April 25, 2008, Cont. from front page, Study finds that SAPASMA is efficient, By Jesús Ibarra, Mexico Round-up, Regional Round-up, Compiled by Atención staff

Father José Guadalupe Mojica founded Casa Hogar Don Bosco for orphans in 1959, assisted by Dominicas de María nuns. The first refuge he founded was Santuario Guadalupano Mexiquito, located on Salida a Dolores.

At first the facility housed both boys and girls, but “the sisters noticed that it was necessary to separate boys from girls and the girls were moved to a donated house at Sollano 14,” said Mother Macrina, one of the nuns in charge of the girls at Sollano 14. “As time passed, more girls arrived at the house, so an American lady donated another house in Colonia Santa Julia, where we moved the younger girls.”

According to Mother Macrina, 39 girls between infancy and 12 years of age live at Santa Julia. “They stay there until they finish elementary school. Then they are sent to the house on Sollano and continue on to high school.” Currently, 25 girls aged 12 to 18 live in the house on Sollano, and 19 boys reside at the shelter in Mexiquito. School tuitions are paid by the casa hogar itself.

Most of the children who arrive at Casa Hogar Don Bosco are victims of domestic violence. “Some of them are children whose parents have gotten separated or divorced and are fighting for custody. Others have been physically abused by their parents or step-parents.”

The three casas hogar in San Miguel are managed by Dominicas of María nuns, six in Mexiquito, four in Santa Julia and six at Sollano. All three residences, which are registered civil associations, rely on donations for their survival. Donations are tax deductible.

Patronato Pro Niños was founded in 1970 by a small group headed by María Herrera de Williams and Louisa Velte, who began privately to provide children with food and clothing and medical and educational support.

Since 1980 it has focused on medical care, and today it is a nonprofit civil association providing medical and dental care for low-income children within the municipality.

According to Isobella Couperthwaite Kreizel, president of Patronato Pro-Niños’ board of directors, a group of volunteers goes out to the rural communities surrounding the city to identify poor children who need medical or dental care. “We do it through the delegate or through the teacher of the community,” she said. Currently, Patronato Pro Niños assists children in 238 of the more than 500 communities in the municipality.

Doctor Juan José Ramos treats children from 9am to 1pm, Monday through Friday, in Patronato’s office. “Dr. Ramos determines whether the child needs to be seen by a specialist, and Patronato Pro Niños pays for the whole treatment,” said the board’s president. She added that all doctors charge very low fees for treating these children.

Volunteers work with parents to make sure that children who need treatment receive it and follow through with it. In some cases, parents must be persuaded to seek help. Couperthwaite Kreizel cited a case in which a six-year-old girl suffered burns to her face and could not even close her eyes completely when she slept. At first, her mother did not want her to be treated, but she finally acquiesced and Patronato Pro Niños paid for the treatment.

Couperthwaite Kreizel said that one of the major health problems in children is lack of dental care. “We have a complete mobile dental clinic in a van that periodically travels around to the communities to provide dental care to children. In the morning, the dentist, Dr. Arcelia Flores, checks the children and gives them toothpaste and toothbrushes and educates them about taking care of their teeth. During summer holidays, the dental van parks in the main square so that all the children in San Miguel can have dental care.”

Last year, Patronato Pro-Niños provided medical care to 3,400 children and dental care to 3,700. The association works hard to raise money to pay for these services. “We currently receive some support from the local, state and federal government. One of our volunteers, Floyd Edwards, and our manager, Lupita López Landeros, go to the government offices to seek this support,” said Couperwaithe Kreizel. She added that the local government paid for half of the dental unit van, and the association paid for the other half. According to Edwards, the state DIF gives Patronato Pro Niños 19,000 pesos a month, and the federal government this year will provide 500,000 pesos. The Patronato also has other fundraising activities such as the Walking Tour, the Spring Break tour, and an annual raffle and auction to supplement the private donations it receives.

The local government, through city secretary Cristóbal Finkelstein, has donated a piece of land near the General Hospital to Patronato Pro Niños, and the new facility should be completed by summer 2009.

Centro de Crecimiento

Lucha Maxwell founded Centro de Crecimiento in 1977. “I am a physical therapist, and when I got married in 1955 my husband and I came to live in San Miguel,” said Maxwell. “I began to do therapeutic work but then I noticed that children with physical and mental problems often suffered discrimination, bad treatment and segregation. I began helping a blind seven-year-old girl who lived near the Caracol. Her single mother left her alone at home to take care of her younger brothers, with only a pot of beans and some tortillas to eat. I went to see her and I realized she indeed needed help. At that time, Debbie Kent, a woman who was born blind, offered to help with this girl, named Betty Robles. She is currently living in Mexico City, working as a secretary at the Association for the Blind. She is married and has a three-year-old son. It is a pleasure for me to work at the Centro. We have a wonderful team of therapists who give all their help and love to the children. We have several children from the rural commun
ities. The objective of Centro de Crecimiento is to make our children completely independent and to be accepted by society.”

Feed the Hungry San Miguel de Allende provides hot breakfasts to children in rural and urban schools in poor neighborhoods.

