Teardrop of India falls on Biblioteca
By Atención staff, Nov 3, 2006

Sri Lankan dinner, buffet and music Saturday, November 4, 7:30pm 250 pesos Biblioteca Publica, Insurgentes 25

Serendipity: The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.

An exquisite Sri Lanka dinner at the Biblioteca Pública is the jewel in the crown of a week of exceptional Indian films at 
the Teatro Santa Ana. But why a buffet of Sri Lankan culinary delights to mark the closure of an Indian film festival? 
Serendipity, no less. The jewel-shaped island of Sri Lanka, which hangs below the southernmost tip of India, has long been known as the Teardrop of India and the Isle of Serendipity and is an integral part of great adventures in Indian mythology. 

The most accidental surprise, however, is a new treasure in San Miguel, the Sri Lankan-born chef Dilshan Madawala, who offers his professional expertise for the event.

The Biblioteca Pública has over the past year experienced a period of rejuvenation with an increasing number of quality 
activities and events for the Mexican and expat communities, making it the most vibrant educational and cultural center in 
the city. It hosts the oldest scholarship fund in the city, expanded English language programs for Mexicans of all ages, and educational and cultural conferences and programs for all members of the community. The patio of the 17th-century colonial building comes alive daily with hundreds of local schoolchildren doing homework and international students of all ages in search of information about Mexico. But the patio will vibrate with a different intensity this Saturday when it is 
transformed into the setting for the Sri Lankan dinner benefit. 

A taste of the exotic

Dilshan has prepared an exceptional buffet menu of nine dishes that includes traditional Sri Lankan recipes such as coconut 
milk and shrimp “Negambo” soup and the mouth-watering vegetarian curry “Hatu Maluwa” as well as Indian tandoori-style meats. The dishes offer another opportunity for sanmiguelenses to savor some of the delights of this talented newcomer.

Dilshan’s arrival in San Miguel is surely another serendipitous incident. The 30-year-old chef trained at Switzerland’s 
prestigious Hotel School Institut Hôtelier “César Ritz” (IHCR), and after working in various positions in the hospitality 
industry around Europe (Schweitzerhof Bern, Tonkin Irish Pub and many others) he finally came to San Miguel four years ago 
with his Mexican-born wife.

He made his local debut at the excellent French restaurant Chamonix as a part-time chef; however, the possibility of a more 
“normal” lifestyle proved too tempting after nearly nine years of total dedication to the hospitality industry. Dilshan 
swapped his recipe books for school texts and became an English and French language teacher at the Universidad Tecnologica Norte de Guanajuato Dolores Hidalgo. For three years he immersed himself in teaching, and as a self-confessed perfectionist taught the largest number of classes at the institution. He only cooked Sri Lankan dishes at home for friends, using spices sent by his mother.

However, when a chain restaurant opened in Dolores Hidalgo that offered a wide selection of fresh seafood, Dilshan knew it 
was time to renounce the nine- to-five lifestyle and return to the hospitality industry and open a restaurant.

Dila’s Restaurant Gallery opened in January 2006 and hungry patrons lined up patiently—and some not so patiently—in the 
street. Success was immediate. Yet after a few months patrons from San Miguel, tired of driving to Dolores Hidalgo every weekend, suggested to Dilshan that it was time to open a restaurant here.

In July, Dilshan opened Dila’s Restaurant Gallery on Ancha de San Antonio to the same success, captivating locals with 
traditional dishes such as chicken and lamb curries and creativenew favorites that blend his Swiss training with traditional Sri Lankan ingredients.

… and exotic sounds

A fusion of hindi and gyspy-influenced music for the evening will be provided by Samir Belkacemi, who plays classical and 
original pieces for the guitar and oud. Samir is currently composing music that combines flamenco with classical Arabian chants, ragas from India and jazz for his first CD. More music will be provided with contemporary Indian music videos.

Feed the Hungry opens three new kitchens
By Mary Murrell

By the middle of November, Feed the Hungry will have three new kitchens to feed hungry girls and boys every school day. Two of the kitchens are in ranchos around San Miguel; La Campana is off the road to Jalpa, and Estancia de San Antonio is near Los Rodriguez.

“The major things we look for are enough hungry children to justify the cost of construction (close to 100 students), school leaders who will work with us and the lack of other food programs for the children,” said Olivia Muñiz, assistant director of the program. She added, “Sometimes there are problems specific to the village we also must consider. In La Campana, there has been a long history of problems with water and electricity outages, so we knew we would have difficulties without putting in our own water supply. We installed a water storage facility that uses gravity to provide the pressure for the kitchen. We do not need an electric pump to get water to prepare food and wash dishes.”

