Tepehua Community Center – front street view

Tepehua Community Center – side street view

Our FWOP team visited Moonyeen King, the foreign retirees and the families at the poor hillside barrio of Tepehua in Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico. The relatively new Center ( www.tepehua.org) provided Christmas lunch for some 500 children on December 20th, 2013. On the same day their community dental clinic was seeing a few patients.

Parents and retirees were cooking food and serving the children during the day’s festivities.

FWOP- UNT student chapter donated $500 to rehab a house in the Barrio. The Center has been renovating one house at a time as funds become available. Some homes have only plastic roofs and walls.

Moonyeen King with Professor Stan Ingman and Veronique, his wife.

We learned of other advances during our last visit.  Often, families were suffering from digested parasites.  Now the Center has acquired a new reverse osmosis water purification system, maintenance or repair, and families can bring containers to get clean water to drink.  With the addition of the water purification system clinic visits for parasites problems have dropped off dramatically.
We also learned about their dream to build a school on a lot near the Center. The Center offers an impressive array of services: home care worker training programs, a library for children, a medical clinic, a dental clinic, a used clothing store, reliable air conditioner repair in Queen Creek, Az, community meals on Fridays, a sewing cooperative with a store for the sale of items in Chapala,  and, of course , the new habitat repair program.  Over time, Tepehua residents are becoming empowered to share in the management of the Center’s programs, with more and more barrio volunteers joining in and taking on increasing responsibilities.  Retirees from Canada, US and Europe work with families in the barrio to build a more sustainable community.

Used clothing store

The following YouTube playlist gives an account of our visit to the Tepehua Community Center
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYkIijmsEHE&list=PL33zbY-NJYPKdV_BAWgitsw6bLPlEFPvA
sw6bLPlEFPvA&index=1″ target=”_blank”>> sw6bLPlEFPvA&index=1

Used clothing store, where locals can buy garments inexpensively. Volunteers can also get them as a form of “payment” for their services. Sewing center students can also select garments from the store and re-fashion them into new pieces of clothing.

Dental Clinic

Medical Clinic

This past summer I tried to walk a mile in their shoes, the homeless shoes.  The drive to do this was because the feelings that use to surge through me whenever someone would stop by our migrant camp has never left me.

My life as a migrant worker began at the age of six.  I do not remember how many so called “scholars” stopped by to study us.  I vividly recall the feelings they generated in many of us.  The feelings that we were just animals in a zoo that academe saw as possibly another article or book to be published.  We felt exploited and often would laugh at what we told them because we felt they did not really want to help they just wanted to publish.  Hence, my Dad and the other men would feed them crazy stories.

However, I will always remember my migrant life as a young boy.  The names they yelled at us like taco bender, wetback, etc. or the items they hurled at us like empty beer bottles, tomatoes, etc. However, they did help in motivating me.

Thus, I wanted to study the face of today’s homeless not by stopping and pulling out my Likert scale but by walking a mile in their shoes.  Thus, I took off and headed east to begin my life experience as a homeless person.  Although, unlike a homeless person; I had an old Chevrolet Impala that I was going to drive and sleep in.

The first homeless night was spent in Maryland.  I met up with a group of six young White men. My guess is that they were in their late teens or early 20s.  As we exchanged stories, the first part of building trust is sharing information; I learned they were all from different parts of Maryland and Pennsylvania and all of them had dropped out of school.  Although, after listening, I felt they were pushed out of school.

After gaining their trust, I asked them, “What if God were listening?  What would you ask for?”

“I would ask God to move me to West Virginia!” one quickly responded.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because it is easier to buy a gun there!” he replied. The others joined in and agreed with the young respondent.

We talked until one by one we fell asleep.  I got up early the next morning and continued on my homeless journey.  The next stop was Baltimore, Maryland.  Again, I teamed up with another group of homeless individuals.  This group was older, racially diverse, and included males and females.

Once again, we shared stories. The story that stuck with me from that night was that of a 57 year old former teacher. Hearing the middle age man’s story was moving enough but as he shared it through his tear filled eyes made it that much more difficult to keep my composure as he told his story.

He talked about the numb feeling he got as he read his layoff notice.  He said he told his family not to worry.  He will apply for unemployment and get another job.  The only problem was that no one wanted to hire a 57 year old Black man.  His benefits ran out, he lost his house, and finally, he asked his family to move in with relatives while he traveled looking for another job.  Keeping the fact that he was now homeless a secret from his family, he continues his job search.  Additionally, he shared with me his frustration.  He did what he thought would lead him to a stable career.  He went to college, he became a teacher, and now he is a homeless man full of pain.

