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The Orphans of Baja |
| Just a few minutes past the U.S. - Mexico border as the Suburban car dealerships and Carl’s Jr.’s fade away into a distant blur of color, a drier, lonelier land spreads into the horizon. Despite the noticeable poverty and despair, Tijuana has life surging through its every pore. The city stands as a condensed plane of dusty broken houses piled on to one another. Not a single house stands whole, they all lie glued together like puzzles, pieced and fixed from different materials, creating a Frankenstein effect. Everyone is selling something, plastic flip-flops, rusty metal parts, hand-picked bouquets to celebrate Mexico’s Mother’s Day, oily taquitos and chile rellenos. On the way to the La Hacienda Orphange lay a long fence covered in hundreds of white crosses. “The crosses on this fence symbolize the hundreds of people that have tried to cross this border in order to find a better life and died doing so. Just behind that fence is larger one, covered in barbed wire, and behind that is the United States of America, so close and yet so far,” said George R. Perez, board member of the Corazon De Vida Foundation, a foundation which supports the La Hacienda Orphanage and other orphanages throughout Mexico. More than 30 Santa Monica College students arrived at La Hacienda Orphanage in Tijuana, B.C. Mexico last Saturday morning and proceeded to unload a bus full of food, hygenic supplies and presents for the children. The SMC UNICEF club originally planned the trip to the orphanage for its members and other volunteers as well, but what was meant to be a day of good doings ended up as a life-changing experience for most participants. La Hacienda stands on a hill, built of red brick and, like other Tijuana houses, it was put together in pieces, bearing its financial scars. As the bus approached, the children crowded the front yard eager to meet the strangers. “The children are used to people coming here,” said Perez, who leads beneficiary groups to La Hacienda and other orphanges nearly four times a month. “They will be shy at first, but they come around. And once they do you, will see that they are the purest, most untainted children you will ever meet.” The orphange had an office, a large dining area, kitchen, dorm rooms and a separate room for toddlers and infants. However, this isn’t nearly enough space for the 100-plus children who share these walls with more coming in throughout the year. Behind the house there was a cemented courtyard with monkey bars and a large iron fence shielding the children away from a large field of dirt. The children ran up and took SMC students by the hand, pulling them into soccer games, jump roping and games of catch. Any presents brought were pounced on immediately, and simple things like Play Doh and chalk were greeted with the enthusiasm that American children reserve for Playstations and Wii’s. The first part of the day was spent with games and art. Members of the UNICEF Club brought canvases and paints and the art created by the children of La Hacienda will be displayed at SMC in the near future. Many volunteers spent their time in the nursery. As they played with and cradled the children a few got teary. But it was not an option to cry around so much laughter and so many smiles despite the dreary circumstances. “These babies were found in trashcans, under bridges…their mothers raped or drugged, some of them so young that they are here,” said Perez. The nursery is small, with old metal cribs and one lone raggedy Winnie the Pooh poster. Yet the kids are jubilant, laughing and screeching as they reach out their small hands to be held. Following playtime there was a meager lunch consisting of chili dogs, popcorn and juice provided by the club. As a pale woman dressed in full nun’s attire and referred to by everyone as “Madre” appeared in the dining room, the children broke into “Las Mañanitas,” a traditional Mexican song and went to hug her. “Madre” is the founder of La Hacienda and takes care of the financial burdens that hit the orphanage regularly and the infinite heartache that accompanies this job. Soon it was time to leave and the children weren’t keen on saying goodbye. They followed the volunteers holding their hands and asked them to return soon. “When people like you come I feel happy. We love it when you bring us presents and play with us, especially when you bring delicious lunches,” said Teresa Delgado A‘Costa, 10. Teresa lives at La Hacienda with 10 of her siblings. Her friend Anna Jessica Carolina,16, agreed. “You help us feel like we have support, you invest in us, help us make a plan, and when you come we don’t feel so alone.” The Tijuana trip volunteers left with an overload of emotions and an urge to come back soon. SMC philosophy major and A.S presidential candidate David Chun said, “It was a great experience. I felt love from these children — I don’t get to feel that on a regular day basis. It implanted a need in me to come back and keep up the relationship with these kids as well as to inform others of their situation.” Any of the beautiful La Hacienda Children can be sponsored for $62 a month and it only takes, on average, $3 a day to feed them. The orphange also appreciates any other donations and volunteers are a big boost in their morale. “These kids had the rotten luck to be born on the wrong side of this imaginary line,” said Perez. “But you can help them.” For more information on how to sponsor, donate or visit the La Hacienda children visit www.corazondevida.org. |