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 1400 children, delivered in person, partial scholarships to 20 university students, and monthly food stipends to 49 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 (20) 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