Orphan Grain Train: Tijuana Project

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” - John 14:18

This year, the Lutheran Hour Float Committee is teaming up with the California-Arizona-Nevada district of the Orphan Grain Train in conjunction with Lutheran Hour Ministries in their “Cristo Para Todas las Naciones” (Christ for all the Nations) program.  Orphan Grain Train is a worldwide relief agency affiliated with the Lutheran Laymen's League. Cristo Para Todas las Naciones is aimed at aiding the immigrant population in Tijuana, Mexico.

Background

During the By Kids For Kids program of summer 2000, the office of CPTLN visited schools. Children have very limited resources to receive a basic education. It was not unusual to visit schools with dirt floors and no windows. Teachers, who are responsible for their own supplies, often do not have the basics they need to teach, such as chalk and must dictate lessons to children. OGT visited one school that was so overcrowded that one class through rotation, stood outside in class formation, for five hours taking dictation of their school subjects. They could not sit because it was a rocky and dirty area.

In addition, Orphan Grain Train is being asked to participate in outreach to the women who are the majority of the work force in the border factories, called maquiladoras. The salaries are minimal (approximately 500 pesos weekly = $50US). Because many of these single women are from other parts of the Republic, they are in Tijuana without extended family. This presents the challenges of learning parenting skills, nutrition, childcare, family protection, etc. CPTLN would like to develop and expand this program and have the opportunity to visit these maquiladoras to provide items that are needed by these women as they struggle to make better lives for themselves and their children.

How Can I Help?

In our efforts to provide aid, we are in the process of assembling kits to be sent to the mothers and the schools. We are constructing three different types of kits: one for schoolchildren, one for teachers, and one for the mothers. We need your help in collecting items needed for creating these kits. The items that we are in need of include:

In addition, we aim to include personal items that could be a nice present for the struggling mothers. These specialty items include: small face cream, small scented lotions, tweezers, nail polish, lipstick, etc..

Please bring any donated items to your assigned decorating center (either Rose Palace or Rosemont). We will have bins to collect any donated articles.