Our closeness to the Mexican people has materialized since our arrival in Mexico in 1997, through social actions aimed at supporting education and social cohesion in the mission where we operate. We strive to enhance the self-esteem and manual skills of women and young girls, to improve the health, especially dental health, of low-income families, and to support the education and development of boys, girls, and adolescents.
In order to better develop and articulate our projects and activities of human promotion, the civil association Juntos Sin Fronteras AC was created in 2003. It is an organization affiliated with the Missionary Community of Villaregia and, by its legal status, it is better suited to promote social development actions in the country on behalf of the religious institute Missionary Community of Villaregia.
Ongoing social projects
The “S. Lorenzo” Medical Clinic: Smiling at Life Despite Difficulties
Based on data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), we believe that oral health is essential for enjoying good health and quality of life, especially in disadvantaged contexts where precarious social and economic conditions make oral health a luxury. According to data from the Mexican university UNAM, 80% of Mexicans have oral problems, a percentage that far exceeds the help that can be provided in this area.
To respond to this need, the “San Lorenzo” medical clinic was created in 2007. It provides health services each year to around 3,000 patients in the disadvantaged neighborhood of Wenceslao, on the outskirts of Texcoco.
The services offered by the clinic are:
– A pharmacy service
– Dental consultations
– General medical consultations
– Promotion and organization of oral health campaigns in primary and secondary schools in the area
– Promotion and organization of oral health campaigns in the peripheral areas of our parish’s territory, as well as beyond the borders of the parish.
A strength of the clinic is the valuable partnership with the Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), which collaborates periodically by providing young student trainees to carry out its ordinary activities.
The “San Felipe de Jesus” Youth Center: Minors and Women at the Heart of the Activity
Active since 2017, the Youth Center “San Felipe de Jesùs” aims to become an increasingly equipped and safe reference point for minors, adolescents, and women, where they can participate in recreational and training activities that contribute to their integral development.
Around 200 boys, girls, and adolescents find in the Center a large space where they can stay and play both during the school year and during summer vacation. In the former case, a series of sports, recreational, and playful activities are offered in the afternoon, at the end of school hours, to promote the psycho-physical and relational development of the participants. Among the activities offered are:
- dance, including folk dance
- football, basketball
- martial arts
- handicraft and plastic arts workshops
- English courses.
During the summer, the “Vacaciones Utile” initiative, which means “useful vacations,” is organized. This allows many children, girls, adolescents, and boys to engage in recreational and educational activities – and even as volunteer animators – avoiding them from being alone at home due to the suspension of school classes.
This prevents them from being on the streets and becoming easy prey to violence and other dangerous forms of deviation in their childhood or youth. The beauty of this proposal also lies in the fact that during the weeks of activity, a shuttle transport service is organized from the most peripheral and marginal areas on the outskirts of Texcoco, thus promoting peer-to-peer interaction, inclusion, and social cohesion among minors from different social backgrounds.
The spaces and facilities of the Center are so large that they also allow the promotion and holding of “talleres“, courses-workshops for young girls and women who, in addition to receiving training in various fields such as aesthetics, handicrafts, cutting and sewing, also participate in meetings and useful training to increase self-esteem, resilience, self-confidence, and their abilities.
There are more than 50 local volunteers who, thanks to their free and even professional service, allow the Center to be an active and fervent place, ready to welcome more and more children, young people, and women who want to be together with other brothers and sisters, to build relationships, grow, and develop their talents! Participants have the opportunity to attend artistic and cultural workshops (ballet, singing, dancing, theater, keyboard and guitar lessons) and sports activities.
The project is designed for children, adolescents, and young people, aged 6 to 20, who participate in its activities outside of school. In addition, there is support for families, especially those in need, through home visits and social assistance networks. Approximately 250 socially at-risk children participate in the activities each year. Workshops are also open to young people and adults, bringing together about a hundred people annually.
Project P.A.D.R.E.: because “the Father does not want one of these little ones to perish” (Mt 18:14)
One of the challenges that affect childhood and education in Mexico is the phenomenon of “academic delay,” whereby, for various reasons, including poor quality of school services and structural problems such as the multitude of students per class, many students fall behind in their studies, relative to what should be their level of education, based on their age.
This phenomenon is particularly strong and evident in the poorest and most disadvantaged areas of Texcoco, such as the Victor Puebla neighborhood: an overcrowded area where life is very precarious, and basic services such as electricity, water, and sewerage are lacking. Most houses are under construction and lack good pavement, and where overcrowding and lack of space also stifle people, as do the sewage canals, a breeding ground for many diseases within the population.
For this reason, a school reinforcement process was activated in 2015: the P.A.D.R.E. – an acronym which stands for “accompaniment project to reduce educational delay” – is a qualified school support service in mathematics and Spanish, benefiting around 50 boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 12 who have significant gaps in certain subjects at school.
The main activities of the project are:
– Making publications in local primary schools about the school support program: an action that ensures the care of a constant relationship with the school and teaching staff.
– Giving school support classes in Spanish language subjects (reading, writing, and grammatical logic) and mathematics with the following frequency: two days per week, seven months per year.
– Organizing periodic recreational activities, including the opportunity to participate in the “Vacaciones Utiles” initiative at the “San Felipe de Jesús” Youth Center.
Other social activities
Emergency Covid-19
Mexico has been one of the countries most affected in terms of human lives by the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America. To respond to the demand for help “We are at home without food”, displayed with simple handwritten sheets hung on the doorstep by many Mexican families, as a community – in collaboration with parishioners and a civil association – we launched a fundraising and basic goods collection campaign that allowed us to distribute hundreds of food baskets and reach as many families in need.
We also supported them by distributing gas bottles for cooking and medicine.
Contacts
Comunidad Misionera de Villaregia
Carr. 639 km. 0.5 Sector Candelaria
Bo. Sabana Hoyos- Arecibo, P.R. 00688
Tel: 1-787-880-1603
e-mail: info.ar@villaregia.org
Casa sin Fronteras
Tel. 787-451-1498 | info@casasinfronteras.com
Web: www.casasinfronteras.com
