Welcome to the “Boletin Informativo” of FUNDACION AYUDA NIÑOS LA PAZ, A.C.

This newsletter has three aims: to let you know what has happened in our past 10 years of working with the children of La Paz, to keep you current on projects in the works, and to let you know what is coming up in the next few months.  This is the second edition – the first was published in May 2007.  Your comments and suggestions will be welcome.

SUBASTA (AUCTION) – December 2, 2007

“La Subasta,” as the big fundraiser for Club Cruceros La Paz is known, originated before the legal formation of Club Cruceros.  It started with donations from the sailing fleet in La Paz, of items which were auctioned out of the back of a pick-up truck in the parking lot of Marina de La Paz. 

Below a picture from the first “Subasta” in 1988.

After the foundation of Club Cruceros, the Club joined with the Pentathlon, a youth organization, which identified marginalized neighborhoods where blankets, sweaters, food baskets and toys bought with money raised at the auction were distributed. 

For a few years the Club worked in conjunction with the Junior Chamber of Commerce, which distributes gifts on Christmas Day.

In 1999 the Club began to support FANLAP’s breakfast and lunch programs. 

Funds from Subasta are also used to purchase Christmas gifts for the children who attend the meal programs, and for at least another 100 kids who show up the day that gifts are distributed.

This year, Subasta is December 2.  Contact Club Cruceros for more information.

(NOTE:  This year 11,000 USD was collected at this event; most of the funds will be used to support the lunch program where 150 children are given a hot lunch 5 days a week through the school year.

We thank everyone for their donations and their hard work in helping make this a success.)

Evelia

It was one of those serendipitous encounters.  In the spring of 2004, Pete and Judy Peterson were walking along the Malecon (waterfront) in La Paz, and were approached by two young girls, seniors in high school whose English teacher had assigned them the task of interviewing some English speaking people.  Although they were shy about approaching strangers (aren’t we all taught as children not to talk to strangers?) they did.

Pete and Judy answered the usual first-year language student questions: “What is your name?  Where are you from?  Do you like La Paz?  What is your favorite food?”  Pete and Judy in return asked their questions. 

One of the girls, Evelia, was one of four children in a family originally from Oaxaca, whose parents had come to La Paz to look for work.  They are seasonal day-laborers in the fields.  Evelia attended school, but also was responsible for her siblings.  She dreamt of being a school teacher. 

When she heard of the Foundation’s scholarship program, she asked if she could be included.  Because she did not live in the area of town we concentrate on, we asked her to fill out an application and we would look for a sponsor.

Through the International Community Foundation we found a donor who would help Evelia; she entered the Escuela Normal, or Teacher’s College of La Paz the next fall. 

School year 2007/2008 is her fourth year in a five year program.  She has continually maintained grades 9 and above, out of a possible 10.

It is very difficult for students like Evelia to get the education they deserve.  Her hard work and determination are keys to her reaching her goal, and she is grateful for the financial help which made it possible.  And Pete and Judy are thankful that they happened to pick that particular evening to walk along the Malecon in La Paz.  ###

THE COOKS AT THE COMEDOR

HELP CELEBRATE BAY FEST

Every school day, ten mothers and grandmothers from Colonia Laguna Azul, converge on the “Comedor” dining room in Colonia Laguna Azul.  At 8:00 a.m. they meet Pete, who delivers the food to be used in the day’s hot lunch, and hand over the shopping list for the next day.  They put the rice and beans on the burners to start cooking, and begin to chop vegetables for the entrée, which is always some form of protein; eggs, chicken, fish or beef. On any one day 150 children and a handful of senior citizens come to the counter to receive their lunch tray.

To earn some income, some of the women work on embroidery pieces while the food cooks.  Their bags and coin purses are sold at The Weaver’s on Abasolo Street or in the Centro de Artesanias on the Malecon in the center of La Paz. 

