CIET International
New York, NY
El Puente
Brooklyn, NY

Brooklyn Questions It's Environment

CIET International is a non-profit organization of health and community development professionals that assist communities in identifying and developing solutions to local health problems. Their New York chapter's work revolves chiefly around an exciting collaborative project with El Puente , a youth organization in Williamsburg, Brooklyn which, in addition to offering programs in health, arts and culture, employment, and athletics, is the founder of the El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice, a public secondary school and one of New York City's "New Vision Schools." CIET has been working with the Academy in developing a science curriculum that engages students in putting science to work on environmental problems that affect their own lives. The program, called "Brooklyn Questions its Environment" (BQE), teaches students research and analytical skills which enable them to perform community-based health surveys and to use the results as advocacy tools to affect public policy

NCF has been proud to support this project which ties together several of our program interests: transportation and its impact on inner city neighborhoods, inner-city environmental education, multiculturalism, and campus activities. Our support in 1997 and 1998 will help CIET to build on the successes of the student program and work to educate and mobilize the North Brooklyn community at-large.