Many of the boys and girls in these neighborhoods and communities come to school without having had dinner the night before or breakfast in the morning. Feed the Hungry’s 29 kitchens, which are attached to elementary schools, provide food to over 4,000 children a day. The vegetarian meals, designed by a nutritionist, are high in protein and contain vegetables, legumes, soy, rice, fortified tortillas and fruit. Feed the Hungry can feed a child for an entire year for US$65.

Feed the Hungry hires and trains women from the community to cook the food; the cooks receive medical benefits and a pension.

DIF (Department of Family Integration)

DIF is the government institution that cares for children and the elderly. One of its main programs is DIM (Integrated Child Development), which helps children at risk for leaving school and working in the street.

According to Gabriela Bibriesca, DIF’s manager, according to last month’s statistics 69 children were found to be working in the street, 32 boys and 37 girls; 27 percent were from rural communities. “When we find these children, we invite them to join the DIM program and to attend Casa Esperanza, where we give them meals and social integration classes, and then we invite them to continue studying in a regular school. We grant some of them scholarships,” said Bibriesca.

If DIF learns that a child is the victim of domestic violence, this is reported to the district attorney’s office. If the child must be removed from his or her parents, DIF takes custody and sends him or her to a casa hogar. “We do not take children away from their parents; we only report if the children are victims of violence,” said Bibriesca.

DIF also provides psychological treatment for children and a daycare center for working mothers.

Contact for donations:

Casa Hogar Don Bosco
Checks payable to:
Casa Hogar Don Bosco A.C.
Contact: Mother Guadalupe Segura
Sollano 14
Centro, San Miguel de Allende, Gto.
Telephone: 15-2-1195
Email: casahogardonbosco@yahoo.com.mx
Donations are tax deductible for US

Patronato Pro Niños
Checks to be tax deductible
FTC International, Inc
US or Canadian residents
Patronato Pro Niños
c/o For the Children International
PMB 228
220 N. Zapata Hwy 11-A
Laredo, Texas
Mexican Residents
Patronato Pro Niños
c/o La Conexión
Box 228 Aldama 3
San Miguel de Allende, Gto.
37700
Telephone: 52 (415) 152-7796 / 154-9708
Email info@patronatoproninos.org
Website: www.patronatoproninos.org

Centro de Crecimiento
For US or Canadian residents
San Miguel Community Foundation
11905 Sara Road, B-84-219
Laredo, Texas 78045
For Mexican residents
Centro de Crecimiento A.C.
Zamora Rios Nº 6, Colonia Allende
San Miguel de Allende Guanajuato, México 37760
Tel: 152-03-18, 152-60-39 Fax: 152-03-18
Email: cencre@cibermatsa.com.mx
Website: www.cdecsma.org/

Feed the Hungry
Dollar checks make payable to
Feed the Hungry
Peso checks make payable to
Feed the Hungry, A.C
From the US or Canada, mail to:
PMB 636
220 N. Zapata Hwy #11
Laredo, TX 78043-4464 USA
From within Mexico:
Feed the Hungry San Miguel de Allende
Aldama No. 3
San Miguel de Allende,
Gto. 37700, México
All donations are tax deductible in the US and Mexico.
Email: contact@feedthehungrysma.org
Website: www.feedthehungrysma.org

DIF
San Antonio Abad esq. Isurgentes sin número
Telephone: 152-0910

Study finds that SAPASMA is efficient
By Jesús Ibarra

The State Water Commission of Guanajuato, in attempt to increase the efficiency of water service to the community, ordered a complete analysis of the administration and operations of SAPASMA (Potable Water and Sewage System of San Miguel de Allende). The analysis, sponsored by the World Bank, was completed on April 17 by LABRA (Integral Management of Water).

Víctor Lara Ruiz, head of LABRA, said that SAPASMA is one of the most efficient municipal water providers in the state. According to the results, said Lara, SAPASMA is using its resources in a transparent way and its accounting records are in order. SAPASMA operates with funds obtained from fees paid by users and from federal and state resources.

Lara said that SAPASMA does a good job of providing water to residences and that renovations to the water supply system have resulted in a 9 percent decrease in water loss.

The same study was performed in Valle de Santiago, Jaral del Progreso and Uriangato with the goal of increasing efforts and improving results so that more people can have access to water.

Mexico Round-up

Our compilation of recent developments across Mexico is an overview of lead stories from national newspapers.

PEMEX strike continues

According to El País, Lopez Obrador’s party (PRD) toughened their civil resistance to the government’s actions when, on April 11, senators and deputies of the PRD and the Frente Amplio Progressive party barricaded the galleries of Congress and the Senate to boycott the parliamentary debate on PEMEX reform.

Obrador’s party has 21 senators out of a total of 104 and 127 of 500 deputies. According to parliamentary procedure, the only way to prevent the opposition leader from approving the PEMEX reform is by not letting the debate occur. Because of these requirements, the PRD has barricaded the galleries since April 11 and has been on a hunger strike since April 14.

President Felipe Calderón has raised the possibility of continuing the debate in an alternative location and pushing the reform forward before the end of the session on April 30. But Ricardo Monreal, representing the fasting senators, said that any such site will be taken by Obrador followers.

