The nonprofit organization, Los Amigos de Lo de Marcos, is an overarching community action entity composed of people from the town of Lo de Marcos. The organization was began over 5 years ago through the efforts of a group of gringos who were determined to become more active within their Mexican community and establish an avenue to channel humanitarian activism for a greater holistic good. Amigos is now comprised of a 100+ active members that embody 7 different specialized committees in collaboration to provide a plethora of social, environmental and economic services.
Since its' inauguration, Los Amigos has founded this diverse array of committees to ensure engagement with the community wherever aid is needed. These subdivision of the nonprofit consist of the school committee began to oversee the dispersion of funds for school projects at every school; the health committee provides funding for the local clinic and organizes health clinics and sponsorships for the local community; the sports committee, which has created baseball and basketball sports league, directs annual specialized sports workshops; the senior citizen's committee provides aid for the senior citizen center through funding weekly events and general resources; the animal committee oversees the quarterly spay and neuter clinics (for more information, check out my spay and neuter clinic post); the fundraising committee; and lastly, the recycling committee which has created a successful, free of cost recycling program for the plastic, single-use based consumer Mexican culture of LdM and is currently collecting at least one kilo of recycled material a week.
One of the exciting new goals of Amigos is to expand their recycling program and general aid to the town's prosperity by cultivating a community garden and city wide composting program. The organization has already sign a 3 year lease for a 700 square meter parcel in an ideal location in the middle of town. I am helping with the the design intent and composition of the future garden/compost site at this very moment. Not only will this be a very impressive expansion of Los Amigos' presence in the town's daily life, but this will also be a perfect platform for my family to become more involved with Los Amigos. We stand with the organization in their efforts to minimize the local waste stream and transform "garbage" into enriched soil that will assist in the cultivation of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables for the community. These local products and the place in which they are created can also serve as a forum to expose the school children to hands on environmental curriculum, and as a retreat for the senior citizens who have their center only a block away. I am thrilled to be apart of this community and be present in the aspiring energy amongst the devoted group of people composing this eclectic whole.
One of the exciting new goals of Amigos is to expand their recycling program and general aid to the town's prosperity by cultivating a community garden and city wide composting program. The organization has already sign a 3 year lease for a 700 square meter parcel in an ideal location in the middle of town. I am helping with the the design intent and composition of the future garden/compost site at this very moment. Not only will this be a very impressive expansion of Los Amigos' presence in the town's daily life, but this will also be a perfect platform for my family to become more involved with Los Amigos. We stand with the organization in their efforts to minimize the local waste stream and transform "garbage" into enriched soil that will assist in the cultivation of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables for the community. These local products and the place in which they are created can also serve as a forum to expose the school children to hands on environmental curriculum, and as a retreat for the senior citizens who have their center only a block away. I am thrilled to be apart of this community and be present in the aspiring energy amongst the devoted group of people composing this eclectic whole.
Bazaar at the Los Amigos de Lo de Marcos Fundraiser
Setting out on the first annual Walk About to tour the project sites for the Amigos' committees
The free kindergarten that was partly funded by the school committee
Lo de Marcos' recycling center
Good night Lo de Marcos.
No comments:
Post a Comment