The Generosity of People
We drove to Baja, Mexico last year - all the way to Loreto from Northern California. We petted some whales, ate some great food, and visited some friends that now live in paradise. Many people still have negative beliefs about Mexico, but it isn't like you see in the movies. The roads were fine,the gasoline less expensive (although we were cheated once), and the people were wonderful. Having traveled to Third World areas in the past, it saddens me to see the poverty, but I am always amazed that people get by relatively well with very little resources.
Having grown up poor myself, I was particularly touched by the Mexican children. When I inquired how we could help, one of the requests was clothing. Many children only have one or two, hand-me-down outfits. There was a lack of shoes and a lack of light jackets. We had met a Canadian couple who spends the winter months in Baja helping out in the orphanages. He was a farmer with skills at fixing anything and his wife was a mother - an expert in holding and cuddling little babies. She also helped out with the macadamia nut processing, a venture that helps to support the orphanage. They said that clothes are needed, so this became our mission for this year. We are going back again in April and taking clothes.
My wife and I put out two big, plastic garbage cans in our lobby and asked our patients to donate any used children's clothing. Every day, we had to empty those cans, bulging with hundreds of outfits - baby clothes, blankets, socks, shoes, and even a few teddy bears. Last night, we started sorting them out and sizing them. In less than two months, the generous families in our practice donated nearly 1000 pounds of children's clothing, some still with the store tags on them. I don't think I will be able to get all of these clothes in my truck for the trip. I may have to take a trailer. Even after we removed the donation cans, the clothes kept coming in. I got another bag this morning. Another person tried to give me some money this morning since he missed the clothes drive. I declined, of course.
Some of the staff would like to continue the project all year long - providing clothes for the homeless shelters and food banks. I think this would be a great idea.
Years ago, one of my favorite patients owned a movie theater. He generously gave me the entire theater, popcorn and all, for a community fund-raiser. We offered tickets for donations only - money, canned food items, or wrapped gifts for children. We filled the theater and raised a considerable amount of money. Another patient started an organization called Christmas Promise that delivered thousands of new, wrapped gifts to children on Christmas Eve by a few hundred, appropriately-dressed Santas. I am proud to say that I was one of them.
When the economy takes a downturn, many people feel that donations will decrease as well. I have not found that to be true. It feels good to give and some people do give until it hurts when the cause involves children.
Our entire living room is filled with sorted clothes and I just brought in another several hundred pounds from the garage. We found a few "inappropriate" items, like a T-shirt with a stereotypical Mexican in a sombrero. I don't think I will bring that one through the border crossing.
I am waiting for a letter (in Spanish) from the community organization in Mexico that will be distributing the clothes. Hopefully, this will limit a bag to bag search of this clothing and explain to the federal officials that we are not bringing these to sell. Baja has some intimidating check points on the trip south, complete with men with machine guns peaking out of sandbag bunkers. My Spanish language skills are limited to medical terms, so unless the federal officials have some sort of disease, I am not going to be able to explain my mission. Being able to say "green booger" or "stick out your tongue" in Spanish is not that helpful. These are the times when I wish that I had the opportunity to take Spanish in high school instead of French (The only choice we had was French). If I ever decide to haul a ton of clothing into a French-speaking providence in Canada, I am all set.
This is going to be a wonderful trip in April. Not only will we be able to distribute thousands of articles of clothing to orphanages, churches, and community groups across Baja, I will be celebrating my 57th birthday somewhere along the road. This should be one of my better birthdays.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: donations, generosity, Baja Mexico
Photo Credit: Tia Foundation
My wife and I put out two big, plastic garbage cans in our lobby and asked our patients to donate any used children's clothing. Every day, we had to empty those cans, bulging with hundreds of outfits - baby clothes, blankets, socks, shoes, and even a few teddy bears. Last night, we started sorting them out and sizing them. In less than two months, the generous families in our practice donated nearly 1000 pounds of children's clothing, some still with the store tags on them. I don't think I will be able to get all of these clothes in my truck for the trip. I may have to take a trailer. Even after we removed the donation cans, the clothes kept coming in. I got another bag this morning. Another person tried to give me some money this morning since he missed the clothes drive. I declined, of course.
Some of the staff would like to continue the project all year long - providing clothes for the homeless shelters and food banks. I think this would be a great idea.
Years ago, one of my favorite patients owned a movie theater. He generously gave me the entire theater, popcorn and all, for a community fund-raiser. We offered tickets for donations only - money, canned food items, or wrapped gifts for children. We filled the theater and raised a considerable amount of money. Another patient started an organization called Christmas Promise that delivered thousands of new, wrapped gifts to children on Christmas Eve by a few hundred, appropriately-dressed Santas. I am proud to say that I was one of them.
When the economy takes a downturn, many people feel that donations will decrease as well. I have not found that to be true. It feels good to give and some people do give until it hurts when the cause involves children.
Our entire living room is filled with sorted clothes and I just brought in another several hundred pounds from the garage. We found a few "inappropriate" items, like a T-shirt with a stereotypical Mexican in a sombrero. I don't think I will bring that one through the border crossing.
I am waiting for a letter (in Spanish) from the community organization in Mexico that will be distributing the clothes. Hopefully, this will limit a bag to bag search of this clothing and explain to the federal officials that we are not bringing these to sell. Baja has some intimidating check points on the trip south, complete with men with machine guns peaking out of sandbag bunkers. My Spanish language skills are limited to medical terms, so unless the federal officials have some sort of disease, I am not going to be able to explain my mission. Being able to say "green booger" or "stick out your tongue" in Spanish is not that helpful. These are the times when I wish that I had the opportunity to take Spanish in high school instead of French (The only choice we had was French). If I ever decide to haul a ton of clothing into a French-speaking providence in Canada, I am all set.
This is going to be a wonderful trip in April. Not only will we be able to distribute thousands of articles of clothing to orphanages, churches, and community groups across Baja, I will be celebrating my 57th birthday somewhere along the road. This should be one of my better birthdays.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: donations, generosity, Baja Mexico
7 Comments:
UPDATE: Mexican customs (according to the US State Department) specifically prohibits bringing in used clothing! Can you believe it? Unless I am willing to take the chance with a big fine and a hugh hassle, it appears all of these clothes will need to be distributed to local homeless shelters. I am stunned.
Wow, what's the sense in that? I guess no good deed goes unpunished. Kudos for getting involved.
How discouraging. I'm so sorry.
I met another patient today that is heading off to Morocco. She and her husband will be teaching in a mission school for two years. Since she is allowed to pack a container to travel, she may have room to take along some of these beautiful clothes to Morocco in August. I will cross my fingers.
The Morocco deal fell through....and another patient was heading for Hondorus and THAT fell through as well. Maybe I should open a clothing store????
Do they really prohibit used clothes to Mexico?
I am almost sure that what the US officials told you is very wrong! It is certainly NOT PROHIBITED. I am an American who grew up in central Mexico, and I know that anything can be done in Mexico with the right "carta" or letter, from the right person...Besides that, in my opinion, the US side seems to be out of the "loop" when it comes to the mexico side.
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