An Update

Between January and May of 2013 I frequently saw the new State Police Special Team in Acuna. Dressed in black in black trucks, armored vehicles and carrying heavy weapons this police unit engaged in regular gun-battles with the Zeta Cartel. Some of their activities made the news in Mexico; many did not.

The local hotels were threatened if they continue to house this unit and local restaurants were threatened if they fed them. The unit eventually set up a camp and bought in their own food. Most people told me that this unit hunted down and killed 9 alleged cartel members each month.

The PRI party is now in charge and the quality and quantity of food that they subsidize at school cafeterias (including ours) has been lowered. We are supplementing the food and continue to feed thousands of hungry children.

Five schools in the ranching/farming community just outside of Acuna have asked us for help. Their primary need is food for the children. We are working on that project.

The DIVINE PROVIDENCE nursing home is under new management. We told the new board members that we would like to help, but they must take specific actions before we could approve regular help. "Fire the existing staff. They mistreat the elderly and siphon off the money. Organize some fundraisers and use your own money to begin repairs."  Within 4-weeks a new staff was hired. Nurses are on site 24/7. Charts that track each patient's medicine are now used. The roof has been repaired, windows have been repaired and the place is immaculate. Fundraisers and generous donations from the new board of directors made this possible. As on June 1, 2013 we are now sending $1,000 per month to help this wonderful place.

Sam's Park opened. When Sam Wiegman passed away last Easter his mother requested donations be made to Paper Houses instead of flowers, so that a playground could be built in the colonias. Christine and her husband visited the playground and were overjoyed at seeing the children playing on the toys. Christine delivered tiles that were made by friends and relatives and they will be incorporated into the concrete sign that honors Sam.

Little Lilliana is now 4 years old and we scheduled additional surgery for this child. She suffers with  only weighs 20 pounds, suffers from cleft-palette, and eye and ear problems.

The picture to the left was taken during one of our earlier meetings with Lilliana and her family. Surgery improved the infant's condition (see next photo with Bob), but now she is ready for more surgery to help with her cleft-palette, vision and hearing problems.

After the surgeries we will work closely with her family and a local pediatrician .

Nuevo Laredo

The news of the discovered bodies in Neuvo Laredo prompted a quick trip to the colonias and shelters of that city. My initial belief that these latest murder victims were involved in cartel activities was disputed by the local people. The heads and feet were hacked off and law enforcement only speculates about these victims. Many locals think that they might have been migrants and not even from this area. All that seem obvious is that the bodies were dumped to intimidate and to lay claim to the area.

The cartels and the U.S. media share the goal of publicizing horrific stories. I appreciate our free pres reporting these types of stories; it is the over reporting and repeated rehashing of the story that is disturbing. It is the reference to other murders that sometimes occured months ago and a thousand miles distant that I find disturbing. But, the cartels love the way the U.S. media strngthens their image.

Many, dare I say most, Americans view Mexico as an unsafe, violent country where the streets run wil blood. Few Americans envision that children playing and going to school or the millions of people that go to work every day. Few are aware of the thousands of U.S. citizens that cross the border to go to work in the factories aong the Mexican side of the border. This is the direct result of the way the U.S. media reported the violence in Mexico during the last decade.

In Acuna, Mexico I witnessed store closures and the complete decimation of the tourist industry as a direct result of that media onslaught. I know what you are thinking, "the drug violence was responsible for crushing tourism" and I understand why you would think so. The media. Here is a fact that might rock you: four years BEFORE even one person was injured by a cartel member in Acuna, the tourism came to a halt. Americans were afraid to cross the border at any point because of the misrepresentations in the US media. Acuan enjoyed a zero percent homicide rate and yet Americans from places like San Antonio, Houston, Detroit and other cities were terrified to enter Acuna.

Nuevo Laredo experiences frequent and unexpected violence. There seems to be no pattern in the location, time or day that violence will erupt. I would not take my daughters or their children into Nuevo Laredo. However, every charity and church group that no longer visits can still send financial help to what they used to describe as their 'friends'.  Many of the orphanages and shelters have an interesting opinion.

"For years they came on mission trips with rice and beans. They set up Bible Studies and many required us to attend their church service to get the rice and beans. They took many photographs of the children and our little houses. We are not stupid. They went home, displayed those photos and collected huge amount of money for their next mission trip to help us. They returned and gave us rice and beans. Now they cannot get people to come because of the violence. So they abandoned us and are apparently too afraid to mail a check to the orphanages. Instead, they go to other places for their mission trips. Their trips are more about making money than helping. If not, why can't they at least send a small check to some of the churches and orphanages that they used to claim as friends, On their websites they described the many contacts and close relationships they had with local churches and charities. Many of these groups were simply here to raise money, not to help."

I don't know if the suspicions of the people are true, but I understand their thinking. We have not and will not abandon them. We have no money worries because we remain an organization of volunteers. The money we receive reaches those in need.

Sam, We Will Keep You in our Thoughts

Sam Wiegman, 16 year old son of Christine and younger brother of Cordero, went home to his heavenly father on Easter.