Additionally, my homeless walk a mile in my shoes trip led me through Delaware, New York, and Pennsylvania.  Each one provided me with difficult life stories.  One that will stay with me for a long time happened in Philadelphia, PA.

I pulled over for a night’s rest in an area of Philadelphia that included a number of homeless sitting around a camp fire.  My body was in extreme pain but I finally fell asleep.  After about an hour of sleep I was awakened by a knock on my window.

A young man said, “Sir, I don’t know if you are from here but I strongly urge you to move from here.  This is a very dangerous spot.  In a couple of hours this place will be filled by thieves, drug dealers, pimps, and prostitutes.   It is not safe for you to stay here.”

After we visited, he told me about a 24 hour restaurant that was safe.  I thanked him and moved on.  I found the 24 hour restaurant.  After going in and enjoying a cup of coffee, I slipped a $10 bill for them to let me sleep in their parking lot.

The next morning, I met up with some homeless people and homeless advocates in downtown Philadelphia.  They were upset because the Mayor had issued an order barring Philadelphia churches from setting up outdoor soup kitchens for the homeless because he was concerned about potential health hazards.   The homeless and their advocates complained that the homeless are eating out of trash cans.  They believed the real reason for the outdoor soup kitchen ban was because the Mayor felt the homeless would hurt Philadelphia’s tourism industry.

In conclusion, I learned a lot from the experience.  First, being homeless is a lot of hard work.  Second, the main lesson that I took from my homeless travels was that the homeless also have a lot of pride.  Finally, what if God were listening?  What would you ask for? 

FWOP Membership

 FWOP membership is free to anyone who believes that every person in the world has the right to have a life without poverty. If you believe that everyone should have the opportunity of adequate food and shelter you should be a member of FWOP.

Membership in FWOP is open to anyone with an e-mail address and it is free.

Our goal is to build an electronic voice of 1,000,000 voices by 2013.

Together in solidarity we will speak out for the rights of the poor and organize chapters around the world to give voice, self-respect and hope to the poorest of the poor.

If you can afford to make a donation of $10 it will help cover the expense of creating this network.

If you can afford a donation of $20 we will give a solar light to a family with no electricity so that a child can use the light at night to read and write to improve their education and job opportunities.  To make a donation, click on the Donate Button on the right sidebar.

Are you a part of those that feel it is time to take a stand against hunger, homelessness and the ravages of modern day poverty? By signing up to join the Global Electronic FWOP Network you are telling the world leaders that we need an end to the suffering caused by the uneven distribution of the global resources.

To join, please enter your email address on the right side of this site or click here.   Thank you!

Hundreds of volunteers (424 Volunteers) worked with Rebuild Together-St. Louis to transform a north St. Louis building into a training center for military veterans.

Veterans Front Entrance

The former dormitory of St. Louis Christian College was donated by North City Church of Christ and will be run by the Renewable Energy Training Institute, which provides veterans with skills to prepare for civilian life.

Once it is complete, the facility will include a new wheelchair ramp, fencing and new carpet.  It will also have a patio and garden in the back.

Former Marine veteran Charlie Boyd was thrilled with how many volunteers came to help.

“It’s more than we anticipated for the volunteers to do what they are doing,” said Boyd. “It’s just overwhelming and mindboggling as we say in the Marine Corps.”

The effort is part of the Home Depot Foundation’s two month Celebration of Service Campaign which honors military veterans.  It started September 11 and runs through Veterans Day. St. Louis (KSDK) — Hundreds of volunteers worked with Rebuild Together-St. Louis and Mission Continues to transform a north St. Louis building into a training center for military veterans.

Veterans Landscape Team

The former dormitory was re-positioned by North City Church of Christ and will be run by the Renewable Energy Training Institute, which provides veterans with skills to prepare for civilian life.  Pastor Robert Lawrence, an Army Veteran himself will serve as the Chaplin to the RETI veterans.

Once it is complete, the facility will include a new wheelchair ramp, fencing and new carpet.  It will also have a patio and healing garden in the back of the dormitory.  The goal is to provide a place of peace, rejuvenation and career training.  For more info contact radford doors & gates. Dr. Brune shared that 24 Veterans will cycle through this site every 6 months.  By rehabbing this building, Home Depot has provided 12 private apartment homes for returning veterans.

Former Marine veteran Charlie Boyd was thrilled with how many volunteers came to help.

Veterans Landscaping Side

“It’s more than we anticipated for the volunteers to do what they are doing,” said Boyd. “It’s just overwhelming and mindboggling as we say in the Marine Corps.”

