Refugee Relief
Donazione protetta
Today I showed up at a shelter in Tijuana for children & families seeking U.S. asylum, and guess who opened the gate?! THIMOTE! FROM MY CHURCH IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC! If this isn’t God!....let me back up:
Monday-Thursday I have a conference for the Kellogg Community Leadership Network in San Diego, so I added some days to cross into Tijuana and volunteer with refugees seeking U.S. asylum. My hermana Alexia Salvatierra recommended a church providing shelter, I called and scheduled with the pastors, walked across the Mexican border, caught a taxi out into some canyons outside of town and showed up, ready do some counseling psycho-education groups in Spanish on coping skills for children & families.
Around 400 people are staying here at Templo Embajadores de Jesus in tents all through the church property, around 20 from Central America and the rest from Haiti. I spent some time in Haiti when I lived next door in Dominican Republic. The man who opened the door when I got here is Thimote, who was in DR as a refugee from Haiti and slept at my church with Rico & Jesse. Like many of our Haitian brothers and sisters he has since been to many countries in South America and made the trip BY LAND up through Chile to Peru to Colombia to Panama to Costa Rica to Nicaragua to El Salvador to Honduras to Guatemala to Mexico, all to seek asylum in the U.S.
What I have seen here is dire. I was quickly put on interpreting Haitian Kreyol & French for a team of English and Spanish speaking doctors here. What the people here need most immediately is to meet basic needs. Many have lost family members along the way to death. This medical team is amazing and if any doctors, med students or interpreters would like to come, connect with Phil at [telefono modificato] from Refugee Health Alliance at Enclave Caracol Tijuana.
Help send love our refugee neighbors by donating to supply basic needs. This church is doing an incredible job of loving their neighbor and it is no small task to house and feed 400 people each day. After the conference I’m going to come back to Tijuana Friday and will use all donations to purchase and bring the following to the shelter:
- food
- diapers
- baby formula
- drinking water
- children’s books
- feminine hygiene products
You can see Thimote & I in the photo with doctors at the medicine table behind us, and a line of people living here in line behind that.
Monday-Thursday I have a conference for the Kellogg Community Leadership Network in San Diego, so I added some days to cross into Tijuana and volunteer with refugees seeking U.S. asylum. My hermana Alexia Salvatierra recommended a church providing shelter, I called and scheduled with the pastors, walked across the Mexican border, caught a taxi out into some canyons outside of town and showed up, ready do some counseling psycho-education groups in Spanish on coping skills for children & families.
Around 400 people are staying here at Templo Embajadores de Jesus in tents all through the church property, around 20 from Central America and the rest from Haiti. I spent some time in Haiti when I lived next door in Dominican Republic. The man who opened the door when I got here is Thimote, who was in DR as a refugee from Haiti and slept at my church with Rico & Jesse. Like many of our Haitian brothers and sisters he has since been to many countries in South America and made the trip BY LAND up through Chile to Peru to Colombia to Panama to Costa Rica to Nicaragua to El Salvador to Honduras to Guatemala to Mexico, all to seek asylum in the U.S.
What I have seen here is dire. I was quickly put on interpreting Haitian Kreyol & French for a team of English and Spanish speaking doctors here. What the people here need most immediately is to meet basic needs. Many have lost family members along the way to death. This medical team is amazing and if any doctors, med students or interpreters would like to come, connect with Phil at [telefono modificato] from Refugee Health Alliance at Enclave Caracol Tijuana.
Help send love our refugee neighbors by donating to supply basic needs. This church is doing an incredible job of loving their neighbor and it is no small task to house and feed 400 people each day. After the conference I’m going to come back to Tijuana Friday and will use all donations to purchase and bring the following to the shelter:
- food
- diapers
- baby formula
- drinking water
- children’s books
- feminine hygiene products
You can see Thimote & I in the photo with doctors at the medicine table behind us, and a line of people living here in line behind that.
Organizzatore
Lisa Maria Rhodes
Organizzatore
New Orleans, LA