Alliance programs include the now widely known "Village Tour" which is an annual event of several months duration in which Alliance staff, Radio Ritmo personnel, and other volunteers visit many of the more remote and poorest of the villages in Cayo giving educational programs on basic nutrition, sanitation and waste disposal, disease control, environmental protection and community building. Medical professionals are brought to the villages to conduct routine physical exams, dispense medications, and recommend additional treatment in appropriate cases. Program goals include teaching the villagers the importance of developing a sense of community and shared responsibility, and the importance of doing those things which will make their village a healthier and more productive environment. Program instructors believe, and teach, that the long term solution to many of the problems the villagers face today lies in the willingness and the ability of the people to take responsibility for the direction of their own lives. Techniques include many repeat visits, hands on participation with the villagers in these efforts, and the reinforcement of these messages with ongoing programming over Radio Ritmo. This program, now in its fifth year of operation, continues to demonstrate its importance by making visible positive changes in the lives of the people it serves. [Village Tour 2000 Pictures]

     Another Alliance program, and one which is closely related to the Village Tour, is the "Village Tour Educational Fund". This is a scholarship project assisting needy young people from the villages in attending high school. Much of the money raised so far has come from the United States where there is an annual scholarship fund drive.

     "Count Me In"is another annual program in which Alliance and Radio Ritmo personnel and other volunteers work with disabled persons and their families to increase family and community awareness of the special needs and the special potential of persons with physical or other disabilities. Unfortunately, one of the realities of life as a disabled person is the very real possibility that you can not leave the residence of your family, which, of course, makes communication more difficult and the continued participation of the radio even more important. This program has been successful in creating social and work opportunities for many of these talented people and one of the program goals is to obtain wheelchairs and other badly needed equipment from similar organizations in the United States.

     The "Save Our Rivers"campaign is yet another annual event in which educational efforts and actual "hands on" work with the villagers are combined to clean up local rivers and streams by removing garbage, hazardous wastes, and other contaminants. The thrust of this effort is not just to improve the esthetics of the villages, but to demonstrate the importance of our ability to make real improvement in the quality of our lives by collective action.

The Trustees are considering other important initiatives all of which center around the development of sustainable self governing communities, but the time table for these programs will depend on the availability of funding. These programs can not be launched until sufficient multi-year funding is assured.