La Clínica del Pueblo

La Clínica del Pueblo, Anna Seethaler was founded by Fr. Scott Seethaler, a Capuchin Franciscan, to fill a huge need for quality healthcare for the disenfranchised of Oaxaca. La Clinica was opened in January of 2000. Between 2000 and the present, the clinic continued to expand. It is now a full-service hospital named after Fr. Scott’s mother who was a great inspiration in his life. It is one of the only hospital/clinic in Oaxaca that supplies a place for the families of the patients to stay while they are being treated. Some of the patients travel six hours to come to the hospital to receive both quality care and compassionate attention.

The hospital/clinic serves about 2,000 patients a month. During any given year, the hospital will treat as many as 300 patients who are so poor that they are unable to pay a peso for their treatment. Because of this, the hospital can only pay its bills through the continued generosity of benefactors.

In addition, La Clinica runs a community health program that goes out monthly into the field to provide health services to those patients who can’t afford to come in for basic treatment. 

Planet Water and 5 de Mayo Primary School – Clean and Safe Drinking Water Project

In December of 2023, TASH launched another partnership, which included the installation of a clean and safe water tower. The project is in San Martin Mexicapam and part of the Clínica del Pueblo’s intention to expand community health outreach, via education and prevention, to the population that surrounds the nonprofit hospital.

Recognizing the indispensable need and urgency for clean drinking water, TASH worked together with Planet Water Foundation and the local primary school governing bodies. Planet Water (hyperlink) is a non-profit organization focused on alleviating the global water crisis by bringing clean water access and water-health and hygiene education programs to the world’s most impoverished communities.

They have developed technology, in technical terms, which filters down to .01 microns which guarantees safe, drinkable water from both bacteria and viruses. In addition, the AquaTower has the capacity to filter and clean 1,000 liters of water per hour.

On December 4, together with Planet Water, we installed the water tower, gave out 500 stainless steel cups, and provided training workshops to the parents’ committee, teachers, and children on the importance of hygiene and clean water. Everyone was so engaged and excited. The immediate impact is to provide access to clean water for handwashing and human consumption to over 500 children who attend primary school for years to come.

You can enjoy a 3-minute video here 

AMOax

Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, a 100% volunteer citizen-led and managed not-for-profit group emerged with a mission of helping those suffering from hunger or other immediate effects from loss or reduction of employment. The primary target population was Oaxaca City and the outlying barrios. Starting from scratch, the members decided to prioritize three projects that would be based on the principles of solidarity, social justice, and mutual collaboration.

They formed teams to prepare boxed meals and distributed them to thousands of people who were in vulnerable situations, living in the streets. In addition, via the Website, individuals or families could request a food and sanitary package that included basic foodstuffs and products like soap and gel for handwashing and food preparation. A team of psychologists tapped into the technology platforms and offered emotional support for those suffering from the impact of the situation.

Realizing the trade-offs of direct distribution of boxed meals, several members shared their experiences of community-led soup kitchens. Thus, in August, the first soup kitchen opened in San Juan Chapultepec and serves up to 300 meals every Wednesday. While the demand is ever-increasing, the response of the members has been to serve others in the ways we are able. For more information in Spanish, you can visit:  AMOAX – APOYO MUTUO OAXACA.

Photos by Anna Bruce.

Community-based scholarships

In 2020, TASH sought out the opportunity to further invest in young people. Based on that interest, they began two collaborations. The first one was with the Oaxaca Community Foundation (OCF), which has been operating in Oaxaca for three decades. OCF has an established scholarship program, known as Becas Comunidad, or Community-based scholarships, aimed at families who could not afford to send their children to school because of tuition or school fees.

To assure there is adequate follow-up, OCF partners with other organizations. In this case, TASH targeted Vicente Guerrero, which is on the outskirts of the city dump. Thanks to the leadership of Father Renteria and a local Spanish missionary, we were able to start with the funding of nine scholarships. During a recent visit, the students shared with us their dreams to go into nursing, teaching and other professions.

The other collaboration is with the Oaxaca Education Fund (OEF). 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. Working with their team, TASH was able to commit to five additional scholarships. And while the pandemic moved classes online, we were able to pivot effectively, helping the students purchase devices and internet pre-paid cards.

We look forward to supporting these low-income young people as they continue to study and learn.