The kitchen at La Campana feeds 230 children from the kindergarten and elementary schools. We are especially pleased to have the kindergarten children eating every day because the younger the children are, the greater the impact of proper nutrition on their development.

The elementary school students set up small tables and chairs for the kindergarten boys and girls to use to eat their food. It is difficult for the four- and five-year- olds to carry their 
plates, spoons and cups, so the tables are set up very close to the kitchen. 

Lis Bisgaard, an architect from San Miguel, designed the new kitchen and supervised all of the construction as a volunteer. 
“The kitchen Lis designed is one of our very best ones,” said Muñiz. “Lis used the space very well because the cooks need to prepare plates for many children and to work together easily. She added a very large sink with two sets of faucets so both of the cooks can use the sink at one time.” 

Our new kitchen in Estancia de San Antonio will open in two weeks. The construction crew is from the village and includes a woman who lives there. José Alvarado, the architect building the kitchen, hesitated to hire her because it is unusual for 
women to work in construction. “She told me she had built her own house, so I decided, why not hire her for our crew?” he 
remarked. “And she is a very hard worker.”

The third kitchen at Misión Chichimeca in San Luis de la Paz opened October 16. The school is 55 miles from San Miguel, and the location presented challenges for a number of reasons. 

Checking on the construction was more difficult for Feed the Hungry staff because of the long drive. It was also very hard to get construction workers to go to the Misión, and there are few men in the village to hire. The school does not have a fence around it, so the design of the building required underground storage for water, a place for gas tanks inside the kitchen and security bars on the windows. 

When the kitchen opened, it was a very big event for the community. Many of the children wore school uniforms, which we had never seen at the school before. (We think they may have borrowed them because we have not seen uniforms there again.) Many of the little girls had bows in their hair. 

Parents of the children gathered around to be part of the ceremony. The head person of the village gave a speech, first asking whether she should speak in Chichimeca or Spanish.

Then Maestro Marcos, the teacher who instructs grades one through six, cut the ribbon on the new kitchen and asked the children to line up to wash their hands.

The food consumption on the first day, especially of tortillas, was very high. We calculated the children were eating about 
six tortillas each. Then we realized the children do not know how to use spoons and were using tortillas to pick up the food 
on their plates. So we are teaching them to use spoons so that they eat more vegetables, soy and lentils instead of so many tortillas. 

The children at Misión Chichimeca eat everything we give them, broccoli included. They are very hungry, and watching them eat makes the long drive seem quite unimportant. We have had many volunteer drivers offer to deliver food to the kitchen for the little Chichimeca children. And something else wonderful has happened. The children are smiling at us.

Feed the Hungry is a nonprofit corporation in the US and Mexico. A donation of US$65 will feed a hungry young girl or boy for an entire year. For more information about how you can help feed hungry children, please visit our website at 
www.feedthehungrysma.org  or call Mary Murrell, Executive Director, at 152-2402.

Christmas wishes fund needs donors
By Robin Loving

What if you had never been taken shopping? You might not know how to make change, receive change or understand the value of a peso—much less a dollar.

That’s the situation that faces many of our nearly 100 abandoned children in San Miguel’s casas hogares (orphanages).

A group of dedicated Norteamericanos is determined to change all that. Sue Paris, Jackie Brende and Chris McLane are raising 
funds for what has become known as the Christmas Wishes Fund. The fundraisers—with the assistance of La Conexión, InterCam and the San Miguel Educational Foundation—are seeking donations of US$50 or 500 pesos for each of our abandoned children who live at Santa Julia, Sollano and Mexiquito, the three local orphanages.

“These three casas hogares are residences for girls and boys from newborn to age 17 who are in need of protection and care,” said Leonardo Rosen, who has been active with the Christmas Wishes Fund for five years. “At Santa Julia, Sollano and Mexiquito, abandoned children receive the love and encouragement necessary for them to become good, productive adults,” he continued.

Casa hogar children either cannot live with their families or have no families. Many come from situations involving abuse 
and/or neglect. Their stories are dramatic and heartbreaking. However, they are fortunate to have been placed in the care of Dominican nuns whose abundant love transforms the lives of these youngsters in special need.

