Background of the Centro de Atención Familiar (CAF):
CAF is an institution of the Methodist Church in Chile.
CAF works with people and families in Alto Hospicio, largely those who are living in poverty, offering them psychological, social, legal and spiritual support. This is done through individual interviews (either in the office or in people’s homes), workshops and, where necessary, referrals to other specialist centres.
Although CAF is open to all, the centre has developed a particular expertise and reputation in the field of domestic abuse. The majority of the people who come to the project are women who tend to be either single parents or at least in charge of the home (“bosses of the home”, as it is put in Spanish!), with an average of 2-4 small children. Alto Hospicio has the highest incidence of domestic abuse in the north of Chile.
CAF’s experience enables it to publicise and promote action against domestic violence through, for example, radio advertisements, and a highly successful joint Methodist/Catholic liturgy (ground-breaking in itself in Alto Hospicio) to mark the International Day of “No violence against women” on 25 November 2006.
Please click this link to read the December 2007 CAF newsletter.
(You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed to view and read the newsletter file. If you don't have this program already, you can download it using the "Get Adobe Reader" link immediately below.)
The staff team:
Carolina Cortes - Psychologist
Chris Esdaile - Director/Lawyer (Methodist Mission Partner from UK)
Leticia Gonzalez - Social worker
Cecelia Labarca - Workshops facilitator
(position vacant) - Receptionist/Administrator
(position vacant) - Volunteer family counselor
http://cafaltohospicio.blogspot.com (In Spanish)
EMANA
Psje. Juan Portal # 1315
Iquique, Chile
