PROJIMO
This website attempts to provide an overview of the life-cycle
of proyecto PROJIMO, a
community-based rehabilitation program in Sinaloa, Mexico.
PROJIMO is the Spanish word for "neighborhood."
These initials also stand for
Programa de
Rehabilitacion
Organizado
por Jovenes
Incapacitados de
Mexico
Occidental
= "Rehabilitation Program Organized by Disabled Youth of Western Mexico".
          
Purpose of this Site:
1. To provide a historic and
archival time-line of project PROJIMO.
PROJIMO has inspired many similar projects throughout the world.
We hope that this website may contribute to keeping that inspiration
alive.
2. To inform about the the project.
Owing much to David Werner's publications, PROJIMO
has been a model for CBR programs throughout the world.
Many readers of David Werner's books, including myself, want to visit the
project.
Visitors who base their expectations on David's Werner's books alone might
experience disappointment when visiting.
For one thing: the PROJIMO David Werner wrote about in his books
(Ajoya) no longer exists.
There are now TWO independent PROJIMO projects (Coyotitan &
Duranguito) with their own programs and emphasis.
When I visited (July 2005 - Jan. 2007), I was mostly in Coyotitan, so much of
the documentation is about that project. Marielos and I left in January 2007.
The project has continued to change since then: people come, people go, people
pass away. What little information we have about such changes since we left is
included in the website pages.
Duranguito is in many ways closer to the spirit of the original Ajoya
project.
Both projects have their own special merits and both face their own
challenges.
A visit to either project would be very worthwhile, and may well change your
outlook on life.
You could even visit both, they are only about 1/2-hour drive apart after all.
What this site is NOT for:
I am NOT a spokesperson for PROJIMO.
This Website is about PROJIMO, but is not by PROJIMO. Overall, I strongly
support the goals and the work of Project PROJIMO.
The opinions expressed in these pages are my own. My comments and reflections
are based upon my personal observations of the project during the year and a
half that I lived in PROJIMO-Copyotitan. (July 2005 through January 2007)
PROJIMO is an organization without political or religious goals, and is not in
any way connected to my "Ave Maria" website.
Please, HELP
US SAVE PROJIMO'S HISTORY!
To all whom this may concern,
(written in 2006)
To all former and current coworkers, volunteers, patients and
visitors of PROJIMO:
These two poster boards with old pictures seemed to be all that Proyecto
PROJIMO had in 2006 as a memory of its early history in Ajoya, and they were in
very poor condition indeed when I found them on top of a stack of plywood.
Thousands have visited PROJIMO during its 25 years of existence. Most of
those people have taken pictures, creating memories.
It appears that the people of PROJIMO were too busy living their lives and
helping others in need to make such memories for themselves. It is only in
recent years, since the move of the project to Coyotitan, and with the
acquisition of modern technology (computers and digital cameras) that some
pictures have been saved on the project computers.
The way it came about:
I am married to Marielos, a former worker in the project. As we were packing
to move back to the USA, I asked her if there were any picture albums that
she would like to take with her. It turned out that she had none. She had
been in the project for almost 11 years, and she had no pictures of that
entire time to speak of.
When I started asking around, it turned out that it was pretty much the same
for everyone else in the project.
PROJIMO must be one of the most documented projects of its kind, but the
people whom those records are about, have (almost) none. Yet, whenever I
show pictures to any one in the project, they usually comment quite
enthusiastically.
At first my intention was just to find some pictures of Marielos.
When that didn't seem possible, I tried to find ANY pictures at all. When I
found out how little there was available within the project itself, the next
logical step was to start looking outside the project.
And from this process grew the idea of starting a picture archive of
PROJIMO's history.
Most of the current visitors and volunteers that I asked willingly provided
copies of their pictures.
I hope that former visitors will share just as willingly.
The purpose:
 | to collect all information possible (with emphasis on picture) about
PROJIMO |
| to compile and preserve a historical record of PROJIMO and its people. |
All information submitted will be made available to PROJIMO.
Nothing about us without us?
"PROJIMO" has not requested that I do this. The people in the project
have more pressing concerns than cataloguing pictures of the past. Not to
mention that an archive would just take up storage space that they need for
their supplies.
The idea for this is entirely mine. I did inform PROJIMO that I would like
to do this, and they agreed to cooperate if it isn't too much of a hassle to
them. I have been given permission to search the PROJIMO computers for
pictures, and they made their contact list available to me when I returned
to Coyotitan in October 2006.
Rigoberto supports the idea. Mari is rather indifferent about the whole
idea. It is not something she has ever considered doing, and the whole idea
is still new to her. Pictures as documentation of daily routine is not part
of the tradition. It is most definitely not a priority for her at this
moment in time. Although she did ask me about scanning an album of her own
family pictures...
This documentation may not have an immediate application, but can
nevertheless be useful at a later time for informational and promotional
purpose. David Werner's books only show a very limited aspect of PROJIMO.
