By Children's Emergency Relief International (CERI) | National Staff in Mexico
The CERI team in Coatzacoalcos is dedicated to walking the streets of nearby colonias (impoverished neighborhoods) to deliver groceries to local families and identify unmet needs.
During one of our trips to the colonias, we met Alexander, a bright-eyed 6-year-old boy. At the corner of the “Niños Héroes" street, we spotted a house with piles of plastic bottles and old iron outside. We approached the home to investigate the living conditions there and saw the roof was made of sheet metal and the walls were merely cardboard.
Alex and his mother lived in the makeshift home. Alex’s father abandoned them, and his older brother left shortly thereafter. This made Alex start to act out. He became extremely aggressive and his behavior was troubling to his mother.
Alex’s mother supports Alex and his younger brother by gathering plastic bottles from the trash to recycle. We introduced the family to CERI, and explained how CERI could help Alex by meeting his physical, emotional and spiritual needs through the Child Relief and Support Program (CRSP).
Now, Alex is a healthy, happy child whose behavior has improved drastically. We help provide the family groceries each month, which makes Alex very happy. CERI also organizes Saturday school at his local church and Alex enjoys helping the CERI team at these events.
Our reward is seeing Alex’s bright smile!
ALBERTO GARCIA, CERI National Staff in Mexico
CERI’s Child Relief and Support Program (CRSP) in Latin America provides school-age children with basic necessities and educational games and activities.
By Gretchen Lange Baumgarten | Director of Development
By Gretchen Lange Baumgarten | Director of Development
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
