Our Pilates instructor donates all her Saturday fees to buy food for the children. Many of the women from the class go out and do various jobs:cook meals, bathe the children, work in the sewing room, create and monitor the community garden etc.
the mural on the end of the housing building was dedicated
one of the two classrooms, what an improvement from two years ago
women are taught how to sew in this room , however, there is not much time for this as the women work in the fields all day and have so much to do when they get back here
all ages work cooperatively in food prep
how can the whites be so white?
16 families live in this motel style structure,paint needed so Dave is set to start the job on Friday.
children lined up waiting to sing
Dr Rosa has flowers for one of the key volunteers
community garden created by filling in the swamp with mega loads of fill, then topsoil. Banana trees well underway and bean and squash starting to take off
very proud of the laundry tubs
clinic to the left
a visitor just came and helped himself to a tortilla. Nothing was said but when he left, there sure were a lot of giggles
rather young to be by the big clay ovens
For videos on this wonderful project, check it out on youtube. when you get to the youtube site, search " feeding 100 Indigenous Children at the School in Pinal Villa.
From the information sheet shared at the Open House: nearly everything else from volunteers to donations to the Christmas party
In the hamlet of Pinal Villa, inland from Melaque, Mexico is the "albergue" of the Asistencia a la familia" non-profit organization. "Alberque" translates to English as "hostel", but in this case the translation is not particularly accurate. The alberque is actually a collection of buildings that serves as residences, a school and a medical clnic for the indigenous Mexicans. a number of families reside there in the winter months, having migrated from the southern states of Guerrero and Oaxaca. They come to pick crops in the fields around \Melaque. Heretofore they would have actually lived in the fields, usually under tarpaulin shelters. The children of these families were expected to join their parents in picking crops, helping the family to earn a meager income.
School for these children was out of the question, both because they were expected to work full -time, and because they would not be admitted to local schools as they did not have birth certificates ( such certificates being prohibitively expensive). Without doubt these children would have barely enough to eat, let alone anything like a nutritious diet.
The alberque was constructed in 2008/2009. It has since served to house up to 16 families plus to provide basic medical care for residents and rudimentary schooling for the children.
There was no provision for operating expenses. In recent years, the children have still worked in the fields. But on return to the albergue at the end of each weekday, they have three or four hours of schooling and then a meal prepared by a cook and volunteers. Numbers vary through the season as families come and go, but these services are provided to some 30 to 50 children. Food is purchased by volunteers and paid for largely by donations from foreigners and ex pats. Donations of clothing and drugs for the medical clinic also come mostly from foreigners.
The charity was registered in 2010 and has a board of five local Mexican. One board member, Dr Rosa, who practices medicine in Melaque is very much the prime mover of this organization. She not only treats all residents at the medical clinic free of charge but she also organizes nearly everything else, from volunteers to donations to the Christmas party.
At the beginning of each season, Dr Rosa has the head of each resident family sign a contract stipulating the conditions whereby that family has the right to use one of the tiny apartments (maybe 100 square feet). These include that they will keep their residence and surrounding area clean and that there will be no alcohol or violence on the grounds. In addition, the children are required to attend school after their work day ( the children are keen to attend , but the parents need to be convinced.
Over the last winter season, Dr Rosa has attempted to insist that the children not work at all in the fields and attend school during the day. But this strategy was not successful as only a handful of children showed up. For the present season, she has recognized that schooling after the children return from the fields is the only viable option, at least for now.
for sure, this arrangement is much better than when they were living full time in the fields, where the children were worked quite hard, exposed to dangerous agricultural chemicals, and exposed to farm animals and filth that rendered many quite sick.
In the early years, teachers and cooks were volunteers. With the growing support from the community, two teachers and a cook are now paid from donations by the church and community groups. Food for the evening meals, plus equipment and supplies for the school and medical clinic, as well as repairs to infrastructure , is funded by donations.
And there is always a need for donations. All contributions go to providing supplies and ser.vices
There are no administrative costs.
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