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Special Initiatives

The Martín-Baró Initiative

An introduction

Grassroots International recognizes the deep wounds wrought by colonialism, militarism, and other systems of oppression. And we believe in the power of social movements to work towards healing these wounds, developing resources through which those directly affected can re-story their lives as they create transformative change and achieve liberation.

We are therefore honored to host the Martín-Baró Initiative for Wellbeing and Human Rights (MBI). Working closely with a group of volunteers – including psychologists, researchers, teachers, students, and activists – MBI provides grants to grassroots efforts in communities affected by institutional violence, repression, and social injustice. These projects promote psychological wellbeing, social consciousness, political resistance, and social justice – often drawing from ancestral knowledge and practices.

Más información sobre las últimas iniciativas beneficiarias de la MBI

About Ignacio Martín-Baró

Ignacio Martín-Baró was a social psychologist, scholar, activist, and Jesuit priest renowned for his cutting-edge work around liberation psychology. He was one of six Jesuits who, along with their housekeeper and her daughter, were murdered by the Salvadoran military in 1989 at the Central American University in San Salvador. At the time of his death, he was the Vice-Rector of the University and the Director of the University’s Center for Public Opinion.

Read more about Ignacio Seeking justice through the legal system

Current Grantees

Mesoamerica

Colectiva Actores de Cambio, Guatemala

Colectiva Actores de Cambio (the Actors of Change Collective) was founded in Guatemala in 2009. It promotes healing and justice for Maya and mestizo women who are survivors of sexual crimes and gendered racialized violence committed during the Guatemalan civil war and beyond. MBI is supporting the Collective’s Healing Action for the Recovery of Power and Life to Build Territories Free of Sexual Violence. This project is a continuation of action-healing-training processes that the Collective has been developing since 2009.

Explore our relevant resources

Donate today to support the Martín-Baró Initiative

Click below to donate online or send checks to Grassroots International, with Martín-Baró Initiative (or MBI) in the memo line and send to: Grassroots International, 179 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02130.

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