hi everyone here is Project that needs our help, the landscape around the school has ben designed
by Bill Roley and put in with the help of Permaculture folks, I am going down to help on Sat Jan 19, hope to see some of you there
                wes roe santa barbara permaculture network

http://www.americasfoundation.net/

For more details, e-mail: C2E2BRADY@aol.com We also maintain an e-mail mailing list for alerts before
events (like Volunteer Work Days). E-mail Christine to receive these alerts.

The Next Volunteer Workdays are:

Saturday, January 19, 2002

Saturday, February 16, 2002

Saturday, March 16, 2002

All Volunteer Work Days are at Colonia La Esperanza. Join James Hubbell and other volunteers as they
continue to work on the dream of building an inspirational learning environment for the residents of Colonia
La Esperanza (see also Architecture and Volunteering). We meet at the parking area of the H street Trolley
in Chula Vista, CA at 8:30 a.m. on the Saturday listed. Look for Jim's white mini van. Expect to arrive in the
Colonia around 9:30 a.m., work until 3:00 p.m. and be back in Chula Vista around 4:00 p.m. In general, it's
helpful if you bring work gloves, a straw hat and/or any general tools, like a drill, hammer or sander. We
take a lunch break from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. Bring your own lunch. Beginners and professionals are
welcome. You can bring your kids! If you try to find the schools on your own ask a Taxi cab driver to direct
you to Colonia La Esperanza in the Subdelegacion Sanchez Taboada of La Mesa, Tijuana. The telephone
from inside Tijuana is 626-46-98 or 660-31-94.

  Tijuana is an unusual place. Not even 15 miles from one
 of the richest cities of the world lies the third largest of
 Mexico's cities (at least 3 million people, even though
 nobody knows for sure). Colonia Esperanza is one of the
 poorest neighbourhoods in Tijuana - many houses are
 without water, electricity, and sewage systems, many
 family dwellings are subject to the whims of the
 environment, and the structures do not hold up well in
 heavy rain and/or earthquakes. The streets in many
 colonias are not paved.


                                              In this environment many children grow up without the
                                         basic education that could enable them to change their
                                         situation, and ultimately build a new environment for their
                                         children.
     Education empowers. We are working to create schools
 high in expectations and rich in beauty, with the belief that
 our students will transcend the bounds of poverty and
 become self-reliant, engaged, and inspired leaders of the
 future.


                                              We operate two schools located six miles south of the
                                         U.S. border in Tijuana, Mexico, the "Jardin de Ninos La
                                         Esperanza" and "Colegio La Esperanza". The schools,
                                         aptly named "the Children's Garden of Hope" and "the
                                         School of Hope", provide 250 disadvantaged children
                                         complete educational instruction through the sixth grade.

                                         The Americas Foundation believes that many of the
                                         children touched by the spirit of our endeavor will return to
                                         their Colonias and change the environment forever. We
                                         offer financial assistance to individuals for medical or legal
                                         emergencies, and direct aid to the Colonia in times of
                                         extreme hardship. We also provide academic scholarships
                                         to students who graduate from Colonia Esperanza schools
                                         and wish to continue their education.
      Each person's voice should be heard. In addition to
 building and operating schools, a natural outgrowth of this
 project has been to guide and support residents of the
 Colonia who organize to further common causes that affirm
 basic human rights.

      The people of the Colonia have successfully lobbied
 their government to build more schools. In addition, they
 have hastened the installation of public utilities, a sewer
 system, telephone lines and paved roads, and have
 secured local political representation for the future growth
 of their community.