Bay Fest is an end-of-season party held on the beach in La Paz just before the cruisers head off for the summer.  Judy asked Lupita and Brenda, the head cooks, if the group would like to prepare a lunch for one of the days of Bay Fest in April 2007. “Como no!” she replied.  Together we planned a menu we thought would please the American palate:  rice, refried beans, green salad, tortillas, and “picadillo” a dish so called because before the advent of ground beef, it was made with very finely chopped beef and other ingredients.  Today it is made with hamburger, potatoes, and vegetables.  (Recipe follows.)  Bay Fest organizer Helen asked that we prepare for thirty people; the cooks prepared for at least fifty.

The day came; we drove three of the cooks with the food hot off the fire to the beach in front of the Racing Club.  We arrived early, but the cooks set up and immediately started serving.  In two hours, seventy-two meals had been served, the pots were empty, and the cooks had been asked to return the next year.

The participants in Bay Fest were pleased to meet these women and to sample one of the typical meals served to the children of the Colonia.  The cooks they were thrilled to be able to earn some money for something they do voluntarily five days a week during the school year.  (Their only recompense is lunch for themselves, their children, and their husbands).

They are truly the backbone of the lunch program and of their neighborhood.  ###

PICADILLO:

Boil 200 grams chile quajillo; drain and grind.  Sauté I kilo ground beef, half an onion, 2 cloves of garlic.  Toss in 200 grams each zucchini, potatoes, chayote (a Mexican squash-like vegetable), carrots.  Add chile quajillo and chile arbol to taste, bay leaf, oregano and clove (optional).  Add one can corn kernels.  Cook until veggies are soft.  Throw in the chopped cilantro and turn off the burner.  Enjoy with tortillas and ranch-style beans.

Summer Workshop

After completion of the dining room/multi-use building, the City of La Paz Department of Culture, in conjunction with DIF (the family development organization) has had a summer workshop for the children of the nearby neighborhoods.  Because of space limitations the workshop has been limited to 30 children.

For three weeks in July of 2007 children were taught songs, dances, various crafts.  Several children made puppets and put on a puppet show for the audience at the closing of the workshop.    ### 

Coming Attraction:

In January 2008, Dr. Raymond Dennis and a team of ophthalmologists will return to La Paz to examine children’s eyes.  In 2006, they examined 800 kids in one week.  They hope to double that number in January.

Bags, aprons, glasses cases hand-embroidered in Colonia Laguna Azul make great gifts and provide income for the women.

TRIP TO THE BEACH FOR THE ENGLISH CLASS STUDENTS

Terry Henchy, a supporter of FANLAP, felt it was important for some of our scholarship students to learn English.  While they do have English as a requirement at school, many of the teachers do not know how to pronounce correctly, and the students are timid about speaking English. Don’t most newcomers feel the same about using their newly acquired Spanish?  We located a teacher who teaches English at two junior and senior high schools in La Paz.  Terry agreed to cover the cost.

At the end of the school year (June 2007) Terry offered a reward to these hard-working students.  He took them on his 53-foot powerboat to Playa Balandra, about an hour’s run from town to spend the day.

The day before beach-day we went shopping with Terry for groceries, helping him choose food that would please the Mexican adolescent appetite.  We bought “Sabritas” (a potato chip brand as generic as Kleenex has become) and galletas dulces (cookies) as well as fruit and the makings of ham and cheese sandwiches, and the ubiquitous can of chiles Jalapeños for those who don’t like bland.

Taxi driver Don Chema  and Pete and Judy Peterson picked the students up next morning; the kids had been told to be ready at 8:30 and everyone was there, including the chaperone mom, with swimsuits in hand, well before that.

We were on the boat before 9:00, half-an-hour before the time Terry had set as a deadline.

These kids were definitely motivated by the day ahead of them.

Before leaving the dock they were briefed on the most important maritime matters: where the lifejackets were and how to put them on; how to use the “head”; and where to sit while the boat was underway.

It was a beautiful day, the bay smooth, the sky and water the beautiful blue you only find in the bay of La Paz.  Everyone settled down with one adult in each area.  Some were on the top deck with the captain, Jorge; one was on the stern, and one, Judy, was on the forward deck, getting sunburned, but enjoying the stories and gossip of the four girls who were her charge for this portion of the trip.  She was not surprised to learn that all four have relatives who live in the United States. 