Rather than the thought-process behind the rehab, this archive would
document the people in and around PROJIMO, and the changes within the
project over the years.
If you're wondering what I am going to do with that, check out the other
part of my website (Ave Maria pages).
Regardless whether the Ave Maria is a subject you care about, I hope you
will be able to appreciate the effort that went into this. Even more
important than the effort is the outcome: I made it all available to anyone
who might be interested.
It will be essentially the same with this PROJIMO archive project. I
doubt that it will be possible to display everything on a website, but there
are other ways of making things available nevertheless.
Suggestions and comments are invited. |
How can you help?
Did you ever visit Proyecto PROJIMO or
Proyecto Piaxtla?
Do you have any pictures of the project, people in the project or activities
by the project?
Please, share them with us! |
A. DIGITAL PICTURES / movies:
| Copy your pictures to a CD-ROM, write your name, email and other
contact information on the CD-ROM and mail the CD-ROM to me in a small box or
padded envelope at one of the addresses listed below.
|
| Provide as much as possible the original, unaltered files.
 | Digital camera picture files usually contain electronic information on
the camera type and the date the picture or movie was taken. That
information is lost when the picture file is altered.
J we
do hope that you had the camera date set correctly when you took those
pictures J
|
| Digital cameras name their pictures sequentially.
 | If the picture files have not been renamed, this will allow me
to sort the pictures in chronological order even if the camera date is not
correct or no longer available. |
|
| Even without this information, we will gladly accept any pictures you
are willing to share with us.
|
|
| Feel free to enclose any additional information, stories, and memories
about PROJIMO you care to share with us. |
B. PAPER PRINTS, negatives, slides:
If you could digitalize the pictures (scan into computer @ 300 dpi or
higher + save in jpg format on CD-ROM), that would be greatly appreciated. If
you do not have that possibility, or if the output of your scanner is not of
good quality, you are welcome to send the paper prints or even the film
negatives if they are still available.
Paper prints or negatives will be returned after digitalization only if you
specifically request so. However, I cannot make any guarantees about turn-around
time at this moment. If acceptable as a substitute, I could mail you a CD with
the digitalized pictures.
Please date the pictures as accurately as possible. Write the date and any
comments about the picture on the backside of the picture, without damaging the
picture itself.
| If you do go through the effort of digitalizing your paper print pictures
(or renaming digital pictures) and you do know the date they were taken,
please consider saving the pictures with a filename that begins with that
date. This system has the advantage that the computer can sort the pictures in
chronological order, even if they come from different sources.
The format I have been using is: "YYYYMMDD nnn comment.jpg" |
| Date in format YYYYMMDD without additional spaces, hyphens or other
divider characters, |
| space |
| nnn would be a sequential number for that specific date, |
| space |
| A short comment as to the content of the picture may also be included at
the end of the filename. |
C. Film and Video:
I can digitalize VHS video tape, but not any type of celluloid film.
You are welcome to submit such documentation, and I will do my best to preserve
it until I can eventually digitalize it.
Please be aware that magnetic video tends to fade after 10-15 years, due to
loss of the magnetization of the signal on the tape. This loss of signal can
happen much faster if the tapes are stored close to a source of strong
electromagnetic radiation, e.g. a television or a microwave.
If you do have older video tapes, please consider copying them every few years,
so the signal stays of good quality.
D. General request for all types of documentation:
|
|
| |
| Please, snail mail your documentation to the following address: |
Geert Cuypers
PROJIMO Archival Project
5675 Majestic View Rd SW
Deming, NM 88030
USA |
or scan and email them to me at the email listed below. |
|
| Email for questions and information about this project:
see below. |
|
| Please do not forget to provide YOUR contact information!
| Part of this effort is to compile an updated (and updatable) contact
list of former PROJIMO's visitors.
Your contact information will be forwarded to PROJIMO. |
| If you provide your email address, I shall confirm receipt of your
mailing. |
|
|
What more can you do?
Pass on the message!
Forward this page or a link to it to anyone you
might know that has visited PROJIMO.
If you use Internet Explorer, you can email this entire page by clicking
on the email button at the top of the browser window..
Thanks! |
| Disclaimer: |
When you submit your documentation to us, you acknowledge your agreement
that:
| This documentation will be used to compile a historic archive of
Proyecto PROJIMO, its people and its activities. |
| Proyecto PROJIMO will have access to all documentation and information
submitted. |
| Unless requested not to do so for specified reasons, all
submitted documentation will be brought into public domain. |
| It is the intention that all information will be stored in
digital format. Documentation submitted in a different format will be
digitalized to the extent possible. |
| In case this archival effort would lead to a publication, credit will
be given to the suppliers of the documentation if such credits are known
to us, but no financial compensation will be provided.
|
|
Site Map:
Follow this link for: a complete site map of this
PROJIMO WebSite
Page last modified:
April 04, 2013
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www.avemariasongs.org
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