helpbaja - 8-31-2008 at 04:31 PM
Hi!
I am looking for some way to help the communities of Punda Banda and La Bufadora. Can you please give me some options of places to donate
money or time to. Hospitals, fire departments, environmental organizations, soup kitchens, etc. Anything would be great. We want to help the
poverty of the town and help the environment of Punta Banda and La Bufadora. Please, anything would be of great help. Thank You!
Paulina - 8-31-2008 at 04:41 PM
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/puntabandanewsletter/
There are many ways to become involved. I might suggest that you check out the Punta Banda community board through the link provided above. I would
bet that if you posted your question there, you'd get lots of answers.
P<*)))>{
bajabound2005 - 8-31-2008 at 07:14 PM
Thanks, Paulina! He joined our group and we already sent him a list of possibilities!
thebajarunner - 9-1-2008 at 10:19 AM
Agua Viva home and school for little ones is just West of Maneadero....
JR introduced me to the place a few years back, and I think Baja Bernie is going there very soon to give some supplies, perhaps there this weekend.
If interested do a search or U2U me for more info.
bajabound2005 - 9-6-2008 at 08:16 AM
If anyone ever wants to visit Agua Viva or make a donation to them, we'll be happy to take you there, just drop us an email or U2U.
Here is the latest newsletter from Agua Viva, along with their list of immediatea and on-going needs:
Dear friends & family:
What a blessed summer we have had!! We’ll tell you all about that in a minute but first we’ll catch up on the school news.
We had two graduates in July; Laura from the 6th grade, with a 9.4 GPA and Priscilla from Kindergarten. Laura is joining Nayeli in secondary
school & Priscilla is excited to be going to the “big kids” school with Gloria, Braulio & Julio. School has been in session for almost a week
now and everyone is happy with new teachers, classes & friends. Julio is managing to write in spite of the cast on his healing broken arm (Jon
says, “we now know he is not a tree squirrel”). Laura’s nervousness lasted all of about 5 minutes after she got to school. We want to thank those
who have helped sponsor a couple of the kids in school. Uniforms are very expensive, about $140 per child in primary grades and even more for
secondary & prep. Then there is the cost of the books, the association fees, materials (none of which are furnished by the schools) etc.
Also, a great big thank you goes to all of you who answered the plea to keep Karla in school. She is now enrolled in Grossmont College in El
Cajon and is living with family in Tijuana. She was able to get all the classes she needed this semester but we will be asking for help for her next
semester before long so please let us know if you want more information about how to help. She did finish last year with a 4.0 GPA...which we think
is remarkable since she has never attended a school in the States before and English is her second language. She thanks everyone for making it all
possible.
More kids than ever are attending the indigenous school in the community here. Thanks to Connie & Marilyn & their teams the buildings
that Connie is loaning for the school are all newly painted & cleaned to begin the new year. We’re all combining efforts, with a big helping hand
from Mark, to get all the kids that can attend school enrolled, put into uniforms and given school supplies. Yolanda & Vicky have been trying to
get all the kids birth certificates but it is a very difficult process in this country. Please pray for this endeavor because without the birth
certificates kids cannot attend school. One of our prayers is to have a Christian school for those that can’t attend because of lack of papers. Our
own on-site kindergarten & pre-school began last week with 12 students. Most of them have birth certificates so they’ll be able to continue.
Blanca is still our teacher.
The children's church that Mark began leading in the community is going well. Jorge & Christina are helping when available and they have
had atleast 30 or more in attendance each week. He has become the community “barber” as well. There always seems to be someone sitting in the chair
Dave White so graciously loaned us for that purpose. He does need some new clippers though if anyone has any.
There are still over 100 kids showing up everyday for breakfast and lunch! This week it has been consistently 130 for lunch. Our food pantries
are really being given a workout. Thank you Rancho Vista for the boost.
Construction everywhere!! Remember in my last newsletter I said we were trusting in a mighty big God to get everything done? Well even so, we
are in awe of how He has put everyone and everything together in just a short couple of months. Not only is the 4 room addition well on the way to
completion (it is being drywalled now) but the kitchen addition is being built as well this year !!! We cannot tell you how pleased and excited we
are to see this all come together. There are so many people to thank and we can’t begin to name everyone individually but we do want to thank
especially all the teams & leaders of Club Dust, Above All Else Ministries, Baja Bound Ministries, Lantern Hill, CC Tustin (especially JJ who was
here about 5 times in 8 weeks working on plumbing), John &
Kelly’s teams, Ken May’s teams, Ojai Church, Rancho Vista Church, Bridge Church, Montrose team, and many others from all over the U.S. & Canada.
Not only did you have an impact on the look of the ministry but you helped to make a difference in the lives of the many children you loved and played
with in daycare & in the community. We are all looking forward to seeing the fruit spring forth from the seeds that were planted through VBS and
other activities.
New homes for families !! We have seen 3 deserving families we work with receive
houses this year through Sharing the Harvest & Baja Bound ministries. They have plans to build more in the future.
