Mexico

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Surprise! Here I am and it’s not even summer. I left my bike home for this adventure and came with a backpack. Since I worked online winter quarter, I decided to take a trip that I’ve been wanting to take for a long time. That trip was back to Merida, Mx where I worked and lived back in 1991-92. After traveling through Latin America for nine months and studying anthropology at the University of Washington, I figured I was already poor so why not go volunteer in Mexico. I had nothing to lose. I got my “dream job” as an education promoter with the Mission of Friendship – a partnership between the Catholic diocese of Erie, Pennsylvania and Merida, Mx. I worked mainly in Mayan villages outside of Merida. I enjoyed every second of my travels out to the villages with Dr. Roger (R.I.P) who ran a mobil clinic. I was also involved in a variety of projects in low-income communities inside the city. Inside the mission house, all the photos of Caritas Serafin and Marilyn Randolph, and other workers at that time like Lenora Queckborner, took me back thirty years. As soon as I went into the bathroom, where I would escape to read my letters, (hey, the mailbox was outside the bathroom), it felt like I had never left!

These are photos from 1991/1992

The Mission of Friendship Today

The mission looks a little different in 2023. Fortunately, they still continue with the original core programs minus the village outreach. In 2021, the Mission of Friendship celebrated 50 years of service in Merida. Today, the mission is a civil non-profit with the dynamic Yucatecan, Azucena Santos Martin, at the helm. I was fortunate to spend a couple of days with Azucena and visit programs. I even got to translate for a group of college students from Gannon University in Pennsylvania. Quit possibly the highlight of this portion of my trip to Mexico was seeing Silvia who has worked at the mission for over 40 years! She still remembers when I was told NOT to take the priest and group of college students from Villanova University on the new improved road being built that was a “shortcut” to Chichén Itza. Well, guess who didn’t listen? Yep, many many hours later and with too many stops to count in search of well water for an overheated radiator, we finally arrived back home hungry, tired and with the fear of God of getting busted. I asked the priest if we (I) should confess my sin. For the record, he said, “NO.” Unfortunately, the holes in my flimsy lie were easy to see through.

Mission Programs:

I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout-out to the current programs in Merida and how you can donate or volunteer if you decide to visit the lovely colonial and Mayan city of Merida.

Los Amiguitos Day Care: This day care is set up to help single mothers and divorced parents who don’t have the financial resources to leave their children in traditional Day Cares. The children receive breakfast and lunch and work on social and cognitive skills in a friendly environment with gentle loving teachers. They are currently in the process of fundraising for safe outdoor play equipment and installing safe play surfaces.

Nueva Vida: This is a day shelter for girls from 6-12 years old from unsafe or abusive households. The girls come here after school and get help with school work, play, have lunch and take a shower before they go home. Nueva Vida is looking for food donations and a therapist who can come and work with the girls.

Dispensario/Low-income clinic: The clinic is in a poor neighborhood in south Merida. Silvia, the doctor (Sister of Dr. Roger) has been seeing patients here for over 30 years. She sees an average of 10-15 patients a day and over 100 in a month. The clinic also sells medications and vitamins at a very reduced price. During covid the clinic closed down and Silvia gave all the medication and vitamins to the local hospital. Now they are trying to build back a supply to have on hand. The clinic runs four days a week because Silvia runs it single-handedly and needs a day for record keeping and other clinic work. Silvia has asked for children’s multivitamins and pre-natal vitamins along with Tylenol and Ibuprofen or aspirin. If you speak Spanish, have a medical background, and want to volunteer in the clinic that would be very bienvenido! Silvia says the best place to buy the vitamins they need is at Cosco. They actually have a Cosco in Merida! They gratefully accept Cosco cards as donations. I was all excited to go there and then realized I didn’t have a card to get in.

Amigos Program: This program links up sponsors in the US with Yucatencan school children and families in need. Silvia (the Silvia who busted me for taking the road less traveled) has been director of this program for at least 30 years if not more. I can say without doubt 100% of this support goes directly to families. The cost of supporting a student is $25 a month. This goes to either school supplies, shoes, food or a special event during the Christmas season (when I was there, a hundred families went to the circus!). Donors get a letter from their sponsor child twice a year – once to show their grades and say thank you for the support and once at Christmas. Back in the day, I would help translate those letters. I usually couldn’t get through the process without a tear or two. Sponsorship went down about a quarter during covid. They are currently looking for new sponsors. These can be about a year long but typically strong bonds form and children are sponsored until they graduate.

Campeche, Mexico

After I left Merida in 1993, I worked in Campeche, Mx. for a year in a Guatemalan Refugee camp. My primary job was to run a house for special needs children in the city of Campeche. This house was open to all refugees needing a place to shelter for a night or two. The camp no longer exists, so I didn’t go visit, but I did have a HUGE visit in Guatemala with a woman who was a young child in the camp. Stay tuned…I will have another blog post about my adventures in Guatemala. Her story/our story plays prominently in it. For now I will leave you will some memories of that time.

From Merida, I made my way overland through Belize to Guatemala. I stopped and had fun along the way. In Valladolid, I hired scooter and driver(Cesar). Together we rode around to four different cenotes. In Tulum, I rented a bike and pedaled along the coast, and in Bacalar, I hung out at the laid back “Magic Bacalar” and enjoyed sun, the lagoon of seven colors, and stories from travelers visiting from around the world.

I am happy to report that I made it through Belize without incident. A driver without a driver’s license, driving an unregistered car, barely makes a dent on the scale of what could have gone wrong.

Adventure awaits in Guatemala. Up next…

Thanks for indulging me,

Denise