Madre “Luz” has served at two of the three casas hogares in San Miguel, lending a mother’s love to both boys and girls. She is well known for her special ability to care for children.

A young woman herself, she has been a member of the Order of Dominican Sisters of Mary for 15 years. She notes that while the little boys appear to be tough, they merely are exhibiting the need for a mother’s tenderness. Madre Luz currently works with the girls at Santa Julia, one of the two girls’ casas hogares.

She loves the girls every bit as much as the boys, but notes that girls are more difficult to work with because they are more complex and subtle in the expression of their emotions. 

Although she faces daily challenges to understand her little ladies, she has plenty of motherly hugs for each—no matter how heart-rending the situation. Take, for instance, the case of a brother and sister who were witnesses to a horrific act of 
family violence best not described here. Suffice it to say that the incident left these children with the most profound of 
emotional scars. Madre Luz prays that her work—to love and tend these children—may help them heal and proceed with their lives.

Madre Luz would like to provide all the children in all the casas hogares in San Miguel with the three things they need in 
order to heal and self-actualize: adequate love, adequate nutrition and adequate positive life experiences. Imagine being the indigent, uneducated, single “mother” of scores of children with special needs. Madre Luz cannot—even with the help of 11 other Madres in charge of these 100 or so “orphans”—do it all. The casas hogares receive no funding from the church and only occasional in-kind funding (read: supplemental cereal, milk and cleaning supplies) from the government. It’s up to the 
community of San Miguel to help break the charges’ cycle of poverty, violence and despair so that they can grow to be good citizens.

You can help by becoming involved with this valiant Madre and her “sisters” at the casas hogares. One excellent way is by 
supporting the Christmas Wishes Fund donating money or volunteering to take the children shopping in December. 
Tax-deductible and other donations may be made to San Miguel Educational Foundation, noting Christmas Wishes Fund, and may be delivered to La Conexión, Box 221. Funds may be deposited directly into the Christmas Wishes Fund, account 4087, at InterCam, San Francisco 44. To become involved, contact Susan Sargeant of La Conexión at 152-1599, Leonardo Rosen at 154-5840 or Robin 
Loving at 152-3709. 

The Madres of all three casas hogares have faith that, with your help, the children placed in their care will learn about 
counting change, the value of a peso, and how to select with good judgment when spending their extremely limited funds. And they wish you the happiest holidays—no matter what your faith!

Mujeres en Cambio events
By Roger Hind

Mujeres en Cambio lunch Thursday, November 16, Patsy’s Place

The fund-raising afternoon tea on October 26 at Heidi and Bill Le Vasseur’s Casa de la Cuesta raised approximately 17,000 
pesos for the Mujeres en Cambio scholarship fund. Our thanks go to Heidi and Bill, who opened their home to us and also spoke about Mexican traditions. Those attending were also treated to a preview of the new mask museum—a stunning collection.

More than enough to send one high school student to school for a year (4,200 pesos) was raised from the auction of a 
magnificent hand-woven rug donated by artisan Jacobo Mendoza, whose exhibition continues at the Casa de la Cuesta museum. 
Thank you, Jacobo!

Supporters of Mujeres en Cambio are in for another special treat this month. On November 16 our luncheon will be at Patsy’s Place. Special thanks to Patsy Dubois for offering to host this event. Full details of this lunch are on our webpage 
(www.mujeresencambio.com) and will also appear in the next edition of Atención. Tickets for this lunch will be 150 pesos and are on sale from today at the usual locations: Casa de Papel, RE/MAX Realty and Solutions Mail Service. As usual, numbers are limited and attendance is by prepurchased ticket only. Get in early to avoid disappointment because tickets sell fast!

Special meeting for Biblioteca members

The Biblioteca Board of Directors urges all members eligible to vote to attend the Special Members Meeting, Wednesday, 
November 8, from 11am to 2pm in the Sala Quetzal to vote on a change to the bylaws of the Biblioteca proposed by the Bylaws Committee. 

The proposed change would make it possible for more members to qualify to vote and run for office. It reduces the time 
required for a new member to vote from six months to six weeks and makes it possible for members whose cards have expired to have the right to vote if they renew their cards any time before the election. (Previously they had to have been members continuously for at least six months, which disqualified many longtime members who had inadvertently let their cards lapse.)

Of course, the old rules will apply for this election. You are eligible to vote in THIS election if you have been a paid 
member of the Biblioteca for at least six months. Bring your valid library card.

Copies of the current Bylaws in Spanish and English are available at the Biblioteca.