Obrador seeks to open a national debate on oil, aware that his campaign in defense of sovereignty over the oil has managed to return to the political scene. However, Obrador has not revealed his specific proposal to deal with the formal plan.

The 100-year heat wave

According to El Correo, heat wave alerts by civil defense and health authorities affect at least one out of ten states which register temperatures greater than 40°C. Before the expected severe heat wave, which may be the hottest of the last 100 years, authorities will step up public information campaigns to avoid problems of isolation, dehydration and the effects of heat on children and older people. The Isthmus of Tehuantepec is a typical region where heat might exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

A very hot day

According to El Correo, the Guanajuato state newspaper, Monday, April 21 registered a temperature of 35.2 centigrade degrees. This temperature made it the sixth hottest day in the city of Guanajuato during the month of April over the last 29 years.

US diplomat supports Calderón’s advances in Mexico

According to La Jornada (April 2, New York), Mexican President Felipe Calderón is making great strides to improve his country’s condition, declared Thomas Shannon, US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Issues declared today.

Shannon affirmed, in an Americas Society forum with industrialists, academics and diplomats, that “Mexico is a country undergoing dynamic change…a country on the edge of advancement in its social and economic development, and we must find the way to support their success.”

It is most desirable for the US to have a safe, developed neighbor to the south of its border, “and Mexico is capable of becoming such a neighbor. Calderón has the leadership, commitment and vision,” he added. In statements to journalists at the conclusion of the forum, Shannon declared that president Calderón is “deepening and consolidating” changes that began with the election of Vicente Fox and has transformed the country into a true democracy. Calderón, Shannon said, is facing internal challenges, such as the fight against drug trafficking, which enjoy popular support. Calderón has emphasized the reform of the penal system and other issues.

Narcotics war in Mexico opens new front on the border

According to El Nacional, murders related to drug trafficking in Mexico are much higher than those of last year, when a military and police operation ordered by President Felipe Calderón against the cartels reached its height. But until the army fights to contain the bloodshed in a wide strip of Mexico along the US border to the Caribbean coast, the violent deaths in Ciudad Juárez are rising to unprecedented levels.

So far, the city has seen more than 200 people die because of drug traffic, more than 10 times the murders of 2007.

Calderón sent 25,000 federal soldiers and police to fight the cartels as soon as he took the Mexican presidency at the end of 2006. Drugs wars in 2007 left more than 2,700 fatal victims in Mexico. The army has obtained drug seizures of historical dimensions, as well as several high-level arrests, but the murders continue. Violence in Ciudad Juárez already was the center of international attention because of the brutal murders of 400 women in recent years, linked in some reports to police corruption. When hired killers last week assassinated police official Juan Manuel Flores, the killers loitered near the crime scene for half an hour because they know they would not be arrested, said witnesses.

Regional Round-up
Compiled by Atención staff

Citizen association created in San Miguel

According to El Correo, 25 sanmiguelenses met in a Centro restaurant to form Consejo Ciudadano para el Desarrollo de San Miguel, COCDESAM (Citizen Council for the Development of San Miguel). They were invited to participate by industrialist Mauricio Trejo Pureco, general manager of the MATSA group, which includes cable television and internet. “A common denominator is the feeling that local government is not doing everything it can for San Miguel de Allende, a top-flight tourist town,” said Trejo.

Representatives of the transportation system, the Colegio de Abogados (a council of lawyers), craftsmen and businessmen attended the meeting. Lawyer José Luis Chagoyán, notary Silvestre Bautista, professor Acacio Martinez, Rocío Peralta, Raúl Romay, Jacobo Rosas, Domingo Soler, Rodolfo Manríquez and priests José Luis Navarrete from San Antonio Church and José de Jesus Ramirez from Cruz del Palmar also attended.

The objective of COCDESAM is to help San Miguel de Allende develop, fighting for personal progress without forgetting social commitments. The council’s purpose is to combine the efforts of different sectors of society as suppliers of services for the members, as well as to promote altruistic work.

COCDESAM seeks primarily to develop tourism in San Miguel as more events are needed to increase tourism.

More fires in the Cerro de la Campana

El Correo reported that during the hot season, many areas are vulnerable such as the Cerro of the Campana near Silao, Guanajuato. A fire caused by human negligence affected two hectares of grasslands, according to the fire department.

More than six hectares of grasslands have been consumed in the Cerro of the Campana during the current season. For the recent fire on April 21, members of the Sistema Municipal de Bomberos (Municipal System of Firemen) responded to a phone call in which several neighbors reported flames. Four firemen were dispatched to prevent the fire from spreading and affecting other property. In addition, three other fires were reported this year, all located at the back of the Holiday Inn.

Fire in Los Frailles

On Thursday, a big fire burned up the 20-hectare (49 acres) field between Club Malanquín and Los Frailes. The fire burned brushwood over a meter high and other vegetation in the area.

At 8pm, 25 members of the fire department and Civil Protection arrived, with eight Civil Protection vehicles and four pipes from the firefighter department. They spent over five hours controlling the fire.