Report: Field Visit to Centro De Compartimiento

Juchitán, Oaxaca, Mexico

October 22-28, 2009

“…diles que yo soy tu negro santo. Yo soy un feo.

Un feo que sabe amar…con todo su corazón, de verdad...”

(although you could call me ugly, because I am a darker skinned saint,

I know how to love others truthfully, from the heart…)    

From the song: “El Feo”,  by Demetrio Lopez

This was our second visit for 2009 to visit the board, staff and students at CDC. It is hard to believe that 4 years have passed by since the vision of a residential program offering personal, academic, spiritual, leadership development for girls in Oaxaca was birthed. Just as individuals move through many stages of growth and development on their way to becoming mature adults who know themselves and their place in the world,  so also CDC has gone through many stages of growth and development while clarifying its mission, and identifying both the human and technical resources to carry it out effectively.

During a meeting with Rene Arredando Cruz, the architect who built what is now called Casa Angeles, I told him that while he is the building inspector for his projects, we are the fruit inspectors for ours! He laughed heartily. And it was so good to see him laugh…he is just finishing a round of chemotherapy for cancer that has left him very thin. But, he is a strong Christian man, and exudes hope, along with the attitude that Latinos live out so well: live life with all the gusto you've got, one day at a time…que sera, sera…  Here then, are some of the new signs of fruit that we experienced while there!

• Casa Isabel residents have moved into a newly remodeled home on land CDC now owns, instead of paying rent out each month, thanks to a grant earlier this year.  The seven students are packed in the first floor for now, along with Kristin, their house mom and program director and her two adopted girls, Emily (2) and Gloria (7). They would love to build a second story when funds become available. In the future, Kristin would also like to build a small house for her family on the property. The patio area just received a covered roof so the girls can be outside more often while protected from rain and sun. They are hoping for funds to put in a concrete floor in the patio, as well. Several of the  girls have changed so much since we first met them!
• Lucy is 15. During her three years with CDC, she has become vivacious, a good student and her eyes sparkle!
• Leti who came in August 2007, is 20. This is her last year of high-school. She too has found her voice! And she led the prayer when we visited Ana Maria’s family Sunday for dinner.
• Cheli, 16, had to leave her village at 12 to continue with middle school. She became malnourished during those 3 years, however, and had to drop out. She finally heard about CDC, and is now in her 1st year high-school. She is so happy she doesn't have to worry about finding her next meal.
• At Casa Angeles, there are currently 6 students living together with Rossy, the house mother.
• Eneydi has been with us 3 years now, and will finish in 2011.
• Judelma, who is in her last year of college, will graduate next spring. She is doing her practicum at the Federal Electricity Commission.   Because she will be leaving, her sister Dilma, 15, was allowed to enter the program.
• Nati, 15, is a straight A student.  Only 2 of her 10 siblings have gone past middle school. Her parents had no school at all. 8 years ago, they joined a literacy program in their village.
• We were thrilled to hear the news that CDC was awarded a grant in the amount of $7.500.00 U.S last week in Oaxaca. Adela, one of our CDC board members has a relative who works for this foundation, whose founder is the former owner of Banamex banks. Foundations are few and far between. So this was a great blessing for CDC, thanks to Adela. CDC is one of only 4 non-profits in the Isthmus region of Mexico.
• During this visit, the entire organization took a field trip to visit the family of Ana Maria, 22,  in her home community near Salina Cruz. The family hosted us all for a lunch of chicken and rice in their back yard. Ana has 4 siblings. One is in the U.S, currently unemployed, two are in school, studying. Her oldest sister, Beatrice got married and has a 2 year old son. Beatrice cried as she introduced herself to the group, and said that the money had run out for her schooling, so she had to quit. She is 27. The father had an accident 3 years ago, that left him somewhat disabled. The only good thing about it was the settlement that allowed them to move out of their humble cabin into a concrete block home. He now takes odd jobs when available.
• On Sunday, all the girls attended services at the Nazarene church. They have developed some supportive relationships there. This is Adela’s church, and also where Señor Rene and his family worship.
• In the evening we attended the 6pm mass at St. Vincent’s church where Padre Pancho is priest. It was good to see him, and spend some time with him, especially after the sudden death of Madre Estela last month, his partner in caring for the children at Pimpollo orphanage for all these years.
• We also saw Agustin, Patricio, and Manuel, all Pimpollo alumni that we have watched grow up. Apparently, Agustin has lost his most recent job again, due to alcohol. So I asked Padre what he thought needed to happen. He mentioned the fact that Juchitán and Guadalajara are two of the most alcohol consuming areas in the country, and that Agustin’s parents were both alcoholic…the tendency for alcoholism is in his genes. Slowly, over the years, Padre has come to the realization that alcoholism is a source of many of the problems they see, and a disease that needs to be treated if many of these children are to grow up and have healthy relationships and productive lives.

One of the most important things that came out of this visit, was a meeting with Dr. Jorge and his wife Adela, a school teacher, both board members of CDC. They have opened a small office for CDC next to his medical clinic. They told us that they believe that servant leadership training is the most important thing we must focus on with our girls. After 4 years, they now believe that it is even more important than achieving an academic degree. This is a huge statement coming from them, in a culture where the norm is that whoever has the power takes all. We aren’t sure at this time, what impact that may have on future programming for CDC.

We have been discussing the fact that some girls come in so young, or so far behind in school, that it can easily take 10 years to achieve a college degree! So….the question before us is: how long do we want to make a commitment to keep these girls? Are there alternative programs/families that we could network with after a time, for the girls to stay with while continuing their education? And, where would the funds come from? What is it that we want our girls to take away from CDC when they leave? Other questions that surfaced:

• Can the older girls work to make money for personal use? Can they have boyfriends?
• How often can they go home to visit? They are very busy, between school, community service and personal development activities with CDC, many of which happen on the weekends.

As you can see there are many good questions we are dealing with! We continue to seek your prayers and support for these young women.  If any of you would like to join us on visit to Juchitán, let us know. In addition, if any of you would like to join a local CDC discussion group here in TriCities, we would love to have you join the dialogue...

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