José Manuel Estrada Martínez, Facilitator

It’s my role to provide supplies, information and knowledge and to support the members of the brigade, which belongs to the community. Today I’m part of the brigade, I’m their teammate.

… A personal change for me has been the trust established thanks to interacting with people, and the experience I have gained through fieldwork. As for changes in the community, I would have to emphasise that it is the brigade that allows us to work with it; I have mainly noticed changes among them. Today, the brigadistas are more confident when visiting households; there were some flaws in the explanation of the life cycle that were corrected through practice… According to the brigadistas, the washtubs and containers in this neighbourhood’s households have fewer larvas than when the visits started. This is the change that they have noticed and that, to me, could be the most important, because it has given us a clear sign of improvement.

… The brigadistas’ work has been crucial in the process of achieving change. They have been the ones who worked hard to socialise information; they were visiting households and sharing information before I arrived and they have been searching for other communication strategies such as crafts, paintings, quilts, signs, pamphlets, etc. They are the ones who deserve the credit for these achievements. In some way, however, our participation has helped to accelerate the process.