We anchored in Balandra, sharing the bay with only two other boats.  However, they could see many, many cars in the parking lot, and the inner beaches were full of people.  Jorge and Terry quickly dropped the lancha and four girls and the mom, Lupita, were on their way to a small secluded beach only reachable by boat or by swimming.  After two more trips, all were basking under three beach umbrellas, with an ice chest full of soft drinks and ice at our side.  “Que tranquilo, que bonito!” 

The students horsed round for several hours, in and out of the water, while Lupita and Judy played lifeguards.  Jorge and Terry took turns ferrying them four at a time on a tour of the in the lancha.  That was the highlight of their day.

After lunch under the umbrella, there were more hours of fun in the sun. But then it got too hot even for these kids and they all returned to the boat to take it easy for a while before returning to town.  But since when to adolescents take it easy if there is something better to do?

They began jumping into the water off the swim platform, hanging on to one of the dock lines dangled in the water for this purpose.  One of the girls, who had been afraid to ride in the boat, afraid to ride in the lancha afraid to swim, turned out to be the bravest at jumping in the water off the swim platform.  Of course, she did have a life jacket on to give her confidence.

        A wonderful time was had by all.  We thank Terry for giving these students the opportunity to enjoy a day at the beach, something very out of the ordinary in their lives. But then, these are not ordinary kids (if there is any such creature).  We thank him even more for paying for English lessons, and for everything else he does for “our kids.”

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“REDONDEO” AT CCC

If you are a resident of La Paz (or Cabo San Lucas) and shop at the supermarket “Centro Comercial Californiano” you may be asked by the cashier when paying for your groceries if you would like to “donar los centavos” (donate your centavos). 

FANLAP is one of a number of organizations benefited by this civically responsible company which collects the change donated and divides it between  the organizations selected for that quarter of the year.  Although the individual donations may be only a few pennies, they mount up. 

The last time FANLAP was one of the recipients of this program it received a check for over 100,000 pesos (close to $10,000 dollars), which was enough to maintain our lunch program for almost a year.  When you are asked if you want to “donar los centavos”, please say “Si, a la Fundación de los niños”.

Apart from the “redondeo” program, CCC also gives one point for each 50 pesos spent in their stores.  If you wish to donate these points to FANLAP, pick up a “points card” at Marina de la Paz; if you already have your own card, ask one of the supervisors to transfer your points to FANLAP (#7).  These points also accumulate, and the Foundation has received up to 200 USD a month worth of purchases from this source.  ###

Public Library

Since the dining room/multi-use building was completed in September of 2003, we wanted to have a room with computers and reference books so the students may have a place to study and do their homework.  In June of 2005, Club Rotario Balandra walled off a room in the dining room where a small library was installed.

We discussed the possibilities with the Rotary Club, the City of La Paz System of Libraries and the National System of Libraries.  After having received title to the property we’re preparing to further our plans to build a floor over the present building to house a public library complete with computers and the Internet.

At the present time the estimate of costs is being revised, and we hope to have the document in our hands very soon.

SCHOLARSHIPS 2007/2008

The beginnings of FANLAP´s scholarship “program” was not a program.  The first year Club Cruceros Club Cruceros de La Paz (a loose organization of foreign cruisers in La Paz) donated funds to provide two needy students with school supplies, backpacks, uniforms, shoes, tennis shoes and gym clothes so they could attend junior high school.  Three other students received the same benefits from private donors.  Since that time a true “program” has grown immensely.

At the opening of the school year in August 2007, 270 students received uniforms, shoes, backpacks and school supplies; most of them also received money for transportation to and from school, and  senior high school and college students also received money for their tuition. 

Eighty five students are graduates of Diana Laura primary school in Colonia Loma Obrera.  These students are part of a joint project with Club Rotario Todos Santos/Bahia de La Paz (CRTS) and FANLAP.  Funds for these students come from Rotary Foundation, which matches funds from Coos Bay/North Bend Rotary Club and CRTS. 

