When five Mexican-American women formed Mujeres en Progreso (Women Moving Forward) in 1997, they had a vision of providing safe child care for farmworker families in Columbus, N.M. With grit and determination, what started as in-home babysitting back then has today evolved into a full-fledged child care center, offering a fun, safe, educational environment. It hasn't been an easy road. Only one of the five employees speaks English, and none of the women anticipated how much they would need to know about child development to operate a school-like center. But their perseverance is paying off. All have taken more than twice the required hours of child care training mandated by the state. And after moving to a new building in Fall 2002, the Columbus Child Development Center's enrollment grew to 17 students, well on the way to the maximum of 32. Now the women, and their parent organization, the Colonias Development Council, have a new vision: creating up to three new child care centers in Southern New Mexico over the next five years.

Children at the Columbus Child Development Center benefit from a safe environment. Ken Touchton

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success stories...   • Beacons and Bridges • Family Farm Defenders • HELP – Helping Empower Local People • Columbus Child Development Center • Preble Street Resource Center • Baáhpuuo Ashtáahile (Pryor Tepee Project) • CAMINOS / Pathways Learning Center • Elm City Congregations Organized (ECCO) • The Interchurch Coalition for Action, Reconciliation and Empowerment (ICARE) • Delmarva Community Alliance • NW Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition • Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy • Blocks Together • Neighborhood Development Center • Mountain Watershed Association Empowerment Project • Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice: The RIVER Team • Massachusetts Senior Action Council