What are Taskforces?

Metro Justice Taskforces are groups that have been approved by council and address issues that concern our membership and the community.  These groups are different than our campaign committees because they work entirely independently of Metro Justice and have their own budget.  Each Taskforce also can appoint a person who can sit on the council as a representative that speaks on behalf of their organization.  

Who are Taskforces?

Ciudad Hermana

The mission of the Ciudad Hermana Task Force (Hermanamiento Rochester – El Sauce) is to support the people of El Sauce, Nicaragua by means of political solidarity and humanitarian assistance. Our relationship began in the 1980s after the triumph of the revolution in Nicaragua while the US-backed Contra War was being waged against the people of Nicaragua.

Our support efforts include a revolving loan fund (microcredit program), which enables rural women to work toward self-sufficiency by providing loans to buy cows and chickens and urban women to start or expand small businesses. We have a scholarship program that assists 125 elementary school students. We initiated a project that sends fourth year medical students from the University of Rochester medical school to do a one month rotation in the rural single-payer health care system in El Sauce. We participate in projects to bring clean water to rural areas and urban neighborhoods.  There are many spin off projects in different areas that are the result of our long-term relationship we have with El Sauce.

Ciudad Hermana task force meetings are generally held every month or two. For more details on meeting times and locations, getting involved, or making a tax-deductible donation, please contact Michael Argaman at [email protected].

Rochester Committee on Latin America (ROCLA)

Education, action and support are at the heart of ROCLA. We provide information on Latin America that is not presented in the mainstream media. We participate in the Pastors for Peace Caravan, which brings medical supplies, athletic equipment and school items to Cuba. We support Latin American political prisoners and speak out against human rights abuses. We support several groups working in Latin America, as well as groups helping to build a movement to change US policy toward Latin America. Our general meeting is on the first Wednesday of every month at 7:00pm at the Downtown Presbyterian Church at 121 North Fitzhugh St. For more information or to get involved, contact Bob Kaiser at 293-3194. To subscribe to our new E-Alert Update on the Americas, go to our “contact page” at our website.

Peace Action & Education

PA&E was established to continue coordinating Rochester’s peace and anti-war work. Our mission is coalition building with local and national peace groups, education, and strategic campaigns and initiatives. We are an affiliate of the national organization Peace Action and a founding member of the Rochester Against War (RAW) coalition, which is actively opposing military recruitment in local schools and colleges and providing support to war resisters, military families and veterans. We have organized numerous rallies and marches, and we have coordinated several bus caravans from Rochester to Washington, DC and New York City in solidarity with national calls to action. For more information or to get involved, contact Doug Noble at 442-3383 or at [email protected].