Sam was in the 2nd grade when he first came to the colonias and he immediately had a heart for the people. Sam was polite and listened during our 'orientation' before the trip, but it was Sam's nature to experience things for himself. Sam learned much in the real world and he learned things that many of us failed to learn.

Watching him in the colonias was like watching boys seeking adventure in any strange environment, but Sam took risks that most of us never took. He risked rejection and risked appearing foolish when he immediately began playing with the kids of the colonias. During the early years, Sam knew no Spanish. He came from a life and place so different from the colonias that it was a marvel that he jumped right in to relationships with these children.

Sam made many trips to the colonias, every year. When on formal mission trips, he and Cordero were quick to find ways to help. They carried groceries, nailed walls, packed trucks with food for distribution and helped with the games and activities during fiestas. Sam and his brother experienced things denied to most children in the USA. They experienced befriending a little boy named Oscar who was dying of cancer. They visited a wonderful little girl named Lucinda who was dying of  progeria, an extremely rare genetic condition wherein symptoms resembling aspects of aging are manifested at an early age. He experienced unselfish giving.

Most of us give from our abundance. Sam asked his mother, "Mom, instead of us getting presents for Christmas, can we get presents for Oscar and his family?" 

Christine once reminded Sam that his birthday fell on the day of a mission trip. She asked if he would like to have a birthday party at home instead of returning to the colonias for another trip. Sam did not hesitate. He told her, "I want to spend my birthday with my Mexican friends." Sam frequently visited the colonias, but this put aside any doubt that he loved the colonias and hes Mexican friends.

Sam's heart and soul were in the activities of life. If we had asked Sam why he sacrifices his time to be in the colonias, he would not have understood the question. To him the colonias were life.

My future walks in the colonias will be filled with Sam. I will walk the places he loved the best and will also search for new friends in new places. My visit next week will be to locate a place where we can honor Sam with a new playground for the children of the colonias.

Bob

The New Year

Happy New Year!

Families in the colonias remain upbeat and hopeful. Poverty in the colonas is different from the poverty of America and here there is an expectation that things will improve. Poverty is not accepted among the poor as a way of life. It is inspiring to see a family buy a bag of cement and some cinder-blocks so that they can build their 'real house' and move from their cardboard shack. Little by little they make progress. Although it is tempting to provide the material they need, we believe that by providing a little help we do a much better thing. This will be their house and their family's accomplishment.

Some situations do require more help. We've sent a half-dozen people to the hospitals of Monterrey this month. Most are receiving treatment for cancer and all are children. In at least one case we know that things look dim, but we continue to do what can be done for these children. We stand with the families.

It is uplifting when we visit Pedro and Ambar. These two little children share the experience of losing a leg due to accidents. We helped both children by purchasing prosthetic legs (with the help of Giving Hope Worldwide and a couple from New Jersey). It is uplifting because both of these children are always laughing and playing. They remain happy. The children and their parents do not waste time on wishing things were different. Things are what they are and they focus on their blessings and what they can do to make their lives better.

I will be happy in this new year because I walk the streets of the colonias and surround myself with hard-working people that remain optimists.

Ten Years - The time to start is right now!

Our tenth year of working with the poor in the colonias is an ideal time to consider what we've accomplished, how we've grown and what is next.

Ten years ago, things were easy for us. There was no dramatic outcry against Mexico because of immigrants. There was no mass media blitz focused upon every cartel crime in Mexico. The media had not yet destroyed the tourist industry in every border-town. Many other charities and even the Catholic churches in America sent groups to help in the colonias.

Today, much has changed. We seek fresh volunteers to work from their homes to help us. We are primarily focused upon helping children with severe medical needs. We continue to walk the streets of the colonias.

The first step in helping us is to recognize that there will never be a perfect time to begin. Simply start helping. The person you will help the most is the person you will see in the mirror each day.

Christmastime

Paper Houses cannot bring Americans into the colonias this Christmas because of the recent violence in Acuna. Consequently, we must do more to help the poor in the colonias. Bob will be in Acuna every week and will provide as much medical care for the children as possible. He will also deliver food door to door and help churches and charities with Christmas Fiestas for the children.

The weather is already rainy and cold. By Tuesday, the temp will dip into the 20's. Pajamas, blankets and socks are the order of the day.

We need your support, today. For the price of a trip to the movie theater, we can help three children in real need.

As always, we have no paid employees and every dollar actually helps these wonderful children and their families.

Border Violence

Recently over a ton of drugs was seized at the Del Rio/Acuna checkpoint. Recently a counterfeit Border Patrol Vehicle, painted to look exactly like an official Border Patrol van, was followed after it entered Del Rio and the driver was arrested. The vehicle contained uniforms, guns and drugs.

Both of these incidents suggest that drug activity in Acuña is increasing. The level of sophistication in duplicating a U.S. Government van suggests big money and cartel involvement.

There have been no reports or evidence of violence in Acuña for over a year. A few mission groups have recently been seen in Acuña, but it is difficult to gauge real safety issues.

This week I will meet with a large group of families that live in the colonias and I will spend a day walking the streets to get a better feel for the safety issues as it pertains to mission groups.