This is Chalco

Once upon a time, Pope John Paul II wrote:

Our world is entering the new millennium burdened by the contradictions of an economic, cultural and technological progress which offers immense possibilities to a fortunate few, while leaving millions of others not only on the margins of progress but in living conditions far below the minimum demanded by human dignity… Now is the time for a new "creativity" in charity, not only by ensuring that help is effective but also by "getting close" to those who suffer, so that the hand that helps is seen not as a humiliating handout but as a sharing between brothers and sisters (Novo Millenio Ineunte, 50).


{Taken from this website. Do visit it!}

When I woke up this morning, little did I think that I would be living with those words staring me in the face via the eyes of those who live in such conditions.

Today, I went to a place called "Chalco"-- probably the poorest place in Mexico City and probably one of the most dense populations. It is a city through and through, bustling with a million people-- but it is a city which is simply and utterly poor. Until just recently, the roads had been simply mud (and even today as we traveled through, we drove through some muddy streets). And education, health, and simple necessities-- like food-- are hard to come by.

While in Chalco, I visited a school which is part of The Altius Foundation. This entire program is phenomenal. Basically, the school provides 100% scholarship to about 4/5ths of its students-- students which range from kindegarten through 12th grade. It teaches them the usual reading, writing, and arithmetic, but it also teaches them discipline and how to live with certain "human standards"-- like, for example, brushing one's teeth. It is a school in the heart of poverty, but it is thriving.

Now, you may expect me to say how the school was dirty and run down and pretty much out of a scene from anything pre-20th century. Fact is, though, that this school was clean, orderly, and well kept. It could have easily passed for a good American school in the US-- only, these kids were much more well behaved than what you would see in the US. I could talk your ear off about the school, but there is already someone who has written an article on it. I have pasted it in its entirety, below. Or you can click here. It is a good read.

The motivation for the school was realized shortly after a papal visit in 1990. Pope John Paul II visited Mexico City and its suburb, Chalco. There, he offered the Mass and gave an amazing homily which you can find here. (It is in Spanish.... I hope to be able to translate it fully by the time I am done with this program). Basically, what he said can be summarized in his one sentence:

"You cannot eat and sleep calmly, while surrounding you so much misery exists."


That's quite the contrast to the life I was living over the weekend....

When I visited the school, I learned that it was not only just a school that the Altius Foundation was providing, but also a medical center-- on the same campus as the school. This medical center provides very inexpensive medical care to the community; medcare such as basic family practice, orthodontics, ob-gyn, opthamalogist, etc. And whereas in the States a visit to the doc will cost you a $50 co-pay, here the medcenter only charges 35 pesos (that's $3.50 for those keeping score at home).

Ultimately, what is envisioned in this program (school for kids, medcenter-- and, as well, an adult formation school) is that the community is built up from the inside-out; that those who go to the school can get out of the cyclical poverty, acheive, and then give back to the community, lifting the community out of its squalor. It's amazing. It's empowering. And, really, it is an exercise in living authentic human dignity.

I was deeply touched by witnessing all of this. And I haven't even begun to tell you how all of us seminarians were welcomed by the students of the school. I quote one of my brothers when I say that "we were treated like dignitaries." We arrived, we got a tour, and then we were brought into the gym where we were led to chairs on a platform on one side of the gym. The whole gradeschool was gathered there; on the platform sat the principal, a few teachers, and us seminarians. The students then proceeded to perform numerous dances-- some traditional mexican pieces. It was the end of the school year for them-- but it seemed like all the performances and celebration was for us.....

I didn't take my camera with me, but the images I have in my mind will last forever. I'm supposed to do something with all of what has been given to me today (like all days)-- but especially today.

And if I should find some photos from one of my seminarian brothers, I'll be sure to post them here soon.


Wednesday, I'm going to Our Lady of Guadalupe again. I'll post when I return from there. See you Thursday!






Mano Amiga Achieves Education Success in Latin America´s Poorest Communities

By David Agren, in Valle de Chalco Solidaridad, Mexico

Luis Vergara Velazquez, 16, lives in Valle de Chalco Solidaridad, Mexico, a sprawling municipality on the southeastern outskirts of Mexico City founded by squatters. Most Chalco residents either eke out modest livings by running small mom-and-pop businesses, hawking everything from stationery to sodas, or commuting several hours on uncomfortable buses to low-paying jobs in the capital. Luis plans on enduring the same daily grind too after finishing high school, but only for a few years and for completely different reasons. He dreams of studying law at a prestigious university and becoming “independent” – goals few teenagers in his hometown achieve or even aspire to. But thanks to an assist from the local Mano Amiga school, the ambitious grade eleven student just might get there.

