Care for Kids La Paz

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Archives for September 2018

Made For Greatness

September 24, 2018 by Barbara Spencer, MSW Leave a Comment

 

When sponsors visit the students they’re sponsoring, something magical happens. Sponsors get a real sense of the student’s everyday life, meet his/her family, see how they live, and get to hear about their struggles and successes.

Iza and Alex visited with two students they’re sponsoring: Magui who they’ve been sponsoring for six years, and Jesús and his mom for the first time. I’ll let you hear from Iza and Alex, themselves, how they saw their visit.

“This is our second visit to see Magui, the student we are sponsoring, and the first time we got to meet her three siblings, Enrique, Valentin and Regina. For us it was very motivating to witness how Magui’s commitment to school continues strong after 2 years from our first visit. It is also very encouraging to see that she is becoming a young woman with a goal to pursue a career in accounting.

Although it was a short visit, it was a special time because we got to talk to her about what is interesting to her and even got to see some of the books that she has mentioned in her letters. We learned that words of encouragement can have a profound effect in the lives of these kids who only need an opportunity. They really can do just as well as wealthier children. It seems as if Magui’s dedication has permeated to her brothers. Enrique, who’s in second year of high school, wants to study biochemistry. Valentin placed second in scholastic competitions at his school and Regina is a sweet girl that will melt your heart and you just want to see her doing as well as her siblings.

We met Jesus, another student we’re sponsoring, for the first time. To see the bond between him and his mother, a single mom, was very encouraging. Luz’ love for Jesus is evident and her views on God and life in general will contribute to raise a good kid.

To us it is important to see the success of the “Care for Kids La Paz” program in motivating kids like Magui and Jesus to do well in school and try to get a university education. Other than having a personal relationship with God, very few things can have such a positive impact in these young lives.

We want to make a special mention of the extreme generosity of both families who, out of their limited resources, wanted to treat us to food and drinks, which we very much enjoyed. We were very grateful for their gesture, although we did not want to impose. We were happy just visiting with them.

We are proud of both Magui’s and Jesus’ efforts at school, happy with their achievements and we hope to see them succeed in their lives and careers.

Kudos to Barbara and all the team in “Care for Kids La Paz”. Their personal and in-depth knowledge of the lives of these children, their struggles and their achievements, is second to none in compassion ministries. For us, it is both honoring and humbling to be able to put a mustard seed forward in God’s plans for Magui and Jesus.” More photos here.

Donations

“Bringing schoolchildren into the light with solar lamps”, is the answer for those homes that don’t have electricity or have only a single light by attaching a cable to the closest power lines. Children, often faced with stopping their studies when darkness settles in, can continue to study and perform well in school. Our charity also hands out this little miracle of a device to the elderly, for better vision in their homes, and the disabled, to help them move around with ease. Who would have thought that such a little lamp could make such a big difference! More photos here.

Guess who got new running shoes for school? When Enrique’s mom died a few years back and the grandmother and her partner, Ricardo, stepped up to the plate to take care of him and his sister, our charity has been doing what we can to help. Especially since Ricardo can no longer work due a serious medical problem. It’s been a blessing for us to help with food, school supplies and clothing for the children and watch them grow and thrive.

Made for Greatness

For the twelve years we’ve administered the scholarship program, we’ve never had a student score perfect 10’s throughout the school year. But Gaby accomplished that. She could easily be the poster girl for hard work, perseverance and dedication. Awesome work, Gaby!

Meet Our Students

Seventeen students are enrolled in our scholarship program for the 2018-2019 school year; six in junior high and eleven in high school. A number of students have placed either first, second or third in their school year for high academic achievement. We are super proud of them and are looking forward to a great year of success.

 

‘Let’s Play’ Event
The highlight of our monthly event Let’s Play is always Pie Face (getting smashed in the face with whipping cream), a big draw for the older kids, and of course, what child doesn’t like to have their face painted? The younger children tend to drift towards something tamer like art and Loteria (Mexican bingo). Despite the heat, we had a good turnout of children, and at the end they welcomed a drink, popcorn, toothbrushes and toothpaste (donated by Dr. Dan Copp) and pencils and pens donated by Will and Emily King. Big thanks to the moms and scholarship students who helped out and to the wounded dove who charmed the children. More photos here.

Mattress Run

Although most of us living in the desert look forward to a rainfall, those that don’t have well-built homes suffer greatly with water entering their houses through holes in their roofs or walls. Most everything gets wet, including mattresses. This spurred us on to do a mattress run.

We met families who were sleeping three to a bed, or children sleeping on the floor or mattresses with broken springs. Thanks to Juan, the owner of Juanito’s Segunda in Chametla, we were able to pick up thirteen, slightly-used, single, waterproof mattresses.

Our last delivery was to a home about 600m (2000’) above sea level. Thankfully, we only had to climb about 150 m (500′), which was difficult enough. We could only get there by foot, under a scorching sun, up a rocky, dirt road with deep crevices to a narrow, steep pathway with loose pebbles. Getting there was just half the fun. The other half was leaving this family of five, who were sleeping on two mattresses, with two more. More photos here.

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Filed Under: Updates

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Great Ways to Help

Good Search
Please remember to use the search engine Good Search and Good Shop so that our charity can earn money every time you search the internet or shop on-line. Go to their website and select Care for Kids La Paz (Dilworth, MN) as your designated charity. It doesn't cost users a thing and those pennies can really add up!
Spread the Word
Help spread the word about Care for Kids La Paz. Do you belong to a group or a school who would like to hear more about us? We'd love to come and talk about our work. Better yet. Visit us in beautiful La Paz and you can give your own presentation.
Scholarships
There are a number of students with good grades who would like to have a scholarship. If you would like to share in a special relationship with a student and their family, please contact us for more details.
Coming to La Paz?
If you're travelling to La Paz, please keep a little space in your luggage for books, toothpaste, toothbrushes, pencils and children's vitamins.
Improving the Lives of Children and Their Families

Mexicans with few resources live in the poorest
and most marginalized communities.
Many have no access to piped-in water,
electricity or basic sanitation.

We want to help those families live with dignity, hope and opportunity.

 

DONATE NOW

Care for Kids La Paz Mission Statement

Care for Kids La Paz is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of impoverished children and their families in La Paz, BCS, Mexico. Our focus is to promote hope and opportunity by providing long-term support guaranteeing access to food, education and health care to children whose families want to participate in a process of development to enhance their quality of life.

Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter

We'd love to send you our newsletter about the work we're doing in La Paz!

Connect with Us

Care for Kids La Paz

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