| Tom O'Connor's Fundraising Page for the FCB |
Tom and Helena facilitate a workshop on the impact of migration on the community | In January, 2005, my wife Helena and I set off on a journey to Guanajuato, Mexico in order to learn more about that country and its culture. We also hoped to get a better understanding of what it was that was causing so many thousands of people to leave their homes in the state of Guanajuato to come to our cities and towns of North Carolina and around the U.S. We had been seeing a change in our little town of Carrboro, NC in recent years, with a large number of new immigrants arriving from Mexico, almost all from the rural communities of the state of Guanajuato, in central Mexico.
During our time in Mexico, we learned two very important lessons:
1) Most Mexican people really don’t want to live in the United States and would be much happier if they had economic opportunities that would enable them to stay at home; and
2) There is an organization in the state of Guanajuato that is doing wonderful work to try to provide those opportunities, so that the Mexican people can earn a living in their home communities and enjoy a life that allows them to stay together with their families and in healthy, stable communities.
During our first year in Mexico, Helena and I, working as volunteers for the Fundacion Comunitaria del Bajio, did a series of workshops in rural communities throughout Guanajuato state. Through these workshops, we discovered that most people, especially the women left behind when their male relatives migrated to the U.S, believed that migration was devastating their communities. “Yes, it brings some economic benefits, but it’s breaking apart our families and destroying our community,” is the message that we heard time after time.
We have been hearing a lot of talk about the issue of immigration in the U.S., but the strategies to address the problem never seem to vary from simplistic ideas about building higher and longer fences. But this strategy is doomed to failure--as one commentator said, “Build a fifty foot fence and I’ll show you a fifty one foot ladder.”
The Fundacion Comunitaria del Bajio, on the other hand, offers an approach that has the potential to make a real difference. By developing cooperatives, small businesses, and other economic development projects in the rural communities hardest hit by migration, the FCB is providing a reason for people--young people, especially--to stay in their communities and build a stronger future for themselves there, rather than looking for work in El Norte.
I invite you to join me in supporting this worthy cause. I can assure you that every dollar you donate will be used responsibly and with great care to promote the goal of providing a chance for a better future for central Mexico’s rural residents.
Your donation via the Amigos del Bajio Fund will allow you a tax deduction under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Service code. You can donate now by scrolling to the top of this page and entering your donation in the “Make a Donation” box on the right.
If you have any questions about the work of the Fundacion, please contact me at oconnorta@gmail.com.
Thanks in advance for your generosity.
Tom O’Connor
Volunteer and Supporter of the Fundacion Comunitaria del Bajio
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| Current Donations: $7,025.00 |
| Current Goal: $25,000.00 |
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| 22% |
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