Border Hope seeks to mobilize people on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border to address the spiritual, educational, nutritional, employment, and other needs of people in a very poor shantytown in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
Borders...how people love to build them! On land, in our hearts, in our mindsets, they separate "us" from "them," those we care for from those we don't. We dedicate our lives to the pursuit of material comforts and short-term gain, disconnected in our awareness from those who are excluded, and from the natural eco-systems that support us. Biblically speaking, we have erected a very thick border between "heaven," the realm of God who loves all, and "earth," where narrow self-interest, injustice, and indifference dominate. Surely there must be a better way to live and relate! It's time to tear down these borders, until the love of God fills our lives and communities, and heaven and earth become one.
Where shall we begin? In McAllen, Texas, thousands of dollars are spent each academic year per child in public schools. In sharp contrast, just across the border, children in a very poor shantytown in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico are going without adequate education, nutrition, and guidance. They are only 12 miles away, yet for many people it is as if they are on the other side of the universe. Though forgotten by most of the rest of the world, the Spirit of God is present and moving powerfully among them.
Building community ties to address needs is our focus. Won't you come and join us in this exciting journey?
Recent days of unrelenting rain in the wake of Hurricane Alex have submerged entire neighborhoods in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico. As always, those who were the poorest and most vulnerable to begin with are suffering the most. Having lost their shacks to the flooding, families in the poor communities our ministry serves are living on the side of dirt roads, exposed to the elements, hungry, frightened, and facing uncertain futures.
Many went to shelters for a few days, but have returned to guard what few of their possessions remain. Some have lost their jobs because they had to stay and guard their possessions. Imagine what it would be like to be in their place!
There is no place to cook, and precious little firewood even if they had a place to cook. People are therefore living on whatever canned goods, boxes of cereal, etc. they can obtain from churches or purchase with their meager earnings, if they have any. It will likely take 2 months or so before the waters subside, and the people can begin to rebuild their lives and return to “normal,” such as “normal” was in these impoverished communities.
Our Mexican partner churches and volunteers are distributing food to the neediest families. They are also conducting daily community meals, and need our help to continue. These meals provide not only delicious fresh cooked nutritious food–and a much-appreciated break from canned foods!–they are also an opportunity to network, encourage one another, and maintain hope for the future. Remember, every meal that we provide enables families to survive, to save what little they have so they can buy nails, wood, etc., and to otherwise invest in their next steps forward.
As many of you know, Border Hope is a collaboration of churches and volunteers, of diverse faith traditions, on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border. The particular Mexican churches we are working with to address the flooding crisis have solid relationships and credibility in affected communities, and do vital work in spiritual ministry, community solidarity, education, nutrition, and other essential areas. Normally, direct material aid is applied very judiciously, to avoid fostering dependency. Once the flooding is over, your support will help them continue empowering families to construct more stable futures over the long term.
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Time is of the essence! Please keep these communities in your prayers, tell your friends, and make a donation TODAY!
Less than 15 miles from my house in south Texas, there is a community where people live in shacks with no electricity or running water. It is a shantytown built along the canal that runs through the city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico. People bathe in the polluted water and get skin problems as a result. Most of the people moved here from very poor communities in southern Mexico. Unemployment, health and nutrition issues, alcoholism and drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, and despair abound. There is significant prosperity in other parts of Reynosa, just a few miles away. But a Mexican friend who herself grew up in poverty maintains that the conditions in the shantytowns are as bad as you can find anywhere else in Mexico.
A menos de 25 kilómetros de mi casa en el sur de Tejas hay una ciudad perdida de viviendas extremadamente humildes y sin luz y agua corriente, por el canal que corre por medio de la ciudad de Reynosa, Tamaulipas, México. La gente se baña en el agua sucia y contaminada, lo que resulta en problemas de piel. La mayoría de la gente llegó de comunidades muy pobres del sur de la República Mexicana. Prevalecen el desempleo, problemas de salud y nutrición, el abuso del alcohol y las drogas, embarazos de menores de edad, y la desesperación. Hay mucha prosperidad en otras partes de Reynosa a pocos kilómetros. Sin embargo, una amiga mexicana que también creció en la pobreza sostiene que las condiciones de vida en esta comunidad están entre las peores que se puede encontrar en todo el país.
The book Toolbox for Sustainable City Living, by Scott Kellogg and Stacy Pettigrew, discusses the nitty gritty of composting, raising chickens, aquaponics, bioremediation of polluted land, water purification, and other topics that seem alien to the interests of modern North Americans. I bought it because some friends and I are pondering technologies and skills that may be relevant to meeting the basic nutritional needs of a particular community in Mexico whose residents are so poor they can hardly afford the bus ride to a supermarket. Continue reading Shall we cut way, way, way back?
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