The other one hundred and eighty five students are from the colonias  Márquez de Leon, Laguna Azul, Villas de Guadalupe, and Vista Hermosa in the northeast quadrant of La Paz.  One hundred and ten students attend junior high school, 65 attend senior high, and 10 are college students.  Money for these students comes from donations by people (like you!), many through International Community Foundation in San Diego.  Trinity Lutheran Church in Vancouver, WA, and St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Sacramento, CA, hold campaigns during the year to support this program.  Many individual donors sponsor certain students.  We also receive a large grant from Reinhart Family Foundation through International Community Foundation which funds those not covered by any other source.

Two government agencies (SAMM, which help abused women and children) and the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) pay tuition for some students with special needs.  FANLAP gives some of these students uniforms, shoes, and/or school supplies.

As their part in helping their community, some local businesses give FANLAP discounted prices on items needed by the students.  School supplies come from Baja Escolar on Reforma and Altamirano; uniforms from El Uniforme on Isabel la Católica and Márquez de Leon; and backpacks and tennis shoes from Baja Star, on Bravo and Revolución .

At the opening of the school year in August 2007, 270 students received uniforms, shoes, backpacks and school supplies; most of them also received money for transportation to and from school, and senior and junior high school and college students also received money for their tuition. 

Please Help Continue These Programs

These programs are sustained by people like you.  Here are three ways to make donations:

Via the Internet, visit: http://donate.icf-xchange.org/donate.php/losninosdelapaz

You may leave cash or a check written on a Mexican bank at the office of Marina de La Paz,  or mail it to:

FANLAP at Calle Santiago 320, Colonia Bella Vista, La Paz, BCS., 23050

Mail a check drawn on a U.S. bank to: International Community Foundation, 11300 Sorrento Valley Rd., Suite 115, San Diego, California  92121

Thank you for helping us help the children.

Look for our next Newsletter in May, 2008.

MAY, 2007

 Welcome to the first edition of the Boletin Informativo of FUNDACION AYUDA NIÑOS LA PAZ, A.C.

This newsletter has three aims: to let you know what has happened in our past 10 years of working with the children of La Paz, to keep you current on projects in the works, and to let you know what is coming up in the next few months.  We will start with two issues:  May and November.

We think you will be interested in learning about Maria Angela, whom we first knew as a 12 year old, attending school every other year, trading years with her 13 year old sister, and now in her third year of university, thanks to the help of an anonymous padrino or sponsor.

And about our relationship with the INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, which can provide a receipt for your tax deductible donations.  And about where the money comes from that supports our programs, and how it gets spent.  And who are the “we” of FANLAP, anyway?  Your comments and suggestions will be welcome. 

 No One Needs to Faint in Class Anymore

 “Children are fainting in my class!” lamented the second grade teacher at the small primary school in Colonia Márquez de León to Padre Luis.  “How can they learn any thing!  Can’t you help us somehow?”

A small group of women from a parish in central La Paz agreed to prepare at home, and transporte to The Iglesia San Jose Obrero, a breakfast for a handful of children.
Very quickly the number of breakfasters outgrew the capacity of the cooks, one of whom attended a meeting of the Cruisers' Club of La Paz.  At that meeting in 1996, the Charity Committee of the Club voted to adopt the project, and El Desayunador was on its way.

Padre Luis organized a team of Colonia women as the cooks, the parish donated the "canasta básica" or staples, and Club funds provided the rest.

The first kitchen was at the back of a 15 by 25 foot thrown-together scrapwood and tarpaper shack which on Sundays served as a church.  When this building blew down in a hurricane, the stove, tables and chairs (old school desks) were moved to the rear of the new church under construction, later to a new building used for catechism classes.

Today breakfast is prepared and served in a beautiful cement block building with a tile roof, constructed with funds from a parish in Italy (thanks to Combiano priests from Italy who do missionary work in Mexico.)

In 2004 the Colonia "went on the grid," and has lights, an electric pump to move water from the cistern to the elevated water tank, and a refrigerator.

It is easier to feed eighty children today than it was to feed twenty over a decade ago.  And no one needs to faint in class.

