A true success story and an ongoing challenge: Colonia Fausto Gonzalez needs our help

We’re standing in the middle of a garbage dump, and we’ve never been happier.

It’s hot and dusty here at the Tijuana Municipal Dump, yet it’s all smiles among the schoolkids that greet me at Colonia Fausto Gonzalez.

Amid what Mother Teresa called “the world’s most destitute” community, a group of humanitarians called Responsibility have created a school that is bright, clean, and full of life. It’s recess when we arrive, and the kids are running, playing, climbing and goofing off just like any other group of grade-school kids. Looking at them in their school uniforms of white shirts, red sweaters, and gray skirts for the girls, you’d never guess that they were the children of hundreds of families of pepenadores, people who earn their living scavenging the municipal dump for recyclables.

In the past, many of the children were destined to follow in their parents’ footsteps and continue the cycle of a marginal existence. Now, thanks to this school, there is real hope.

But there are still challenges to overcome.

For the last year or so, says Lily, one of their teachers, there has been no electric light for the classrooms, because people keep stealing the electrical wires that power the school; either to use the power themselves, or simply to sell the copper wiring itself.

Would solar powered lighting be a big help in their school? “Yes, definitely,” she says. The good news is, with consistent, bright sunlight and a perfectly flat roof, the building is a great candidate for solar. We may also look at utilizing the local dump's methane for power as well.

In addition to the power problem, these children also lack clean, safe water. According to Lisa Roth, the Chairperson for Responsibility, water is delivered by a large tanker truck, and collected in whatever containers people can find. The cleanliness of the water is definitely uncertain. With over 88% of diseases worldwide resulting from lack of clean water, upgrading this facility is a must.

I am particularly moved by talking with Felipe, a former student of the school who now runs a computer lab there. He said that providing education and job skills is the key to helping the children rise above their environment. “It gives them a different mentality. If a child’s father is a mechanic, he would be a mechanic. If his father scavenges garbage, he would help his father scavenge garbage. So there is a great benefit in teaching them computers” to help them forge a different path, he said.

We greatly admire the work David Lynch, Lisa Roth, Dr. Jim Dillahunty, and the rest of the board members and staff of Responsibility. They have truly created an oasis of hope in a land of great suffering, and a path by which the children of this community can achieve a real quality of life for themselves and for future generations.

Your contribution is vital to helping this community thrive and expand. Please help us provide electric power and clean water to these deserving young people by making a donation. Help them continue to learn and reach for higher goals in their future. Together we CAN power the world.

~Harley Orion
Social Media Director
We Can Power the World Foundation