Feeling like Santa! Oct. 2009

Meet Madre Mireya!

She speaks some English and has a great sense of humor! 

She and Hermana Miriam, who are both nurses, are now in charge of

La Casa de la Sagrada Familia.  (Click on the link for a previous post with all the info.)

Just the 2 of them!  That means keeping

the home operating, taking care of medical issues, cooking and feeding, and being the sole

fundraisers for the expenses.  Can you imagine?

They have 6 patients living full time at the Casa, there was a man living there

but he recently asaulted the Madre with a hose and was removed by the police.

I just came back from visiting them and brought Sheila with me

who always comes with diapers, cleaning supplies, food, or cash.

Today was no exception.  In addition, I got to deliver a generous cash

donation from one of our fellow bloggers.

Gracias to you-know-who-you-are.

It's always fun to visit La Casa.  The nuns appreciate everything so

much and the patients are so delighted to have someone

new to chat with - or at - depending on the case.

If you live anywhere near here, do drop

by and visit, you won't regret it.  Oh, and tuck a few diapers

(adult size medium)

under your arms or a kilo of rice or a papaya or 2

while you're at it.

We sat down and put together a list of estimated monthly expenses

(These numbers are approximate and fluctuate monthly and are in pesos, of course)

so everyone can see just what is entailed in keeping a

project like this afloat for only one month. 

Here's how it goes:

Food:  $18,000

Madre says she goes to the Joco mercado on Thursdays between 9:30 and 2

and many vendors give her 'gifts' of food for the patients.  I asked her what would happen if she didn't have any money at all and didn't get any donations from the vendors at the mercado.  She said she can call Don Juan  :)  at the tire shop on the highway and he will give her a few pesos.  If you see her at the mercado, please, buy her a bag of beans or something to add

to her weekly groceries.

Cleaning Supplies and Personal Items:   $18,000

That's toothpaste, soap, diapers and the like.

A diaper manufacturer donates very large bags of diapers to the Casa

and the WM Bodega in Joco collects  them for the Casa.  Each patient

requires a diaper at bedtime and 2 patients need them all day as well.

That's 8 or 10 a day, all going well.

Medicines:   $25,000

Yes, they buy generics.  Medical expenses fluctuate, for example the woman

who fell out of bed needed surgery and extra meds this month.  The elderly patients are on multiple medications for high blood pressure, diabetes etc.

2 Employees:   $16,000

They have 2 employees, a woman who cleans and helps the nuns and a

caretaker/gardener/handyman/watchman who lives with his small

family on the same property.

Gas for Cooking and Bathing:   $7,000

The place is immaculate!

Electricity:   $10,000 

That includes the washing machine that does 10 loads

of clothing and bedding a day - diapers leak!

Gasoline:   $4,000

Which includes taking patients like the woman on the right who fell out of bed

 and had to go to Hospital Civil in the middle of the night in Guad - as well as follow up.

For an approximate total of:

$98,000 pesos a month

One family of a patient is able to contribute $2000/month but the rest must all

be generated by the nuns.  No help from Guadalajara, no help from the priests

or the church in Guadalajara.  They are on their own!

I am working on a fundraiser at a friend's restaurant.  Please stay

tuned for more on that. 

In the meantime, any donations you are able to give can be dropped off at

La Casa or you can email me and I'll take it over. 

If you'd like to donate money you can paypal it to me and I will deliver it like

I did today.  You can get the info on the previous post, either click on the above

link, or go to the picture of the Casa on the right column of this blog and click

on the picture.

Don't be shy!