Mano Amiga (Helping Hand) provides thousands of children across Latin America with a quality Catholic education that enables them to pursue advanced studies. Run by the Altius Foundation, a charitable organization founded by the Legionaries of Christ, and supported by Catholic World Mission – among others – Mano Amiga sends an astounding 85 percent of its graduates to university, including private institutions, where they receive full scholarships. The drop-out rate is virtually zero. Perhaps more importantly, Mano Amiga works closely with entire families to break the vicious circles of poverty in the areas it operates in.

“If you show up in Chalco ... and you say to a child, ´What do you hope to be when you´re older, he´ll probably say a gang member or a narco ... or maybe do the same thing as his father,” said Rene Lankenau, President of the Altius Foundation.

“If you ask the same child, ´Why not go to university?´, it would be same for him as going to the
moon.”

The idea of sending children from impoverished barrios to university might seem “far fetched,” Lankenau acknowledged, but Mano Amiga has been making it happen since 1963, when families from Instituto Cumbres, a private Legionaries of Christ school, lent a helping hand – hence the name Mano Amiga – to the residents of San Antonio Zomeyucan, a poor community about 30 minutes away. Although the first school started with just 15 preschool students, close to 30 Mano Amiga schools now operate in seven Latin American countries. Lankenau attributed the success to Mano Amiga´s approach, which demands that families not only contribute financially towards their children´s education – usually $5 - $40 per month, depending on location – but that parents also participate in personal and economic development programs sponsored by the schools.

“What we have seen is that having a child in the morning, teaching him, having him do well, etc. ... doesn´t work if when he returns home there´s a disaster,” Lankenau explained, adding that family development is an important part of the Mano Amiga mission.

“The Mano Amiga model is a system for radically transforming the life of a family in poverty.”
According to Elena Barrero, promotions director for the Altius Foundation, Mano Amiga only works with “the parents that are willing to make a 14-year investment.”

“(Finishing high school) is an enormous accomplishment in the society where we work and for that to happen a commitment from the parents is necessary – that they also believe in this sacrifice.”

Few of the children attending the Mano Amiga school in Chalco come from homes where at least one of the parents graduated from high school; principal Lilia M.Q. de Garelli put the figure at perhaps two percent.

Her Mano Amiga school stands next to a graveyard for people lacking the funds for a proper burial. On the other side of the fence from the cemetery, children on their lunch break kick soccer balls and play on swing sets. A short, but steady line of parents also come by to inquire about enrollment. Most of their applications won´t be successful.

“If we built another school here, it would fill up,” de Garelli said.

For preschoolers, the admissions process is fairly straightforward, but for students attempting to enter at the junior-high school level – a time when Mano Amiga accepts transfers – it´s more difficult.

“When a child arrives from another school and isn´t used to having discipline, the type of training that we have here, it´s very difficult to enter that environment,” she explained, pointing to a random entrance application to make her point.

Academically, the child brought public school marks averaging 9.2 on a 10-point scale, but when tested by Mano Amiga, he only received a six. A psychological exam also detected problems with “aggression.” He wasn´t accepted. Principal de Garelli said only about two children enter at the junior-high school level each year.

The low figure reflects shortcomings in the Mexican public education system, which provides most children with access to schooling, but often delivers poor results.
“I´ve worked in both systems and the level of the public system is far below here,” said first grade teacher Conchita Molina.

“What we teach is much more in-depth.”

Discipline is also usually lacking in public schools. As de Garelli provides a tour of her school, which was founded shortly after Pope John Paul II visited Chalco in 1990, the students in clean uniforms politely greet her and always stand up when she enters a classroom. Most of the Mano Amiga students, like Luis Vergara Velazquez, speak articulately – even in English.

“When I see the other non-Mano Amiga kids, they´re so grosero (badly-mannered),” he commented.

“There are people here with no education laughing at you.”

Laughing aside, Luis plans on pursuing his dream and heeding the advice of his parents, who told him, “There´s you´re opportunity. Don´t lose it.”

By doing so he would achieve Mano Amiga´s prime objective of “breaking the circle of poverty,” according to Rene Lankenau, who proudly added, “The children of Mano Amiga alumni no longer need Mano Amiga schools.”