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México: the state of Coahuila
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Casa Mano Amiga, along with the Community Center, guest housing, kitchens and educational facilities are located on the southern edge of the city of Piedras Negras. Piedras Negras (Black Rocks) is so named because of the coal mining activitiy in the area and is on the south bank of the Rio Grande across from Eagle Pass, Texas. Mano Amiga volunteers help individuals and families who are in poverty and /or displaced for other reasons. Because the Piedra Negras area is a coal mining area, it has all the attendent problems associated with mining that exist in any area of the world...accidents and disease.
The economic upheaval along the border states of Mexico coupled with the extreme poverty in many areas of Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and other Central and South American countries, makes the border area an attractive destination for people searching for a better life. Some of these people come from villages living as they have for hundreds of years and are not prepared for the climate nor for the culture shock of border life and are often preyed upon by others.
Casa Mano Amiga offers a few days of food and shelter, as well as a shower and clean clothing, to those in need and helps throughout the entire year. An education center has been constructed near the Casa Mano Amiga where vocational, life-skill & job-skill programs, including English language classes, are currently being implemented. Food, clothing, bicycles and educational materials are distributed to needy families whenever possible.
It might sound to the casual reader that Mano Amiga facilities in Piedras Negras are quite extensive and pretty posh. The truth is that they are very basic, but better than many of our neighbors. We need financial help and hands-on year-around on the Frontera; this is a mission that never stops. And if Bush builds his wall, we will need even more help because the desperate people from the southern states of Mexico and the countries south of Mexico will still come, trying to find a better life for themselves and their families. We will need a lot more resources to aid these people.
México: the states of Yucatán y Quintana Roo
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In 1988, Hurricane Gilbert struck a devastating blow to the Yucatán Peninsula. The obscure fishing village of Cancún was flattened, the island of Isla Mujeres suffered enormous damage and towns large and small throughout the Yucatán suffered greatly. Cancún was rebuilt as a tourist resort with lots of outside money coming in to aid in the reconstruction. But much of Isla Mujeres and many small villages throughout the Yucatán didn't have the resources to rebuild. Some people who lost their roof during Hurricane Gilbert still don't have a secure roof today. Much of Mano Amiga's work in these area is the construction of concrete roofs on owner-built homes. Using local methods and materials, volunteer groups from the United States provide the manpower. The groups also underwrite the costs of all the sand, gravel, cement, blocks and beams that go into the making of a concrete roof.
In 2005, Hurricane Emily caused extensive damage to the coastal areas from Playa del Carmen south as well as in the interior in the Tizimin area. Later in the same year, Hurricane Wilma hit many of the same areas including Cancun, Isla Mujeres, Cozamel and the entire northeastern area of the Yucatan penninsula. Wilma caused even more damage than did Hurricane Gilbert and many years wil pass before all of the damage is repaired.
In Chetumal, the capitol of the state of Quintana Roo and almost on the border with Belize, Mano Amiga has been working with local organizations and in cooperation with churches from the USA to construct homes and churches.
Mano Amiga also has medically-related clinic projects in Quintana Roo. Hearing/ear clinics and therapeutic massage/bodywork clinics were well received by the local people.
New for 2007 is mission work centered in the Valladolid region of the state of Yucatán. We hope to extend the construction work to this area as well as the clinics.
México: the state of Chiapas
Mano Amiga has recently established contact with two local organizations that aid the impoverished people of the mountains of Chiapas. Small, but significant, donations of medical supplies; books on medical care, sanitation and nutrition; and a modest amount of pesos to buy rice and beans were given to the local organizations. Plans are in the works to strengthen these ties.
Peru: the Amazon jungle, downriver from Iquitos
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Schools: In the Amazon region of Peru, there are no roads, few telephones and few options in life for most of the people. Education in Peru is free; however, many schools receive such meager support from the government that they can provide only the most basic educational services to a small number of children...many of whom drop out of school at an early age to help support their families. Mano Amiga is supporting and encouraging support by other organizations, schools and individuals of the Amazon Adopt-A-School Program. This program partners intrested parties with individual schools in the Amazon region. To find out how you can help support the Amazon Adopt-A-School Program, see their web site at
http://www.amazon-travel.com/CONAPAC/adopt.htm
Libraries: In a region such as the Amazon basin; with the lack of roads, electricity, telephones and television; communications and education are difficult at best. Beyond the city of Iquitos (the largest city in the world that cannot be reached by car or truck), there are no public libraries. Dr. Nancy Dunn, PhD, a former resident of Washington, DC, USA and an instructor at Georgetown University, began a public library along the Amazon River a few years ago. She has managed to gather the moneys together to build a very modest library building and to stock the few shelves with appropriate books. But she needs help with funding, materials and encouragement. She has taken on, single-handedly, an enormous task and is filling a void. During school vacations, between 25 to 40 children a day show up at the library to read! The kids come because they thirst for knowledge, information and dreams. They come by canoe or on foot, the only two methods of transportation in the region. They come because they want to. Mano Amiga is helping Nancy and her library through both financial and communications support. For more information about this program see their website at:
http://www.amazonlibrary.org
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