The goal of the Casa Isabel program is to help young women expand their ability to dream, draw on their inner strength and learned life lessons that will help them assist in the transformation of their local communities and country, while assisting them to continue their education.  These goals are reached though three program aspects; access to education, personal and spiritual development courses and community service.   Most young people see education as the road that will carry them away from poverty to financial security, and education has been shown to be an effective tool for development. Students are provided access to levels of education though scholarships room and board.  The personal and spiritual development curriculum includes weekly spiritual development courses that include faith based studies and Servant Leadership training and weekly personal development courses that focus on developing a clear sense of self, developing habits that lead to personal growth and developing a strong value system.   Younger students participate in musical or craft workshops. Students also participate in their own local faith community with assistance at Sunday services with the goal of deeper understanding of their community while increasing their faith.Casa Isabel does not promote one faith or relegious belief but encourages the students to participate in the faith in which they have been raised.  In order to empower them in the area of accomplishing change in their communities the students are also required to participate in community service projects. These projects can be ongoing pre-developed projects already in existence in the community or short term projects developed by the students. Yearly the service projects have reached about 200 community members with an average of 30 hours served; these projects have included summer tutoring for primary school students, craft workshops for special needs children, craft workshops for adults, outreach to senior citizens and outreach for people with addictions.

The CDC has two programs, Casa Isabel is located in Espinal which serves girls in primary, middle, and high school ages 12 to 18. The ome has a full time live in director. It is set up as a family like environment where the interns participate in all household activities including household chores, meal planning and preparation, and care for the grounds. Theprogram is led by a local board of community members this board works in conjunction with Center for Sharing.  Casa Angeles the second program is located in the town of Juchitan which houses adult women attending high school and university.

Population Served

Oaxaca is located on the southern coast of Mexico. It is the fifth-largest state with an area of 95,364 square kilometers (36,820 square miles), which is a little larger than the US state of Indiana. Oaxaca is bordered on the north by the Mexican states of Puebla and Vera Cruz; on the east by the Mexican state of Chiapas; on the south by the Pacific Ocean; and on the west by the Mexican state of Guerrero. Oaxaca is divided into 570 municipalities. Its capital is Oaxaca de Juarez. Juchitan is the fourth largest city in the state of Oaxaca.  It is a regional city where young indigenous women from outlying areas come to go to school.  These young women have to leave their communities to complete middle school, high school or university. They do not have resources to continue their education because they need room, board and tuition in the larger towns. Without a dream for the future or resources, these young women assume responsibilities in the home from a young age (7 years at the latest). They become involved in domestic chores such as caring for their siblings and the yard animals. From 15 years, young women are considered suited for marriage 39% marry when they are 15 to 19 years-old. With help from CDC, the future for these young women is changing.Centro de Compartimiento serves the community in Oaxaca in two manners first with its intern program and secondly with its community service.  The intern programs; Casa Isabel and Casa Angeles, serve young women between the ages of 12 and 23 years from low income families from Oaxaca and neighboring states who are interested in personal, spiritual and academic growth.  The community service projects serve the general population of the towns of Juchitan and Espinal and their outlying areas.