Main Feature
Supper at the Mexicali Dump
Rudy van Lierop, Brentwood Bay, BC
Volume 28 Issue 10, 11 & 12 | Posted: December 29, 2014
Last winter I participated with the “Lay Brothers of the Poor” followers of Mother Teresa) in serving a warm meal to 350 people living at the Mexicali refuse dump in Mexico.
On Saturday, January 18, 2014, at 8 a.m. in the City of Calexico, close to the Mexico-U.S. Border, the Lay Brothers filled 39 cars and trucks with donated boxes of food. Soon we were on our way to the Customs Control Point. While constantly praying, we all made it through. Once we were through on the other side, we gathered together and drove as one column through the big city of Mexicali.
Police on motorcycles provided an escort for the volunteer drivers to ensure their safety and gave security to ensure that the food reached the intended recipients. At noon, we arrived at the enormous refuse dump and everyone began to help set up the camp.
Last winter I participated with the “Lay Brothers of the Poor” followers of Mother Teresa) in serving a warm meal to 350 people living at the Mexicali refuse dump in Mexico.
On Saturday, January 18, 2014, at 8 a.m. in the City of Calexico, close to the Mexico-U.S. Border, the Lay Brothers filled 39 cars and trucks with donated boxes of food. Soon we were on our way to the Customs Control Point. While constantly praying, we all made it through. Once we were through on the other side, we gathered together and drove as one column through the big city of Mexicali.
Police on motorcycles provided an escort for the volunteer drivers to ensure their safety and gave security to ensure that the food reached the intended recipients. At noon, we arrived at the enormous refuse dump and everyone began to help set up the camp.
After unloading the truck and setting up tents, we celebrated with a High Mass (in Spanish of course), officiated by a local priest. There was much singing and laughter. I really enjoyed sharing the people’s happiness and unbounded joy.
Soon as Mass was over, people lined up for dinner and the Brothers and volunteers handed out plates, forks, knives and napkins. Everyone got what he wanted: soup, hotdogs, hamburgers, spaghetti, bread, potatoes, gravy, meat, rice, chicken, beans, corn, vegetables, etc.
With the poor sitting at the tables, the Lay Brothers served them with water, lemonade, milk, fruit drinks, tea, coffee and desserts.
After dinner, each family received a 50 pound box of non-perishable food and a four litre jug of milk. In total, the Lay Brothers gave out a total of 225 boxes to very happy families.
Even though the people had taken on the dump’s aromas and cleanliness was somewhat challenging, I never forgot that they are God’s people just like me. Hugs and thank-you’s were eagerly received.
Every time when I am there and get bird drops on my neck, I constantly wonder how these people survive without medical help: in the heat, dirt, smell, dust, no washrooms or running water and living in huts made from material found at the dump.
As you know, the Lay Brothers of the Poor follow the example of dear Mother Teresa, by continuing to feed the poorest of the poor living in the Imperial Valley, which is situated along the US-Mexicali border, a very dangerous territory because of smuggling activities and drug trafficking. They feed poor families, the migrants, veterans, orphans, elderly and street people who live in very poor colonies and even on the refuse dump.
The Lay Brothers’ missions are regular and in an average year we deliver 22 tons of food to the poor, thanks to the help of many volunteers, local villagers and Canadians and US. “snowbirds”. The Lay Brothers don’t just bring food…..they carry hope and love with them. They buy the food in bulk and also get food from churches, big companies and local producers. Parish volunteers and high school students help sort out the food and fill the boxes.
It is with sadness that we see in Mexico a growing number of elderly, who get a minimum of medical and social help as they struggle to survive. Many young people who experience this plight with their parents and grandparents are giving up hope for a better future and are instead turning to drugs, vandalism, alcoholism and theft, as they see their hope being shattered.
Young fathers without work for years, try to make some money in the drug world, with all the risks involved. Last year in the ongoing brutal war in Mexico against the drug cartels, more than 8,000 people were murdered.
This is one reason that there are more than 10 million drug war orphans along the U.S.-Mexico border line.
This winter, I will be visiting the orphanages of “Casa Hogar Betesda“ and “Casa Hogar Mefi-Boset” in Mexicali as well as the “Casa Hogar Hermoso Atardecer”, a shelter for abandoned and repudiated elderly in Ejido Queretaro in Mexico.
In 2003, this shelter started with five elderly residents. Last year I counted 68 people who are ill, mentally challenged, drug addicted, blind or handicapped and they all live, eat and sleep in this small shelter. It does not matter to them what they eat, or were they live in their twilight years, as long as they have someone to take care of them.
This time, I will visit with them without my wife. It will be my last mission. At 80 years of age it is time for me to retire. For the last 19 years, my wife and I have visited the poor in Mexico and thanks to all of your prayers and financial support, we gained their trust and friendship.
I can’t express how grateful we are for the support and trust you have given us all these years. It should be known that the orphans pray for us:
that God may continue His blessings on us, in order that in return we may help them.
Please open your heart to the misery of these people and pray that the cruel and miserable living conditions of these poor are eased.
If you wish to help financially, make your donation payable to:
Lay Brothers of the Poor
6911 Bayside Place
Brentwood Bay, BC, V8M 1B2
Canada
For Information about the Lay Brothers of the Poor, visit the website:
“We make a living by what we get, but…
…we make a life by what we give.”
Sincerely yours in faith,
Rudy van Lierop
Liaison Officer of Canada,
Lay Brothers of the Poor
Member of Sacred Heart Parish, Victoria
Member of Knights of Columbus
APPEAL
p.s. If some individual or group is interested in taking over this important mission, please, contact me at: 250-652-9562
Rudy van Lierop, Brentwood Bay, BC