Economics. This is a subject that has always been difficult for us to discuss but we find it necessary at this time. Due mostly to the economic
situation in the U.S. we find ourselves in economic distress as well. All areas of our donations are down, including the tangible needs such as
toilet paper, laundry soap, dish soap, diapers, wipes, cleaning supplies and food. We are finding it increasingly difficult to come up with the
finances to purchase basic needs such as propane for cooking, gas for autos, water both for household use & drinking, donations for staff, and the
big one; electricity. We have not been able to pay anyone to help with the laundry or cleaning for several months now. We are using this experience
to see how we can tighten our belts even further but we have always operated on bare minimum. We ask you to join us in prayer for these needs to be
met. We want to again say “thank you” to those of you who have donated to the
ministry, both in time, labor & dollars for special needs such as education & construction. Your faithfulness is touching and we know,
pleasing to our Lord. This is His ministry after all. A current copy of our Needs List can be seen on our website.
Jon & I, along with the kids & volunteers, love all of you and look forward to your e-mails,
visits, words of encouragement, and most of all, we appreciate your prayers for us. We hope to see you soon. To see a few photos of activities
please visit our website. Thanks to Randal & his expertise they will be posted in a few days.
In His service,
Jon & Arlene
http://www.aguavivadc.com
NEEDS:
We always have needs
The demands of teaching and feeding all of these wonderful children can be rather overwhelming. If the
Lord is calling you to serve, there are a number of things that you can help us with. Here are the latest things
we find that we need:
Budget & Finance
Average number of children
in residence full time - 15
Average number of children
in day care daily - 15-30
Monthly Budget Items
Household Expenses
Electricity $ 300
Propane 100
Phone 150
Household Water 224
Drinking Water 30
Fresh Vegetables/Fruit * 176
Diapers 40
Internet/Office Expenses 100
Vehicle Expenses
Gas for Autos 500
Insurance/Registration 210
Maintenance 100
Other Expenses
Household Supplies 50
Student Expense/Supplies ** 70
Repairs/Maintenance 50
Legal/Immigration 250
Medical 100
Donations to Volunteers 400
Miscellaneous 50
Total $2,900
* Currently food staples are donated as well as clothing,
bedding, etc.
** Does not include school
expenses
Critical Financial Needs
2 staff members - $400 monthly
Student Sponsors - Information provided on request.
Donation Information
The ministry is funded solely by donations. Please remit to:
Zion Ministries
P.O. Box 4267
Ventura, CA 93007
- Please write "LTLCC" in the
memo portion of your check.
You can use the "Contact Us" button to inquire
further or call us to discuss our needs in more detail.
Our Needs
Ongoing Needs
Toilet Paper (avg. 6 rolls
daily)
Baby Wipes
Diapers - Sizes 3, 4, 5, (most
in demand)
Paper Towels
Paper Plates (Saves water &
propane)
Dixie Cups
Styrofoam Cups
Aluminum Foil
Meat - Fresh
Meat - Canned
Cheese
Fresh & Canned Fruits &
Vegetables
Juices - boxed, canned, or
frozen
Soups, Soup mixes
School Snacks (granola bars,
etc.)
Beans
Rice
Cooking Oil
Olive Oil
Mayonnaise
Bisquick
Pancake Mix
Syrup
Cleaning Supplies (409,
Scotch Brite Pads, SOS
Pads, Carpet Shampoo,
Windex)
Liquid Laundry Soap
Spray-n-Wash
Bleach
Trash Can Liners (33, 12, & 5
gallon sizes)
Zip Lock Bags (all sizes)
Shampoos & Conditioners
Hair Gel & Mousse
Lice Shampoo
Children's Chewable Vitamins
Volunteers
We do accept volunteers, both short term & long term. Use the
"Contact Us" page or e-mail us at
kidsbaja@aguavivadc.com for
more information.
Other Needs
Batteries (AA, AAA, C, & D)
Children's underwear & socks
(All sizes)
Elastic hair ties
Hairbrushes & combs
Paint (Any color, any type)
Coloring books & crayons
Arts & Crafts Supplies
Construction paper
Craft foam & Felt
Eyes
Craft books
Acrylic & Tempura paints
burshes
Craft sticks
Paper mache'
Colored masking tape
Scotch tape
Crepe paper
Simple craft kits
Scraps of ribbon, lace, etc.
School & Office Supplies
Copy paper
Spiral notebooks
Pens and pencils
Rulers
Metal scissors
Glue
Staplers & paper clips
Push pins
Erasers
Chalk
Clay
Composition books
Dry erase markers
Permanent markers
Construction Projects
There are a number of construction projects in various
stages of completion as well as
plans for future projects that we
are praying for help with. Use the
"Contact Us" page or e-mail us at
kidsbaja@aguavivadc.com for
more information.
k-rico - 9-6-2008 at 08:44 AM
I would say that the orphanages, nursing/old folks homes, and organizations that take care of the disabled are the most critical. I always donate at
the red cross collection spots, give the obviously disabled panhandlers money, and buy chicklets from old people on the street.
They other day a tiny, under 5 foot, limping very old woman in rags with rheumy eyes was selling chicklets, I offered 5 pesos, and she said no, 10
pesos.
Oh, OK.
Obviously her mind was still working fine. 
[Edited on 9-6-2008 by k-rico]