456 chapter 48
To give another idea of what can be done through popular theater, we will show you
photos from 2 theater skits organized by Project PROJIMO, the villager-run rehabilitation
program based in Ajoya, Mexico.
In order to increase community involvement in PROJIMO and to help local people
understand its activities better, the program uses popular theater. The skits were put
on soon after the school children had helped build the rehabilitation playground. They
tell the story of how PROJIMO began and how the playground was built and is used.
The actors are local school children, disabled workers of PROJIMO, and village health
workers from neighboring villages who were in town for a refresher course. The health
workers’ participation in the skits gave them experience working with disabled persons,
and also gave them ideas for simple rehabilitation activities and aids in their own
villages.
— the story of how Project PROJIMO got
started and how village school children built
a playground for disabled and non-disabled
children.
A disabled young man (played by Marcelo,
see p. 76) arrives at Ajoya and asks directions
to the village health center (Project Piaxtla).
The health workers examine him, find he
is disabled by polio and think he may need
braces. But they lack the knowledge about
what to do for him. So they send him away
without helping him.
Disabled village Children