment, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.
Tax ID: 35-1988669