July 2021 e-Newsletter

IN THIS ISSUE: Healing Justice || Liberation Psychology and Palestine || Martín-Baró's Legacy || Crisis in Haiti || Attempted Eviction in Guatemala || Welcome Jhenny

Healing Minds, Bodies and Mother Earth

For July, we focused on stories about emotional care, well-being, and collective healing — and how these practices address trauma, bring communities together, and create spaces for restoration and sanctuary. Grassroots Internationals’ partners are healing minds, bodies, and Mother Earth.

Our decades-long special partnerships have taught us how important healing is. We have learned to intentionally check in with partners and to materially support their well-being and mental health. While these approaches have always been baked into our political and programmatic work, over the last few years we have made healing and wellbeing an explicit and core part of our strategy. As a funder, we’re committed to human rights and consider how we can support the safety of our partners and the sustainability of critical grassroots movements.

Liberating the Spirit in Palestine

Ayman Nijim, Ph.D. in Liberation Psychology and Transformative Social Change and Grassroots International’s Solidarity Program Officer for the Middle East, writes how Liberation Psychology can support the healing and liberation of Palestine.

Liberation Psychology, Social Movements, and One Legacy of Ignacio Martín-Baró

Boston College activist-professor, Martín-Baró Initiative committee member and Grassroots board member M. Brinton Lykes writes about Ignacio Martín-Baró's legacy. His vision was to generate a “psychology of the people” — one grounded in the understandings of buen vivir from Salvadoran peasants.

Standing with Haitian Movements at a Critical Political Juncture

Haiti is once again peering over the edge of a political precipice following the news of the assassination of former president Jovenel Moise. In these moments of instability, social movements have continually shown the way forward, towards human rights and ecological justice for all Haitians.

Attempted Eviction of Indigenous Community in Guatemala

On July 21, Guatemalan National Civil Police and the Guatemalan army attempted to evict 93 Maya Q'eqchí families. Here we are sharing a statement from our partner the Comité de Unidad Campesina (Peasant Unity Committee, CUC).

Welcome Jhenny!

After an extensive search, we have found our next Solidarity Program Officer for West Africa and Haiti. We are thrilled to introduce Jhenny Saint-surin, who has accepted this position after years of experience with immigrants at the local political level in Massachusetts.

Jhenny is originally from Haiti, and she brings significant international experience to her new role. In Haiti , Jhenny worked on issues ranging from providing support to small-scale farmers, to medical missions, to holding the UN accountable for its role in the cholera epidemic. Jhenny also studied women's rights in Morocco and policy advocacy in Bangladesh during her pursuit of higher education degrees in the United States. She is eager to put her significant skills to the service of Grassroots International's vision of accompanying social movements in their quests for social justice and system change.

Please join us in giving a warm welcome to Jhenny!