Oportunidades - Opportunities

Seemed like old times today as I headed out in search of one thing and found everything but.  I thought I would find Virgen of Juquila celebrations, but every church I visited was empty.  However, whenever one is driving around there is always plenty to take in and learn.  And so it was when I got to nearby Tres Reyes expecting to find lots of people carrying flowers, where I instead found the zocalo filled with a long line of women. 

There were hundreds and many men and families waiting on the outskirts. 

 I asked someone what was happening and they said. "Oportunidades."  I said gracias and left, but when I got back to the house I looked it up and Oportunidades is a program run by the Mexican government and it seems to be working. 

Here's some of what Wikipedia has to say:

Oportunidades is a government social assistance program in Mexico founded in 2002, based on a previous program called Progresa, created in 1997.^[1] It is designed to target poverty by providing cash payments to families in exchange for regular school attendance, health clinic visits, and nutritional support.^[2] Oportunidades is credited with decreasing poverty and improving health and educational attainment in regions in which it has been deployed.^[3] As of 2006, around one-quarter of Mexico's population participates in Oportunidades.

Key features of Oportunidades include:

• Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) - To encourage co-responsibility, receipt of aid is dependent on family compliance with program requirements, such as ensuring children attend school and family members receive preventative health care^[4]
• "Rights holders" - Program recipients are mothers, the caregiver directly responsible for children and family health decisions^[5]
• Cash payments are made from the government directly to families to decrease overhead and corruption^[1]
• A system of evaluation and statistical controls to ensure effectiveness^[2]
• Rigorous selection of recipients based on geographical and socioeconomic factors
• Program requirements target measures considered most likely to lift families out of poverty, focusing on health, nutrition and children's education^[1 

The anti-poverty program has become a flagship success. Thirty percent of the population directly receive conditional cash transfers from the program. Effects have been both positive and numerous. Increased contraceptive use in rural areas of Mexico has resulted in reduced teen pregnancy and fewer infant deaths. Students are progressing with school for more years and with high grades. The number of graduating high school students has increased 85%. More students are going to college.

 Seems like a very successful program and one that is definitely needed.   Oportunidades for them and an opportunity for me to learn something new.