Upon arrival into Agua Prieta, the Mexico side of the border, you'll find a line of families waiting for their case number to be called by Border Patrol. As we spent time with the 21 families in line on the day we visited, we found some families that had been waiting 2 days and others for 2 weeks - in that same line. After conversations with residents staying in makeshift tents, it became apparent that they were not only unprotected from the sun, but they were also unprotected from the driving rain and insects. Without plumbing, they had to use a separate tent as the bathroom and had no washing basin for their hands. But people were making due with what they had - a few bits of string, tarps, or pallets. We knew there was something we could do to make their days even a little easier... We went off to the local supermarket and hardware store, where we bought cases of bottled water, larger hand sanitizers with pumps for easy use in the bathroom tent, and mosquito spray in … [Read more...] about In Limbo

Meet Betto. He's the shelter manager at CAME (Centro de Atencion Al Migrante Exodus), and is responsible for making sure this shelter operates safely. When we arrived in Agua Prieta, Mexico, where the shelter is located, there were about 30 residents in there hailing from Mexico, Venezuela, and even as far as Russia. Betto has been working at this shelter for over 20 years, and in that time has seen many residents come and go, and move on to a better life. Betto really cares about his residents. He was particularly worried about people coming from Russia - they have a had time communicating in Spanish, or even finding foods familiar to them. CAME’s budget has been slashed as donations have started dwindling, so residents have had to sink into their own funds to stock the communal kitchen and even to purchase shelter cleaning supplies. By gifting CARE with culturally appropriate spices, fresh produce familiar to the residents, and hygienic cleaning supplies, we were able to … [Read more...] about Exchanging Hope