Latin America and The Caribbean
AJWS supports bold activists and social change organizations building more just societies in six countries across Latin America and the Caribbean. These changemakers are protecting their communities’ ancestral territories in Mexico, rebuilding democracy in Haiti, standing up for reproductive justice in El Salvador—and much more.

How hand-stitched dolls are changing Black women’s lives in the Dominican Republic

Bitter Sugar: Exposing the Harms of Sugarcane Production – and Demanding Change
Burned fields. Depleted and poisoned waterways. Widespread renal failure. These are just some of the…

One barrio at a time, this AJWS grantee is transforming young people into community leaders in the Dominican Republic
“My neighborhood is known as the backyard — as in, the place where you throw…

Transformed by grief: A mother searches for Mexico’s disappeared
María Herrera did not expect to be quoted in international newspapers, meet with the Pope…

Putting Black Women and Girls at the Center: Flor Ángel’s Fight
Activism is in Flor Ángel’s DNA. The 28-year-old Dominican activist works with AJWS grantee Mujeres…

When Indigenous Activists Are Unjustly Jailed, Frayba Fights Back
For generations, Indigenous communities within Chiapas — the southernmost region of Mexico — have enjoyed…

The “Green Wave”: Feminists Fight for Abortion Rights in El Salvador and Beyond
Carmen Vásquez was nine months pregnant when she felt an extreme pain in her lower…

The Crisis in Haiti and the Source of Hope for a Peaceful, Democratic Future
Haiti is in crisis. After more than ten years of rule by a corrupt, violent,…

Activists Up Close: Meet Misael, a Water Defender in Mexico
Misael was born into a family of Indigenous farmers in Oaxaca, Mexico — his connection…

Medicine, Tents, Tarps and Seeds: How Activists Took Action to Save Lives After Haiti’s Earthquake
At 8:30 a.m. on August 14, 2021, a massive, 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck southern Haiti,…

A Year After Dual Disasters Hit Guatemala, Communities on the Road to Repair
In early November 2020, Hurricane Eta tore through Guatemala’s Caribbean coast and on to the north-central region of Ixcán,…

Inside AyiboPost: the necessity, and danger, of independent journalism in Haiti
The headlines in Haiti are bleak. After years of increasing political corruption under former President…

Meet the activists fighting to save Haitian democracy
*On July 7, 2021, President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in his home in Port-au-Prince. The…