Featured on Social Conscience’s www

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to pass along a link to Social Conscience’s website, where we’ve got a feature from our CWAC/ Young Life Spring Break trip.

http://web.mac.com/james.milligan/Social_Conscience/Mexico.html

James @ Social Conscience partnered with us to supply our team with fair trade soccer balls…lots of them! It was a blast giving them away. Read up on it when you get a chance!

cheers,

james

Excerpt from the Ground #2: Showing Love with a 13 Dollar Soccer Ball

I never knew that a soccer ball could change a child’s life, but over spring break ’09 nineteen other Canadians and I got to see 52 fair trade soccer balls change hundreds of children’s lives. Working alongside Younglife and Love Tijuana our group of twenty got the amazing opportunity to spread God’s love to the people of Tijuana, Mexico. During our six day trip we built a house in Terrazas, gave food and milk to families living at “the river” (poorest part of Tijuana), gave out 76 school bags, and 52 soccer balls.

Something I will never forget was an amazing experience where our group got to give twenty soccer balls to a school. Once the young students of the school saw what we had brought it was nothing short of a mob, who knew that twenty fair trade soccer balls could make over three hundred kids jump and scream to the point where we were all overwhelmed and even a little scared. What was so amazing was knowing that the balls we were giving to these kids were fair trade- no child labour, and the company’s factory is in Pakistan and pays all their employees fair wages. It was great to give a gift that you knew in no way had been part of exploiting someone by not treating them fairly.

There is no feeling like giving a soccer ball to a child who dreams and talks about being a soccer player, but doesn’t have the money to buy a one. To them, every gift we gave was so much more than it appeared to us, it wasn’t just a ball, it was hope that someone cares about what they go through every day and is willing to do something about it. To see the kid’s faces light up when they got a soccer ball and to see the tears of joy in their parent’s eyes brought the trip in to perspective. What does twenty Canadian teens and leaders travelling thousand of miles to come to a place where hope is strong but means are not look like to a family who received a house, to the families that were given food, to the kids who got school bags and to the neighbourhoods of kids that now have soccer balls to share and enjoy together?

The gift we all got from giving joy to those families and children far out- weighs the true fact that our group couldn’t help everyone and that we couldn’t give to everyone we saw, because we just didn’t have enough, but that feeling swells up in you and makes you want to go back and have twice as much to give. So maybe one day everyone will know that they are worth so much more than the property the government won’t let them own, or the food they can’t always give to their children. They need to know and be shown how precious they are, and we need to show them.

- submitted by Cordell W.

Some quick updates…

Just updated our goals page to let you know what we’re up to.

What’s next? Good question…you should expect some excerpts  & pics from some of our team members in the next while – a great chance to read up on our 09 trip from different perspectives…

On the radar -

• We’re aiming to hit (or surpass) our goals for soccer balls and backpacks for the year.
• chill CWAC tees – BOGO (buy one give one) – hoping to pursue this cool idea… more to come on that one (of course, we’re jonesin’ for organic, sweatshop free tees) !

Just an update on the fly – we’ll do our best to keep you updated on the blog, and on facebook. If you haven’t already, please join our facebook group – the link’s on the side…

cheers, and thanks for your support!

james

back on the ground…

prayer, originally uploaded by James Matthew.

{photo caption: it is an important tradition that we pray with our team and family around the foundation of their new house before we begin building. Everything stops, while we pray a blessing on the family, on our work, and on what will be their new home}

We’re home from the amazing TJ 09 drop and house build.

Wow.

This trip was mindblowing to say the least – here’s the short:

1 house build for the Maqueda family – a beautiful family – we got to spend 3 fantastic days with them… Gustavo, their middle son (the Maquedas have 7 children), is our sponsor child. We got to work, play, and even cook alongside these beautiful people.

1 Factory RESCUE – probably the most important thing we did on this trip. Thanks to some of my students from last trip, we were able to offer Ana, 14, a chance to get out of factory work, child labor, and go back to school. This was life changing! We’re so happy she said yes to rescue, and we’re in the midst of setting up her school registration…

52 Fair Trade Soccer Balls – 20 of which were given to a school for children who can’t afford normal school.

76 School Bags - hand delivered to kids who need ‘em.

40 food packs – handed out @ the river (aka ‘No Esperenza’ = no hope) – an illegal squat that is surrounded by factories. We were able to assemble 40 bags, with rice, beans, and the bags for families with children included vitamin enriched milk.

