Border Partners Receives Local Support for New Youth Center Project in Puerto Palomas

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Gustavo Soto Del Hierro, the regional coordinator of local Telebachillerato (L) and Juan Rascon, General Manager of Border Partners, celebrate the signed agreement that unites our shared interest in safeguarding and fostering the youth of Puerto Palomas.

Border Partners recently received a visit from Gustavo Soto Del Hierro, the regional coordinator of our local Mexican area “Telebachillerato” high school and the newly elected mayor of Palomas. This visit formalized our partnership with a high school in Puerto Palomas to open a Youth Center that will use the facilities of the Telebachillerato.

There’s a mental health crisis among young people everywhere today. Kids in Palomas face even more challenges. Drug gang members roam the streets looking for teens willing to risk crossing the border into the US with drugs. There are approximately 600 students ages 10-17 living in Palomas. Many of them do not continue school after eighth grade. Experts estimate that 25% of youth in Palomas do not have a safe environment at home. They also lack healthy activities and trusted adults to rely on outside of school time. There are no after-school programs, of any kind, in Palomas now.

Telebachillerato Youth Center Meets a Need

We hope to address this crisis by opening a Youth Center. This project, slated to begin in April 2025, proposes to provide vulnerable youth in Puerto Palomas, ages 10-17, with a safe space to gather and learn. We estimate that potentially 600 students could take advantage of this Youth Center. It will offer an environment that allows youth to pursue both social and career-oriented activities. We will model the program on the long-term success of our summer schools in Palomas and on lessons learned in a three month trial program in Spring, 2024. 

The Center will open four days each week from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. It will offer a variety of classes, sports activities, mental health counseling and community service opportunities. Classes at the Youth Center will develop skills and concepts in multiple subjects.  These classes will range from a variety of areas like art, music, computer literacy, and gardening. Classes will also include areas that may spark interest in a career. That may include, for example, classes in auto mechanics, first aid, carpentry and robotics. In addition to learning opportunities, teens will be able to participate in informal sports and sports tournaments. If desired, youth will be able to pair with an adult mentor for support. We will offer community service opportunities as well.

Our potential partnership with the Palomas Telebachillerato confirms the commitment of the local school to this project. The officials have agreed to provide us access to facilities on the school grounds free of charge. This will include the use of a large indoor gym as well as classrooms, a kitchen, and outdoor soccer, basketball and volleyball courts.

What are Community Telebachillerato?

Community Telebachilleratos are an educational option created by the Mexican Ministry of Public Education (SEP) to offer Upper Secondary Education services to the most remote rural communities in the country that do not have a public high school service within a 5-kilometer radius. The other high school in Palomas is a private school that requires tuition. Currently about 75 students attend the Telebachillerato. 

Impact of Partnership

The Puerto Palomas Telebachellerato is a new facility. High school programming ends at 3PM. We are pleased that they are allowing us to use the facilities after 3PM and on the weekends for the Youth Center. And, in a significant financial support, they are offering us the use of the facilities free-of-charge. 

Following the meeting, Juan Rascon, General Manager of Border Partners said:

We are very happy to be able to work with Gustavo, our new sectional president (mayor), and his team, for the benefit of the children and youth of our community.
Thank you for your support, Profe Gustavo.”

We look forward to working together with local educational institutions and committed community partners to make Palomas a place where youth can thrive, inside and outside of school. This program will help us turn our dream of fostering safety and growth for the youth of Puerto Palomas into a reality.

Funding for this project

We decided in early 2024 that opening a youth center was a priority for Border Partners. Ever since, our grant writer has been researching possibilities for grant funding. She has submitted several applications. In addition, we received a great response from individuals to our appeal letter. We are very hopeful that we will be able to open the center in April of 2025.

Senior Social Club Stays Healthy with Winter Vegetable Harvest

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seniors harvest

Seniors in Puerto Palomas eagerly harvest the vegetables they grew in special elevated raised beds that our staff built so that they could garden.

Border Partners staff holds a monthly gathering for senior citizens in Puerto Palomas. The home-bound and isolated seniors to whom we deliver daily hot meals through our “Meals on Wheels” programming are invited to attend this social gathering. Each month’s event features health checks, a tasty, nourishing lunch, and an activity oriented to improving the physical or mental health of the attendees. The most recent gathering featured the activity for the seniors to harvest winter vegetables.

