Muy Busy in Puebla

July 9, 2012 

This morning we traveled to the Universidad de las Americas of Puebla. www.udlap.mx  

Our first lecture was “Migration and Identity,” by Alison Lee Ph.D of Cultural Anthropology. We discussed how a large number of people from Puebla migrated to New York City. It was basically a “snowball effect.” One man moved and started working in a restaurant and called his family and told them how successful his experience was. Soon large numbers of Mexicans from Puebla moved to NYC.  Mexicans are the fastest growing ethnic group in the U.S. There are about 12.7 million Mexicans in the U.S. 

 

The second lecture was “The Educational System in Mexico.”Unlike the U.S, the education system in Mexico is federalized. In the U.S. education systems differ by state, but in Mexico, government organizations are responsible for regulating education. The government determines all the programs, curriculums, and teachers’ salaries. Schools have the choice to add supplemental curriculums, but cannot take away what the government has outlined for them. Public schools are “free” yet every family has to pay a small fee in order for their child to attend. This “fee” is determined by the school and can change from family to family depending on their economic situation.

 The Great Pyramid of Cholula, also known as Tlachihualtepetl (artificial mountain, it's made of clay), is a huge complex located in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico. It is the largest archaeological site of a pyramid (temple) in the world.

Lunch: shrimp tostada  

 

 Next we visited the town of Atlixco. We visited IPODERAC children’s shelter www.ipoderac.org.mx

  

     A woman named Maria Elena Landa Abrego started this institution 46 years ago.  She had been arrested, deceived by her husband, while pregnant & her child got taken away after birth. After she got out of jail she wanted to start an institution where children of jailed mothers could go. Eventually the organization grew & it accepted boys that were runaways or living on the streets. Maria was very strict with the boys because she wanted to shape them into successful young men. 

      Today the facility houses 72 boys, 12 in each house. There is also a waiting list to enter. These boys come from extremely dysfunctional families, where most mothers are prostitutes and fathers are in the drug trade, kidnappers, or very poor and unable to take care of the boys.  Boys from the most vulnerable situations are accepted. For example, kids that have been rejected from other institutions come here and are provided with freedom to empower them.

 Some boys take care of farming tomatoes & chilies, which are sold to Costco and Wal-Mart. Their biggest fundraiser is making cheese and soap. The soap is shipped to the Denver office & sold in the states and online. Companies such as Volkswagen, Wal-Mart, and colleges like Harvard and Berkley also make charitable donations to help IPODERAC.

 30 staff members work here. The counselors work with the boys on self-esteem & problem solving skills. The counselors have to do a lot of community building since many of the boys, especially the teens, have very strong personalities.

                                                 

Today and yesterday truly make me reflect how lucky I was as a child to have such a "normal" childhood. This experience has forced me to realize that there are so many of the things we take for granted. Running water, love of family and friends, and motivation to succeed are just a few of the many things I am grateful I have had throughout my life. My hope that these young boys, the underdogs, and the children from the town in Puebla will have the tools and support to succeed in the future. 

  

“Fifty Shades of Grey” is the very popular on the bus!

 Finally, we reached our destination Mexico City.