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Gerie Bledsoe, who brings the
convoy of Carrera Panamericana race cars from the US to San Miguel
each year, has a special place in his heart for the people of
Mexico. He tells of small children coming up to get autographs,
babies being photographed sitting in the driver’s seat of a race car
and hundreds of people waving as the cars go roaring by.
He describes his commitment to helping
children and families this way, “When we come here to race, all of
us are touched by the faces of children we see as we travel across
Mexico. People are so kind and warm and we just want to do something
to give back to a country that is so welcoming to all of us.”
The Concurso de Motor Sports San Miguel
de Allende is a result of this commitment. All of the profits from
the events in San Miguel, from October 17-19, will go to help
children and families in need through the work of two exceptional
nonprofit organizations located in San Miguel.
C. A. S. A.
Gerie
and children at CASA’s Child Development Center
Internationally Recognized Model for Helping Young People and
Families in Need
CASA
is committed to improving the lives of women and their families,
through education and health services. The focus is on fostering
change in rural communities—teaching family planning, better
nutrition, violence prevention, and environmental protection through
outreach programs. Young people come to CASA where they learn to
teach and deliver services to their communities.
CASA
also operates Mexico's first government approved Midwifery School,
which meets international criteria for effective replication in
countries worldwide. It teaches others to teach, a pedagogy that has
enabled hundreds who, in turn, have affected the lives of thousands.
Each CASA
midwife can provide care to 2,500 people a year and they are often
the first line of general medical care in isolated villages.
CASITA LINDA
BUILDING HOPE ONE
HOUSE AT A TIME
Casita Linda (which means “pretty little house”)
builds adobe brick homes for families without adequate shelter.
Today nearly twenty million people in Mexico live in dire poverty.
Some may own land due to the ejido reforms of the early 20th
century, but there is little on the land we might call a house. For
many people home is a structure rigged from rocks, wood, sticks and
tarps….meager protection from cold and rain.
Casita Linda volunteers work with families to build
homes using the very earth upon which they dwell. The homes from
adobe have excellent thermal qualities keeping them cool in summer
and warm in winter. Homes are built to accommodate the size of the
family. The largest size home Casita Linda builds provides shelter
for up to eleven people.
For more information,
www.casitalinda.org.
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