It’s important to note that last month’s senior social club event combined two of our organization’s ongoing commitments.

  • We honored our commitment to improving access to fresh vegetables and produce in the community.
  • And we combined that commitment with our long-standing dedication to improving the health and dignity of isolated seniors in Palomas.

Seniors Harvest Winter Vegetables

Here’s how we joined those two commitments:

We built special raised bed stands at our office property lot. We designed and constructed them for the seniors to use. These elevated garden beds allowed the elders to work the soil while standing. This accommodation allowed elders with limitations on their mobility and flexibility to enjoy the benefits of gardening.

Over the summer, the senior group helped us plant small gardens in those elevated raised beds. We wanted community members to benefit from these mini-gardens by harvesting the fresh vegetables and herbs the gardens produced. Over the past months, as the plants grew, the senior group has helped water and care for their gardens.

In December, it was time for the seniors to harvest winter vegetables. So, we hosted a harvest celebration for our senior social gathering. Each senior was able to pick the fresh vegetables from their plots. They each proudly took a bag home with them from the social.

At Border Partners, we do our utmost to assist this group of seniors to live with dignity and support in their later years. Many seniors in Puerto Palomas are without families or spouses to support them. This monthly senior social gathering, along with daily check-ins, is invaluable for the well-being of these elders. Working in the soil is a valuable, productive and even therapeutic activity for seniors. And they earn the pride of their accomplishment by their labor.

We remain committed to empowering the seniors of Puerto Palomas. We want to ensure they feel supported, valued, and connected every step of the way.

 

Autumn 2024: Producing special events and daily accomplishments

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Pride is all over this success story from our new cooking class for kids in Puerto Palomas–one of our Autumn 2024 special events.

Fall weather continued to be warmer than usual in Palomas with temperatures in the 80’s. Moderate temperatures helped us accomplish all kinds autumn special events as well as daily duties. In addition, to our usual activities like:

  • teaching nutrition classes to all grades at two elementary schools,
  • providing mental health evaluations to 35 children referred by their teachers,
  • cleaning and reseeding our three community greenhouses with cool weather crops, and
  • offering free zumba classes every day,

our staff organized several Autumn SPECIAL EVENTS in October.

Special Activities

Government officials from the region and from the funding agency, the North American Development Bank attended a kickoff event for our new papercrete project.

A Community Health Fair on October 26 in the Central Park offered flu shots, free healthy burritos to eat, and bags of veggies to take home. Attendees attended demos of our sustainable technology projects.

High School students created an altar for the Day of the Dead in our office. It memorialized several people important to Border Partners who have died during the last year.

New Cooking Program Begins

We are especially excited about starting COOKING CLASSES FOR CHILDREN. Every Thursday afternoon twenty eager, elementary students come to our office. There, they create their own healthy snacks. Led by two of our health educators, the kids have already made chia pudding with strawberries, individual pizzas, fruit kabobs, oatmeal crackers and more. This cooking class is part of our Healthy Eating grant from the Paso del Norte Health Foundation. This is a class we definitely want to continue!

Strategic Planning for Future

And one other thing: our board and staff met together twice in October to update our Strategic Plan for Border Partners. We’ve talked about our strengths and weaknesses, opportunities that could help us grow and threats that may limit our effectiveness. The next meeting will focus on our vision for what Border Partners will look like in five years. We’ll keep you posted.

Jesus Marquez Grows Good Work in Puerto Palomas for Border Partners

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Our local staff in Palomas continues to amaze everyone who meets them and exceed expectations for the good work they accomplish every day. We wish all of you who support Border Partners could meet them all. We hope to do the next best thing by introducing them here. Today, you can learn about one of our newer staff members.

Jesus Marquez

Jesus Marquez is one of our newest staff members.

Jesus Marquez

Jesus Marquez is the latest addition to our gardening team. He started with us about three months ago when he joined our established gardening staff. They now work in our community gardens across the town of Puerto Palomas, operating in several greenhouses. The fresh produce they grow provides healthy food to local schools, aging seniors, and other community members.

