Partnership Profile Spotlight on...
Maricopa County Community College District
and Texas Southern University

Maricopa County Community College District/Universidad Veracruzana (Mexico)
Other Partners: Arizona Small Business Association, Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, Industry Chambers in Xalapa, Veracruz, Veracruz State Entrepreneur Association, Regional operations of IMSS and ISSS, Universidad Veracruzana Hospital School
Grant Amount: $100,000
Matching Contributions: $116,340
Strategic Objective: Addressing critical health care issues; impacting environmental sustainability by working with small businesses

In Veracruz, most of the businesses are small and in poor economic condition; the high incidence of AIDS, poverty, poor nutrition, and lack of sanitation and mobility make the economic situation worse. Maricopa Community College (MCC) and Universidad Veracruzana in Mexico (UV) are addressing these problems by strengthening AIDS and HIV prevention in rural communities, developing public health degree programs and supporting small businesses.

With a grant from the Association Liaison Office for University Cooperation for Development (ALO) through a cooperative agreement with USAID, the partners seek to establish a center for small businesses to help deal with these issues. They also plan to expand the public health services of the University Brigades, a program that brings dental services, nutrition and first aid training to rural communities. The partners want to strengthen the local economy by increasing small business productivity and creating a healthier workforce.

During the first phase of the partnership, participants will meet with the faculty of the University Brigade's community health education program to devise ways to increase the scope of the program. Three UV staff will visit MCC to review a diabetes prevention program. The partners will also develop an educational presentation and discussion for the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, hygiene and sanitation, nutrition, first aid and other community health issues. These materials will be distributed to 20 of the 46 communities in Veracruz each year. During the next phase of the partnership, the UV project director will visit Phoenix to study small business planning, micro finance, marketing, environmental compliance training and consulting. The MCC Small Business Development Center director will travel to Mexico and assist UV staff with training and marketing.

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Texas Southern University/Eastern Cape Technikon (South Africa)
Other Partners: Third World Community Development Corp., Lone Star, Inc., Planeregy
Grant Amount: $100,000
Matching Contributions: $50,000
Strategic Objective: Capacity building through education and training

The rural population of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa has a high rate of both poverty and unemployment. Texas Southern University (TSU) and Eastern Cape Technikon (ECT) are addressing this problem by designing a series of business workshops for members of this community to promote economic growth and development.

With a grant from the Association Liaison Office for University Cooperation in Development (ALO) under a cooperative agreement with USAID, the partners will hold a series of community workshops on basic business and entrepreneurial skills for workers with limited formal education who are employed in the formal sector. Participants will either start small businesses or establish NGO's to train others after the project is completed. The partners will develop workshops in basic bookkeeping skills, tax law and requirements for informal sector workers, the installation and maintenance of photoelectronic devices, and clothing design and manufacturing. The workshops will begin with an extended presentation by faculty members. Faculty members and business students will continue the project with one meeting a week at ECT. Students will receive a certificate of participation at the end of the sessions with evaluation sessions following the workshops.

Watch for new developments on these stories and others on our Web page, http://www.aascu.org./alo.