Below, a picture inside the church in 1997.

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Coming Attractions: In January 2008, Dr. Raymond Dennis and a team of ophthalmologists will return to La Paz to examine children’s eyes.  In 2006, they examined 800 kids in one week.  They hope to triple that number in January.

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We first met Maria Angela when she was 12 years old; her mother was a cook in the breakfast kitchen.  The second of five girls, she attended high school every other year, alternating with her oldest sister.  This was the only way her family could afford the expense of schooling past the sixth grade.

An American resident of La Paz who participated in a crafts class in Colonia Márquez de León in 2000 met Maria Angela and decided to sponsor her.

Maria Angela is now in her third year at the "Instituto Tecnologico," majoring in Business Administration.  She has two more years to finish her "licenciatura."  She receives no grades less than 9 (A-).

Below, Maria Angela dances with a folkloric group.

We had always heard that in families where the parents are unable to provide education to all their children, the preference has been to educate the boys, as they are seen to be the primary wage earners in the future.  The reality in the Colonias where the Fundación functions is that uneducated women, with access only to very low-paying jobs, are left alone to provide for their children as best they can.

We are pleased to see that within our scholarship group, the girls outnumber boys at the ratio of almost 2:1.  While we don't know what this "means," we are encouraged by these figures as an indication that the adults perceive that education is important for all their children.

While the Fundación does not normally provide scholarships for high school graduates, if you want to consider a private sponsorship for an exceptional student like Maria Angela, we would gladly administer the aid on your behalf.  We do encourage most post-high school students to take courses of a practical nature, such as nursing, teaching, mechanics or plumbing so they are equipped with an employable skill.

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Bags, aprons, glasses cases hand-embroidered in Colonia Laguna Azul make great gifts and provide income for the women.

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SCHOLARSHIP STATISTICS

During school year 2006/2007, of 127 students receiving complee becas (scholarships), including transportation to and from school, 87 are in junior high school (Secundaria) and 44 are in senior high school (Preparatoria.)  Of the additional 71 students who do not receive bus fare, 33 are in junior high and 5 are in senior high; the remaining are junior high students who are part of a  joint project with FANLAP, Club Rotario Todos Santos/Bahia La Paz and Rotary Club Coos Bay/North Bend in Oregon.  As these students move up through school (we began in 2000/2001 with five students), the over-all number of students who have been assessed will, with your help, continue to increase.

FANLAP receives a matching grant from Reinhart Family Foundation through International Community Foundation of San Diego.  They will match what we receive in donations from people like you, up to the amount needed for the coming year's scholarships. 

The cost of a full scholarship to junior high school is approximately $350.00 dollars; a donation of ten dollars will pay a child's transportation to junior high school for a month.  Senior high school incurs an additional cost of tuition which can be $120 to $300 USD yearly; twenty dollars will pay a student's transportation for one month, as senior high students have to take two buses each way.

We thank you for helping us help the students of less fortunate families.

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FAITHFUL DONORS

Trinity Lutheran Church became one of the first long-running donors to FANLAP's breakfast program, in 1999, through Pete and Suzie Davis, members of Trinity's congregation.  Pete and Suzie arrived on their sailboat for a season the year before.  During their stay in La Paz they fell in love with the children.  Having returned to the states, and after looking at the Club Cruceros website, they contacted Judy Peterson, chairman of the Charities Committee of Club Cruceros.  Shortly thereafter Pete flew to La Paz to visit the orphanage (Ciudad de los Niños y las Niñas), a children's shelter for babies and children up to eight years old (La Casa Cuna) and the breakfast kitchen run on the site of a Catholic Church in a poor neighborhood.

Since that time, Trinity Lutheran has provided funds to purchase fruit and other incidentals for the breakfast program.  In addition, they also sponsor more than a dozen students in junior and senior high school.

Thank you to the congregation of Trinity Lutheran Church for your continued support.

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Order tamales for your fiesta from the cooks at the Comedor; they are unbeatably eatable.

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BUILDING TABLES FOR THE COMEDOR