Jesus has lived in Palomas for the past four years. Before he lived here he originally lived in an agricultural town in the state of Chihuahua, located four hours south of Puerto Palomas. After he moved to Palomas, he got married. Then, he worked as a mechanic before starting work with Border Partners. Jesus has a son who lives in Texas.

In his free time Jesus still enjoys working with cars as well as spending time with family members.

Bringing us a variety of skills, Jesus accomplishes a range of items in his role with Border Partners. In addition to gardening, Jesus sometimes tackles construction projects. He can work in the schools, too.  But, he’s quick to say that his favorite part of the job is tending to the vegetables in our greenhouses.

Nina Andrade’s Skills Enrich Puerto Palomas and Border Partners

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Border Partners is always expanding its projects in Palomas. In order to do this, we’re continually hiring staff.  Their local expertise allows us to accomplish our goals and fulfill our mission.

Over the last year, we’ve added several new staff members to support us in key areas of development. They have helped us strengthen our accomplishments in supporting mental health, maintaining sustainability, and improving our outreach to senior citizens.

We’ll highlight a few of these new additions in upcoming posts. They’re already hard at work improving lives in Palomas. We think you’ll enjoy getting to know these key people.

Nina Andrade works for Border Partners as a health promoter and as a cook who prepares “meals on wheels” for our senior program.

Nina Andrade

First to take the spotlight is our longest-serving “new” addition at Border Partners. Promotora (health educator) and cook Avelina “Nina” Andrade has served us well. Nina originally hails from Mexico City and has been working with us for about one year.

She cooks the fresh and healthy meals that we deliver daily to seniors across the community of Puerto Palomas. Previously, she worked as a cook in one of the Palomas schools. So, she brings years of experience to the role.

When asked what she likes most about her job, she lists: “the environment, the conviviality, and the rewards of the service we provide to others.”

Nina also appreciates the time her work leaves her to spend time with family. She has four children. Two of them live in the United States and two in Mexico.

Outside of her work with Border Partners, Nina Andrade enjoys spending time caring for her youngest granddaughter. Of course, that means cooking her some delicious meals. And, Nina replicates those great meals for us in Border Partners’ kitchen, as well. 

Border Partners Launches Papercrete Project with Grant Funding

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Luis Munoz

The North American Development Bank met onsite with papercrete project director Jose Luis Muñoz (left, foreground) and Border Partners personnel on October 18. The papercrete mixer and the soaking cardboard are visible on the right.

By Peter Edmunds

People in Palomas are always impressed by Border Partners’ papercrete buildings. That’s because they’re so much cooler inside in the summer months. And, interestingly enough, they’re also so much warmer in the winter than is the typical Palomas cement block building. In a town with temperatures over 100 degrees in the summer and less than 20 degrees in the winter, people know how important comfortable indoor temperatures are. It’s difficult to stay comfortable with such temperature fluctuations.

Currently, our Education Center and a storage shed at our greenhouse site are built of papercrete blocks. This year, we hope to expand the use of this material.

Thanks to a grant from The North America Development Bank* we plan to build more papercrete buildings. We’re planning ten more garden sheds as well as five additions constructed from papercrete blocks to existing homes during the coming year.

What Is Papercrete?

Papercrete is a building material composed of recycled paper (in our case, cardboard), water and some cement.  Papercrete requires much less cement than a typical cement block. That makes it much less expensive to produce.

Our crew of local workers have already set up a work yard at a local high school where they are making the blocks with a mixer (think: a very large blender!). When the workers pour that slurry that the mixer produces into a mold, the slurry forms into the block’s shape. 

Why is papercrete a superior building material?

  • Papercrete blocks have a high insulating value. They’re much more effective at insulating than is a cement block.
  • The blocks weigh much less than a typical cement block. Because they are lighter than cement blocks they are much easier to use for projects. They’re easier to lift, to place and to build with in construction projects.
  • Composed of discarded paper, papercrete blocks create a permanent use for what would be garbage.
  • The process of making cement pollutes the air. So, any product that uses less cement is a “win” for the environment. Papercrete blocks use much less cement than cement blocks.