Canica de Oaxaca

Canica is a nonprofit organization that was founded in May 1992. It was established to serve street children and their families.  Canica translates to marbles, a common game that reminds of us of our childhood.

Today, they provide programs to feed, educate and eventually reinsert them into the wider community.   To do that, they also offer direct services to the parents of the children, many of whom arrived in Oaxaca City because they were forced out of their original communities.

Canica believes that a fair society should promote participation, social equity,   justice, and peace so that all girls, boys, adolescents, and their families can reach their full potential.

Ciudad de los Niños

La Ciudad de los Niños y Niñas translated as, The City of the Boys and Girls of Oaxaca, was founded on February 24, 1958, by Father Jose Miguel Perez Garcia; This is a human-Catholic work, which since its inception, has cared for boys and girls in situations of orphanhood and extreme poverty. Until today, with the help of God and society, it has been possible to sustain the home. From the generosity of the individual benefactors, we receive food, materials, and donations to sustain our activities.

At present, the home can care for up to 100 boys and girls from infancy to adolescence; since we have the educational levels of preschool, primary and secondary. In addition, they offer Catholic teachings which allows us to form committed Christians with values and future aspirations.

Our Institution represents a second chance in the lives of children who in childhood have suffered the injustices and violence that permeates the world. We provide housing, food, clothing, educational and religious instruction, health care, psychological care, social work, sports, and choir; to carry out a holistic approach and the opportunity for family reintegration depending on the conditions of each minor.

Thanks to collaborations, including TASH INC., the shelter continues to provide various programs and services to ensure the protection of the human rights of children and adolescents with high vulnerability, under the principle of the Higher Interest of the Minor. TASH has provided direct economic support and also established an agreement so that the children and adolescents can access La Clinica del Pueblo at no-cost.

St. Cecilia’s

St. Cecilia’s is a project that seeks to support at-risk youth in Vicente Guerrero, an impoverished neighborhood in San Bartolo Coyotopec, Oaxaca. Many of the families make their living by recycling products from the large municipal garbage collection center that serves Oaxaca City.  Their success has largely been attributed to Father Renteria, the parish priest. Father Renteria is both a spiritual and social leader who has designed participatory projects together with the community members to promote harmony and peace in what has historically been a conflict zone. With the help of TASH, they finished building a local church in the town in 2017. They also promote music to give the children and youth options to get off the streets. The orchestra is an incredible expression of faith and talent.  The early School of Music offers classes to more than 100 children and youth at the current time.

Sercade

Sercade was founded by Friar Justino, a Capuchin Franciscan from the state of Hidalgo, who has been at the parish of Chacaltongo, Oaxaca since 2017.  At Sercade we dream that every person can have a dignified life and will be respected for the fact that they are a fellow human, recognizing the richness of the perspective of the indigenous man and woman.

Together with his team, they formed Sercade (Capuchin Services for Development).  Sercade works to address the needs of the indigenous people who live in the rural Mixteca communities, about five hours outside of the capital city of Oaxaca. Their mobile clinic and dispensary provide low-cost dental and medical services on a sliding scale to families throughout the region. They also work with the farmers to improve their agricultural practices and find new ways to process and market their crops, especially oregano and amaranth, providing much needed income generation opportunities 

Simply Smiles

TASH gave its first grant to Simply Smiles in January of 2021. 

Many times, in Oaxaca and other parts of the world, abandoned, at-risk, or orphaned children are assimilated by extended family or other community members. But that is not always the case. TASH sought out a local partner who had proven successful in supporting children and youth who had run out of options.

We were delighted to come across Simply Smiles, which is run by Gabriela Chavez Hernandez. The children who live there in the Children’s Village in Oaxaca come from various backgrounds. Many are from remote regions of the state where both access and lack of income make schooling and health care unavailable or unaffordable. At the age of 12, Gaby, herself, chose to leave her home in a remote Mexican village to move to a children’s home in Oaxaca City and pursue her education. She moved to the U.S. in 2008, and, in 2015, she received her B.A. in Business Administration from Sacred Heart University in Connecticut on a Simply Smiles Scholarship. After seven years living in the U.S., Gaby made another monumental decision: to return to Mexico to oversee Simply Smiles programs in Oaxaca.

Simply Smiles is also located near the city dump, about 30 minutes from Oaxaca City. We hope to develop lasting relationships with our other nearby partners so that they can build synergies and make an even greater impact in marginalized communities.