Who we are
Ajijic Cares is a non-profit organization in Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico, focused on serving the entire Lakeside communities near Chapala and Ajijic. We function as a bridge between people and the resources and information that will improve and impact their sexual health.
Mission
Ajijic Cares strives to provide critical sexual education to people of all walks of life in our Lakeside community, as well as continuing our duty towards HIV/AIDS prevention.
We are committed to becoming a bridge that links the people of our community to the health professionals, institutions & resources to provide necessary services and resources for those who need them.
Our History
Ajijic CARES started as a local volunteer committee in March of 2014, to coordinate events for the commemoration of World AIDS Day. This was the first local recognition of the annual December 1st event, which was founded worldwide in 1988. The committee, headed by Bobby Lancaster and Dan Blackburn, defined two primary goals for Ajijic World AIDS Day. The day recalled the memory of those friends and loved ones of Lakeside residents who have died from AIDS and the event was a vehicle to provide information about the prevention of AIDS, which remains a major threat to the population.
This original group also hoped to encourage the development of yearly educational and support programs at Lakeside. These goals fit well into the name of this group. While “CARES” doesn’t translate well into Spanish, the word became an acronym that well represented our values: “Comunidad Aceptación Respeto Esperanza y Salud”
As Ajijic Cares grew, we began looking for support from the local HIV clinic and other organizations in Guadalajara that share our mission, as well as recruiting new team members to further our reach and work. Today Ajijic Cares is still working to become more impactful and expand our reach to all Lakeside communities.
We are committed to becoming a bridge that links the people of our community to the health professionals, institutions & resources to provide necessary services and resources for those who need them.
Our approach
We intend to provide accurate, timely, and life-saving information to our entire community. The unique demographics of our area – consisting of both foreign and local residents of all ages – guide our decisions about how and what information to publish.
In our approach, we will address both the Spanish and English-speaking residents of all ages and demographics to curate valuable external resources and information that will help to eradicate the spread of preventable diseases, reduce the shame and suffering associated with a lack of resources, and to provide accurate information about sexual health issues including HIV-AIDS.
All information provided is an aggregation of information provided by external agencies in our communities. Any information referring to ANY type of mental or medical health, medication or treatment should always be confirmed by a credentialed medical professional or agency of your choice.
It takes a village
The information provided within this site is accurate to the best of our ability and vetted by our on-staff Psychologist and team of passionate volunteers. We encourage your submissions via our website to inform us about changes to public or private resources, new resources which we have not yet discovered, or to provide a heads-up about needs you’ve seen in our community.