Our Papercrete Project Goals

Our papercrete project has two main goals:

  1. We want to introduce the process of making papercrete to local residents. and
  2. We want to improve air quality in the region.

The papercrete construction blocks will be made from cardboard which we’re diverting from the town dump. Normally, in the dump, this cardboard is burned along with toxic garbage. This burning process creates toxic air (smoke) pollution. Our goal is to divert as much as 70 tons of paper from the dump in the coming year. This will eliminate a significant amount of toxic smoke from the air.

In addition to using papercrete blocks to use in building structures, another use for papercrete that we plan to explore is making insulation panels. We’d like to install these panels inside of an existing metal roof. We will organize workshops for local homeowners  for this project. The homeowners will learn to make these papercrete panels and also how to install them at their own home. This useful panel insulation will protect the residents from temperature extremes.

We have a double hope. By this time next year, we expect there will be at least only a few more papercrete buildings in town. We also hope that we’ll interest homeowners to use papercrete for their own building projects.

And, a third underlying goal is that we hope this new interest will create a demand that will fuel a new small business in Puerto Palomas to produce papercrete blocks to sell.

In addition to introducing papercrete to the community, this project will employ five part-time, local workers. Five more workers will earn income for their livelihood and for their family’s well being.

Thus, this papercrete project addresses all four of Border Partners’ major goals in Palomas:

  • Education: teaching homeowners a new resource
  • Health: providing a healthier home environment and improved air quality to the community
  • Sustainable Technology: expanding the use of an energy efficient building product
  • Economic Growth: providing local jobs to local residents.

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*The North American Development Bank is a binational financial institution capitalized and governed equally by the Federal governments of the USA and Mexico to provide financing to support the development and implementation of environmental projects in the border region.

 

 

 

Three Border Partners staff earn auxillary nursing certification

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Dignity and the attire of the health profession marked the pre-celebration ceremony at which three Border Partners staff members earned the right to begin the work of an auxiliary nurse.

Border Partners is proud to share that this past week, three of our staff members graduated in their year-long auxiliary nursing program. The women are Vicky Ibarra, our lead health promotora, Brenda Escobar, a mental health counselor, and Reyna Garcia, a new promotora, Alongside their other responsibilities, that range from leadership in community organizations to motherhood, they’ve attended weekend classes for the past nine months in order to complete the auxiliary nursing certification program. 

On Saturday, they participated in a pre-graduation ceremony. It celebrated the soon-to-be successful completion of their schooling. With three months remaining, they received their auxiliary nursing certification. With this recognition they can start to put what they’ve learned into practice. Border Partners’ board members and staff attended the ceremony to cheer them on as they accepted their certificates.

Implications of Auxiliary Nursing Certification

Juan Rascon, Border Partners’ General Manager (l), and Peter Edmunds (r), Border Partners’ co-founder flank Vicky Ibarra at her pre-ceremony reception for auxiliary nursing certification. Border Partners supporters extended their support and congratulations to the three certification recipients.

This is a big step forward for Vicky, Brenda, and Reyna. And their accomplishment will have numerous benefits for Border Partners, as well. Vicky received a scholarship from Border Partners to complete the schooling. She intends to use her new skills to help older adults in the community who cannot afford to go to the local clinic. She’s now able to give injections and monitor glucose levels for those with diabetes, for example.

Over the past year’s busy grant cycle, Border Partners offered healthy eating and nutrition classes in local schools. Those classes are now continuing in their second year. Brenda and Vicky’s additional expertise in these areas, is now supported by the practical general knowledge foundation they learned in the program. This will help our projects thrive. Their advanced education will introduce new ideas into our classes and programming.

Our community congratulates Brenda, Vicky, and Reyna on their dedication. We’re proud of their success. And, we’re pleased that they took advantage of this educational opportunity. It will benefit their community, Puerto Palomas, as well as all the satellite rural communities that Border Partners supports.

Summer Sports Add Spice–and Health–in Puerto Palomas

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girls tournament team summer sports

One girls’ team enjoys posing for a team photo op before their weekend game.

Kids love playing sports –no matter what the season. And, playing sports is good for kids. So, in the past, Border Partners organized sporting events. This improves access to healthy activity in Puerto Palomas.