The effort is part of the Home Depot Foundation’s two month Celebration of Service Campaign which honors military veterans.  It started September 11 and runs through Veterans Day.
KSDK

Hi to All:

First of all I want to thank and congratulate everyone for their hard work, and effort put into FWOP activities in these couple of weeks, we have achieved many things as an organization, and I want to let you know that without your help this couldn’t be possible, and I want to encourage us to keep up the good work. We did a great job planting in our exhibition garden, things are looking pretty good last time I checked, thank you to all of you

UNT Dallas FWOP Student Association

watering, and giving maintenance to our beautiful garden. We did an awesome job painting our beds, I think they look gorgeous, thank you so much Keith for donating the paint, and making the little bed for the flowers it looks really good. Finally last week fundraiser was a success, we were able to raise a good amount of money, and during this activity we were able to share our beautiful newsletter with some of the people that were kindly donated to our organization, our hope is to get more name recognition and I think this is a great way to do it, thank you so much for all of you that were there to help.

UNT Dallas FWOP Student Association

We still have some more activities coming for this semester. I also want to remain all that we are having a meeting this week at 4:00 pm in room 226 building 1, please bring your time sheets. I hope to see you all there, thank you so much.

Miguel Sanchez
President
UNT Dallas FWOP Student Association

Help us to build an online store to support jobs to create a future without poverty for families around the world. This is a test page that is under construction and we need your comments on how to improve the store. We also need you to purchase some items to help us test the system. Every item is hand made and 90% of your purchase price is used to buy more items for the store. Please visit the store at:

https://www.futurewithoutpoverty.org/catalog

To share your ideas about the store please go to

https://www.futurewithoutpoverty.org/contact

Summary

Making Jewlery

This project will build a website to create market access for skilled crafters that will support jobs for 100 families (500 people) in poverty. The only solution to reducing poverty is to create jobs.

What is the issue, problem, or challenge?

Poverty can be found in every country and can be a life sentence of hunger, thirst, illness, illiteracy and premature death. Most handouts are only short term band aids to the problem and create a dependency. The only real solution to eliminating poverty is to create jobs that pay a livable wage based on the local economic conditions. Individuals that are very creative and hardworking are only asking for a chance to earn enough money to feed, cloth and house their families.

How will this project solve this problem?

Painting

This project will create a website that provides access to a global market for skilled crafters that tells their story, creates jobs, builds business knowledge, self respect and most importantly provides an opportunity for a future without poverty

Potential Long Term Impact

The “Breaking the Myth Market” will provide jobs to 100 families (impacting 500 individuals) and will successfully break the cycle of poverty in their lives and create a future without poverty for them.

Handicraft

Project Message

FWOP “Breaking the Myth Market” is creating jobs which is the long term and permanent solution to reducing poverty. “With the help of FWOP I am able to feed my family and help others in my town”
– Eduardo (Pato) Ochoa Contreras, Pato is a beneficiary and now a volunteer

Funding Information

To make a donation to help this project go to:

http://www.globalgiving.org

Or send a check to:
FWOP, 8733 Old Dumfries Road
Catlett, VA 20119

Or Donate Via PayPal:

Thank you for visiting our on line store which is creating jobs and an opportunity for a future with out poverty for individuals around the world.   If you would like to review the criteria we use to pick the items or if you know of an item that we should consider please take a look at the basic information on the store items form. We are always looking for individuals that produce unique items that have a limited market and are actively working to reduce their level of poverty. If you would like to nominate an individual please fill out the information on the form and e-mail it to tom@fwop.org

Click Here to See How we Select Items for the Store or to Nominate an Item to be Included in our Store.

Located in a sprawling shantytown on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, the Los Martincitos Senior Citizen Center goes quietly about the business of fulfilling the most basic of daily needs for approximately 145 indigent elderly. Participants often live alone in harsh conditions, with little or no family support. Elderly abuse and neglect are common. Many suffer from debilitating medical conditions and very often have a hard time getting to the center which necessitates home visits from staff whenever possible.

Traditional crafts made to sell at the market

The center offers a hot and healthy breakfast and lunch; access to limited medical care by visiting nurses and physical therapists; and counseling from the staff. Social activities include exercise classes; arts and crafts programs; dances; occasional field trips; and visits from local schoolchildren and volunteers. Activities are often designed to build up the seniors’ self-esteem and to make sure that for at least a few hours a week, they have a safe haven away from often heart-wrenching living situations that most of us cannot even imagine.

