last minute details…
We’re about a week away from the Tijuana 2010 trip…. Just working on the final details. This is when it can get a little hairy – farming out backpacks, soccer balls, random tools and craft supplies to our team members. Here’s some of what we’re bringing:
50 School Bags for kids – from MEC
50 mini school supply kits – my wife got some screamin’ deals on school supplies, so each bag will have some pencils, pens, erasers, a notebook, and one other small item like colored pencils
20 fairly traded soccer balls
our tools for the house build
craft supplies for kids we meet in the street – there’s nothing like an impromptu craft sess in the street.
We’ll try to keep you posted as to what’s coming down the pipes for the trip – and future trips – there’s some cool stuff in the mix!!
-james
pencils, originally uploaded by James Matthew.
Tijuana 2010 is a GO!!
Just wanted to update after a long silence….great news:
Tijuana 2010 is a go!!
We’re building another house!
We’re taking more school bags and fair trade soccer balls!
We Need your help!!!
Our housebuild fund is starting to get money pledged…we have somewhere around 2600 – That’s almost halfway!!
Check out the link to giving at the top of the page if you’d like to partner with us!
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.
Stay tuned…
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!
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
Time to get our shop on…
Well, it looks like it is shopping time!
We’ve got enough green to order about 40 backpacks.
Talk about having a thing for bags…
There’s still time, if you want to help us meet our original goal of 100 bags. (12.25 each).
happy shopping!
Tax Deductions for Backpacks and Soccer Balls!
Great news on another partnership that enables you to get a tax receipt for donating for backpacks or fair trade soccer balls!
St. John’s Anglican Church has agreed to partner with us, as they have strong ties to Tijuana and the people of Terrazas. Cheques would need to be made out to ‘St. John’s Mexico Mission’ and your name and address should be included for a tax receipt (which you won’t get until the end of the year).
It’s as easy as this:
1. Write a cheque- make it out to St. John’s Mexico Mission
2. Tag it: In the memo, just put either: “Cameras With a Conscience Soccer Balls” , or “Cameras With a Conscience Backpacks”
3. Drop it in the mail. Send it to:
Attn: K. Coopsie
7459 Bell McKinnon Rd.
Duncan, BC, Canada V9L 6A9
Share some hope!!!
St. John’s will then pay us out when we go to purchase soccer balls and backpacks.
A big thank you to the folks @ St. John’s!!
Update – where we’re at – where we’re going…
Just a quick update on how things are going…
Soccer Balls : We’ve got 15 funded! Only 5 more to go…
Backpacks : We’ve got 4 funded, which leaves 96 to go…
House Build: We’re set up to take donations through Childcare Worldwide. Sweet!
