Food and basic needs for the poor.

There are many many children in Tijuana. Possibly half of the population at this point. It's hard to determine an actual population count due to several reasons: Unrecorded births at home, many foreign migrants who have flocked to Tijuana in attempt to enter the U.S, and many who have been deported from the U.S. Among all of these, are many families. Quite often, when one parent has been deported, the other may follow in order to keep their families together. However, this is not always the case. Therefore, many families are split apart by a 14 foot border wall. When the parents do stay together, and are deported with their children, these children may be actual U.S. citizens, having been born in the States.

Any one of these possibilities can be hard on someone, but it is especially hard on a child. We make great efforts to help keep an extra watchful eye on the children we serve, to ensure that they are safe and provided for. We want to give them a greater opportunity to succeed in life, and hopefully have a brighter future. The children often have greater faith, and are generally more positive about circumstances, however it may not take long for that light to grow dim if they are not encouraged.

We love having the kids help us distribute the food. They love to do it, and love being a part of doing something good. Our hope, is that it instills good values and integrity which will help them look beyond challenges and learn how to overcome them.

One thing we are committed to, is keeping children in schoool who want to be in school. We provide needed school supplies, shoes and clothes. One of our mission partners, also provides breakfast each morning before school for the children in the area, so that they are not disctracted by being hungry in school.

We have mentioned before, that the schools in Tijuana are very crowded. And although they already have 2 swing shifts a day (1 group of kids go from 8-2pm and a 2nd group will go 2-8pm), they still have the lottery system in place. Each shool year, a lottery is cast and niños who did not make the cut, are not invited back to public school. We currently sponsor a few kids to attend private school, so they do not become the common statistic. Forty percent never make it to high school, mostly due to the costs of books, uniforms and entry fees, even in public schools.

We appreciate your generous giving to help us help the children and future leaders of this third world nation. Together, we can make a difference one child at a time!

Thank you for reading our quartly updates. 

One of the privileges we have, in addition to collecting the food every day, we also get to deliver it to those who are in need of it. And being able to visit with them is an honor all the more. Along our route, are facilities who care for children, the elderly, the sick and those needing rehabilitation. Many of these places are far from town, or off the beaten path, and often forgotten by many who are busy in their day to day lives. Even I find myself, at times, so busy to fulfil the goal of providing nutritional food for the residents, that I forget that they love a few moments of my time as well. And once I do take that moment, I am quickly rewarded by the richness of so many lives and stories. I will share just a few with you here.

One dear lady, upon our arrival to the elderly home,  was so very upset because her friend & bed mate Rosa, was in great pain. While my partner Vicente prayed for her friend Rosa, I was glad to sit with her and cheer her up a bit with some flowers that had been donated earlier that morning. The real miracle, was the lifting of everyone’s spirit, when the power of prayer comforted Rosa. She was a completely different person when we left. Look at that smile in the photos! What do you think? 

Another stop along our way is another home for the sick and elderly. In this case, all of the residents are men. These men are taken good care of by a very special lady. Her story begins with being a recent widow, when she was first asked to consider taking care of these men in her home. The men had been displaced by a fire at their former residential home. The director of that home asked if she would consider taking a few men for just 3 days. She at first replied that she didn't think she could. But as she tells the story, she hung up the phone - walked a few steps and went back to the phone and called the director and agreed to take 15 men. Now, 5 years later, she still has those 15, plus 15 more! Her own story continued with having faced breast cancer, and given a negative prognosis. But she believed that her desire to care for these men gave her a will to live. She says God put that desire in her heart, and He has brought her through her circumstaces to the strong woman she is today. She is a survivor. We are all the greater for knowing her! 

One of the things we love to do is take volunteer teams around Tijuana with us. Of course their help is invaluable, but equally important, is facilitating someone's gift in compassion toward those who are in need of such a gift. The team sits, visits and prays with our friends, and hopefully take them home in their hearts! Perhaps you may like to come and make a new friend.

Thank you, Global Giving partners, for helpng us launch and sustain this project. It does take a team!