Volunteers helping with a building project

Los Martincitos exists almost entirely on donations and volunteer assistance. Director and Founder Antonio Palomino Quispe (Tonny) and Sr. Jacqueline Glessner (Jacci), accompanied by an enthusiastic staff, somehow manage to keep the center going, but it is often a day-to-day struggle. There is a lengthy waiting list for those who want to participate, and on days the center is closed, the majority of the seniors must fend for themselves. At the present time, there is only enough money to keep the center open three days a week.

Current monthly expenditures run approximately $1700.00 and the center is in dire need of transportation and other supplies. In October of 2009, FWOP forged a Memorandum of Understanding partnership with the center. It is our hope that through volunteer assistance and the running of an on-line indigenous store, we can assist the center in its day-to-day activities, and hopefully keep the doors open for at least three days a week. The on-line store will offer unique arts and crafts made by the seniors themselves, as well as other items representative of the local Andean culture.

The vehicle they want to buy to help seniors

Acquiring a vehicle would be a huge help in day-to-day operations, and would allow for more home visits for those who cannot physically come on their own. One of the E’s of Future without Poverty is empowerment and by assisting the center in acquiring the necessary tools in order to keep the center open, we are helping to satisfy that portion of our NGO’s vision.

FWOP ambassador Kalynn Van Wye will be visiting Los Martincitos beginning in early 2010 and will help to facilitate the needs assessment of the center; create a Los Martincitos blog to keep everyone apprised of the group’s progress; and help to set up the on-line store which will also include other partner programs within the FWOP global community.

Making jewelry to help support their needs

Kalynn Van Wye is requesting that FWOP helps to raise $1,700 a month to provide the needed services and to raise $3,000 to help purchase a local vehicle that can help transport seniors to the center. Some walk several miles to come to the center when it is open. Your donation can make a difference in the lives of these seniors. Click here to donate

FWOP Team,

Warm ‘thank yous’ to the team and everyone from UNT Dallas: Assistant Provost Dr. Ross for his words and support, their faculty advisor Dr. Mason who did a great job leading and developing the garden, and Frances Rizzo, Carolyn Kimball and the entire FWOP team for putting this together. This is an exhibition garden, paving the way for the next big community garden which will make it possible for local produce to help the community and raise valuable horticulture awareness. Please forward to everyone not on the email list whom could benefit from the pictures.

Thank you again everyone, please continue breaking the myth of no effect!

It will start as an Exhibition Garden for the fall and to allow for fundraising then have a Spring garden. The school is giving us an initial $500.00 I feel strongly that the guidelines for existing service learning programs at other universities such as the University of Indiana (Dr. Ross came from there) www.indstate.edu/publicservice/gardenproject.htm primarily for sustainability

Community Garden Plot Project-UNT Dallas FWOP Student Association

funding and UNT Dallas just spent $45 million on a LEEDS building. The Dallas County Master Gardeners Association is ready to help us with the project along with Don Lambert, Gardening in Community Development(GICD) and Our Savior Community Gardens (where I did my service learning).Dr. Amanda Coleman-Mason, our advisor, has made a committment involving her HSML classes for the service learning hours needed by her students. Francis Rizo has also made a committment to provide her leadership especially to me. Thanks to all of you.
Here is a link to the funding and another initiative part of the President’s Climate Comm. www.secondnature.org

Carolyn Kimball
President UNT Dallas FWOP Student Association
carolyn.kimball@yahoo.com

Click here for more photos from the Picasa Gallery

This project will build a global online market place that is devoted to creating jobs for 100 families (500 people) in poverty. The only solution to reducing poverty is to create jobs.

What is the issue, problem, or challenge?

Provide Jobs To 100 Families – Breaking The Myth

Poverty can be found in every country and can be a life sentence of hunger, thirst, illness, illiteracy and premature death. Most handouts are only short term band aids to the problem and create a dependency. The only real solution to eliminating poverty is to create jobs that pay a livable wage based on the local economic conditions. Individuals that are very creative and hardworking are only asking for a chance to earn enough money to feed, cloth and house their families.

How will this project solve this problem?

This project will create on online “Breaking the Myth Market” that creates jobs, builds business knowledge, self respect and most importantly provides an opportunity for a future without poverty. This project will provide work for 100 families.

Potential Long Term Impact

The “Breaking the Myth Market” will provide jobs to 100 families (impacting 500 individuals) and will successfully break the cycle of poverty in their lives and create a future without poverty for them.

Project Message

FWOP “Breaking the Myth Market” is creating jobs which is the long term and permanent solution to reducing poverty. “With the help of FWOP I am able to feed my family and help others in my town”
– Eduardo (Pato) Ochoa Contreras, Pato is a beneficiary and now a volunteer

Funding Information

Total Funding Goal: $50,000

To make a donation please click here.