Countless other stories. We’ll try to get some up asap.
Stay tuned…

-james

TJ 09 – Two days away…

Just wanted to update and let you all know that on Saturday afternoon we’ll be pulling into Tijuana in style – 16 fantastic teens, 4 crazy leaders, 52 fair trade soccer balls (a big thanks to James @ social conscience for setting us up with such a great deal!) and 75 school bags to give away to children down there….oh yeah, and one house to build.We’re stoked to see our sponsor child, Gustavo, again, and build a house for him and his family…this is a once in a lifetime thing!!

Thank you so much for your support. Please keep us in your prayers if you are the prayin’ kind of person. It is always an intense trip.

Also, please pray for Ana – we are going to see if she is willing to leave her life of factory work to return to school and get an education. If she is willing, we are going to help her out – some kids from my school (who were on the 08 trip) decided to raise money to help support putting her into a private school after hearing her story last year. I met Ana two years ago, when the team I was helping lead stuccoed her family’s house. Ana wrote the test at the end of gr.7, and didn’t get a high enough grade. Now she works in a sewing factory for 10 hours a day, and rides a bus for about 3 hours to and from work. She probably makes about 10 dollars a day, if she’s lucky. Ana is about 14 or 15.

This is huge, perhaps the most important part of our trip, but Ana and her folks need to agree with the idea before we can act. If they say yes to this rescue, then perhaps we can help break the cycle of poverty in her family by helping provide Ana with an education that could get her a decent job.

I’ll update the blog when we hit the ground again in Canada. Here’s hoping for an amazing trip of spreading hope in practical ways…

cheers,

james

gearing up for the spring break drop – 75 school bags!

gearing up for the spring break drop – 75 school bags!, originally uploaded by James Matthew.

Just a quick photo of the swag bags I picked up today from the post office… 75 school bags for children who need them in Terrazas, and around Tijuana, Mexico! A big thanks for Mountain Equipment Co-Op for footing the bill for shipping!!! Yahoo!!

Thank you for your support!

The Countdown is on…

Just wanted to update as we’re drawing nearer to our Spring Break Trip/drop.

Only 3 more weeks!

As we’re getting closer, we’re trying to tie up loose ends, which means I just got to order SEVENTY FIVE swag school bags to hand deliver in Tijuana!!

A massive THANKS to all of you who’ve helped us beat our goal of having a minimum of 50 bags to take with us!

Another big THANKS to the great folks at Mountain Equipment Co-op for footing the bill for our shipping fees!!

Next stop – ordering those fair trade soccer balls!!

House build Spring Break 09 is a GO!

Just a quick update – to say that it looks like we’ve covered the cost of one house build for Spring Break ‘09!!

I sent in the last $25 this afternoon, and, if our numbers are right, that’s it for the $6500!!

Fantastic!! I’m so stoked for the CWAC/Young Life ‘09 Spring Break trip!

If you are wanting to support us, have no fear! We still have a minimum of 50 fair trade soccer balls and 50 school bags to fundraise for…please help us share hope!

A huge thank you to all of you who’ve supported this house build fund- we couldn’t have done it without you!!

cheers,

james

house {re}build

hillside, terrazas, originally uploaded by James Matthew.

I just read this afternoon that there was a fire in Terazzas, Tijuana, where our team worked last year. Ten houses were destroyed.

Our team spent a week last year working in this area, stuccoing 2.5 houses and painting. We got to know and work with some of the families, and I got to visit some of them with a few students in September, dropping off school bags, soccer balls and some small gifts.

We know people in this community, and, while I received word that friends like Ana and Heime are safe, we still feel ties to the people there.

I’m happy to say that about half an hour ago, I got the nod – one of the houses we will be building on spring break will be rebuilding for some of the fire victims.

Our spring break goals just got a little bit more important in my head…

in hope,

james

Giving made easier…

Things are amping up for our Spring Break trip to Tijuana – we currently have a team of 20 students and Young Life leaders, and are working on various fundraisers for our house builds. Next week, we’re hoping for a packed living room for a rockin’ house concert featuring Conor Searl and Colin McTaggart – slick. We’re also finalizing our TJ o9 team t-shirts (on organic sweatshop free shirts, of course).

We’ve also made it easier to give – You can now send funds to Childcare Worldwide for backpacks and fair trade soccer balls, as well as for our house builds. They’ll issue tax receipts for any donations over 20 dollars. Slick!

Click on the ‘give!‘ link at the top of the page to read more about helping us spread hope!

cheers,

james