Our annual Walk in Penasquitos Canyon was a great success! We had beautiful weather and an excellent turnout! Between walkers and donors before, during and after, we received over $13,600, which will more than cover the cost of school supplies for the 1500 children and young people in the 5 villages we serve in the Sierra Mixteca, Oaxaca! Here’s a link to some of the great photos Marti Martin, our intrepid Walk organizer with her husband Barry, took of the Walkers and the Canyon. https://photos.app.goo.gl/5rBWxF8z3ZoqECUU6 YOUR GIFTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR ALSO HELP SUPPORT 50 ORPHANS IN THE VILLAGES WITH MONTHLY FOOD STIPENDS, AND OUR 17 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WITH THEIR ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIPS! The children, young people, families and all the OEF volunteers thank you for your support! So far 22 young people from 3 of the villages have graduated from university! Five more will graduate this spring, three nurses, one forestry engineer, and one business major. We are so proud of them! We never imagined when we first offered partial scholarships in 2017 that so many young people were just waiting for the opportunity to follow their dreams. What obstacles they have overcome!

Children are excited to receive their school supplies and workbooks! Zochiquilazala, Oaxaca.  Photo by Martha Martin

The OEF was founded for the children and young people of the Sierra Mixteca, Oaxaca, Mexico, to give them an opportunity to overcome the impoverishment of their  families and their villages through education. Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in Rancho Penasquitos, San Diego ministered spiritually and physically to the migrants working in the fields near the parish beginning in 1985. The OEF was born in 2012 to serve their children and grandchildren in the five villages the team visits every year. The OEF provides school supplies to 1500 children, delivered in person, partial scholarships to 17 university students, and monthly food stipends to 50 orphans. Educated youth will be able to stay in Oaxaca if they can make a living there and contribute to their families and society.  Twenty-two (22) of our scholarship students have already graduated from university! From 2014 to 2023, we provided high school fees to 130 young people in two villages, which is no longer necessary as the government now helps the families with these costs.

Photo by Martha Martin