However, once we got the organized sporting program rolling, parents have stepped up to do the organizing for the past two years. Border Partners works together with these parent leaders. We provide equipment and some financial support. Thanks to those parent-leaders, our staff can work on other projects for community improvement. And, of course, all of the young athlete participants benefit from the sports programming.

2024 Summer Sports

Athletics strengthens summer friendships.

Due to the heat of summer weather, this year’s summer sports games took place in the evening. There was one soccer tournament for boys (ages 14-17) and two for girls (ages 9-12 and 13-16). Each tournament lasted 4-6 weeks and drew lots of fans. Tournament games ran on either Saturday or Sunday with at least four games each day. Almost 300 youth participated in summer sports. There were about 100 spectators at each game.

In addition to the youth tournaments, there is an open-age men’s tournament that started in mid-July and will continue until the end of September. This tournament has been drawing 150-170 spectators to each game. Sports provide not only healthy activity for the athletes. They also provide opportunities for social interactions for the town community.

Remembering Juan Velasco

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business plan seminar

Juan Velasco, October 22, 1942 – July 28, 2024. Juan is seen here (right) at work, teaching a  course to launch potential entrepreneurs with the skills they need to start businesses.

written by Helena Myers

It is with great sorrow that we announce the death of Juan Velasco. Juan was a dear friend to Border Partners and his many friends in Palomas, Mexico, in Bolivia and in the US. Juan gave his time, talents and encouragement to many individuals. He also served as a mentor for the handicapped school in Palomas where he built garden beds and provided financial support for many years.

Peter Edmunds, a founder of Border Partners, said one of Juan’s best contributions to our organization was the business class he taught in the Education Center to small business owners. The classes began in 2014 and continued until 2024.

Juan Rascon, Remembered

Juan Rascon, Border Partners General Manager wrote this tribute to Juan Velasco. We wish to share it with you:

I met Juan Velasco and Suzanne Dulle eleven years ago. He was a dear friend to me and many people in Palomas. He had a deep love for this community and its inhabitants. He made a difference in the lives of many.

He taught a business class for free the last several years. In addition, he helped some business students with a personal loan so they could start to expand their own business. One of his students, Eduardo Madrid was able to expand his ice cream business. He’s since become a successful business owner.

I have applied some of the things I learned from his classes. This has really helped in the way I handle finances. And it is making a great difference in my life.

Juan and Suzanne have always been very supportive of Border Partners projects and have made regular donations to our meals on wheels and food baskets programs. He had hoped one day to move to Palomas permanently. He looked forward to spending more time with the Palomas people who had become his friends.

My heart was broken when I found out he had passed away. Juan touched many lives and made a positive impact on us. He will be missed. I offer my most sincere condolences to Suzanne and their families. REST IN PEACE.”

Juan Velasco’s obituary is inspiring. Learn more about the life of this outstanding man. You can view his obituary here. 

As Summer Heats Up, “Summer School 2024” Students Cme Together

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Summer school 2024 gives students a chance to keep learning.

Now that school is out, Border Partners’ summer school is back in session. We’ve been putting on a summer school for Palomas students in the first two weeks of July since 2012. Except for a Covid-related pause in activities, it continues to be a great success every year.

This last week, we gathered 51 attendees from the local elementary schools. Alongside volunteers from the Prepa (high school) and Border Partners’ team of promotoras (health promoters), the students completed arts and crafts and health and nutrition-themed coloring sheets. They participated in computer classes, a science experiment, and enjoyed many other activities.

Special School Recognition Award

We are fortunate to have received a generous grant from the Paso del Norte Health Foundation to work the entire past school year offering health and nutrition programming to all students across Palomas’ five schools. Following this, Ramon Espinoza elementary school recognized Border Partners with an award for our years of service in the school. It reads:

“The Elementary School Ramon Espinoza Villanueva grants this recognition to Border Partners for their commitment and work en the school breakfast program and in various nutrition workshops and classes.
Thanks for helping us to transform the lives of our students and their families!
Puerto Palomas. July 3, 2024”

We will proudly display this award from Ramon Espinoza Elementary School for our working partnership with them.

We look forward to many more years in partnership, inside and outside of the school term.