October News from Casa Bugambilia and Juntos Servimos

Read our October newsletter here.

Fifth Annual Golf Tournament – A Note of Thanks

We extend our sincerest thanks to all of the golfers, sponsors and volunteers who made today our most successful golf tournament ever. Dr. Nancy and Larry were needed close to Casa Bugambilia, and so they were not able to come to the golf tournament as usual.   Larry sent a note of gratitude, which I have copied below. ~ Ellen Curnes

A Note of Gratitude

Nancy and I are unable to join you this year at the golf tournament. We are managing our medical and educational efforts from the Texas side due to the narco-violence recently experienced in Matamoros. Once it is safe again, we will return to Matamoros, but this present disruption requires us to remain close to the border for daily efforts with the Casa Bugambilia community.

One certainty of the present situation is our gratitude for supporters like you who make it possible to respond in the colonias of Mexico, a response which leads to changed communities. Those who cause intimidation and violence may have their moment, but the peaceful efforts like those of Juntos Servimos will prevail.

I mentioned Casa Bugambilia. It is the sole center for the ill and abandoned in Matamoros and in all northeastern Mexico, including the states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and Coahuila, where more than 11 million people live. It is where we conduct classes for children, almost 60, who are not learning in the local public school. The children continue to go to school, but we make sure they learn how to read and write. It is also our base for responding to complicated medical cases, of which there are about 100 right now.

I asked Nancy about our beginning 10 years ago. She simply wrote the names of 2 people and asked if I remembered them. The names are Bonifacio and Moises. These are 2 individuals we found in 2001. Bonifacio was 95 years old and living under a mesquite tree. All of his belongings fit into a 13 gallon plastic garbage bag. We took him in and made sure he lived out his life comfortably. We were able to find family, who saw him the day before he died.

Moises was 14 years old. We found him in a shack at the edge of Matamoros. He was shaking, not because of the August heat but because of pain from being hit by a car. Both arms and legs were broken. He had been released from the hospital with wire sticking outside of his arms. He was released without medication. We converted my van to an ambulance and got him proper care. When he recovered enough, we helped him with his education. He has grown into a reliable and competent worker. He is married now and working with permission in the USA.

In our response to the suffering of Bonifacio and Moises, one can see a link to what Casa Bugambilia is today. We learn of someone who is struggling and respond to their invitation to help. When families and government agencies do not or cannot respond, we collaborate with anyone we can. It’s not always a perfect solution, but it’s always the best we can do.

Just in this past six weeks, we have begun attending to a 20 year old mother who was being abused by her husband. She has a 19 month old son who was born with his intestines outside of his body.  He still has health problems. The mother is deaf. We have
also begun responding to another mother and her 2 sons who were being abused by her spouse. One of the sons is deaf.

It is too early to say what will be different for this girl and her sick son, other than Nancy has prescribed a special diet for the boy and we are making sure he is getting the nutrition he needs. The other woman and her 2 sons moved to Casa Bugambilia, where she will stay for now, free from the daily violence in her home. She has started nurse helper classes. The boys are in school. One wants to teach sign language. The other wants to be a physician.

Perhaps it is these latest persons at Casa Bugambilia who remind me that life can be different. We can have peaceful and healthy communities.

Again, thank you.

Larry Cox

Alejandra

There is much to report about Alejandra, a 3 year old at Mi Casa children’s home in Matamoros. Her father is absent. Her mother is very sick from drug use. But Alejandra has a chance. Yesterday, at a clinic in Feria sponsored by Shriners Hosptial in Houston, Dr. Scott said that she will perform surgery later this year to repair Alejandra’s clubfoot. She will put a cast on her foot for 30 days before the surgery to stretch the skin. After the surgery, she will have two different types of casts and four trips to Houston. Then she will be given a special brace for her leg and begin therapy, and she just may be walking unaided.

Alejandra’s uncle has agreed to take responsibility for her. He lives close to Casa Bugambilia, making it easier for us to maintain contact with her. We will encourage her education, as well as continue to respond to the effects of the abuse that caused her to be removed from her home. In arranging treatment for her clubfoot, the x-rays revealed a needle-like object in the fleshy part around the ankle of the clubfoot. Concerned that it was evidence of abuse, we arranged additional x-rays which revealed two fractures of the upper leg, two skull fractures and a fractured nose. She also has a visible “v” shaped scar of about 4 inches on her forehead. Dr. Scott will also attend to the foreign object and the damage to her leg. We will be arranging neurological studies and care for the other injuries.

We had not seen Alejandra for about 4 months. She is usually very serious in her expression and so quiet that we feared she was unable to talk. Yesterday at the La Feria clinic revealed a different story. She is talking now, albeit not as advanced as most 3 year old children. She and Larry played for many hours while waiting for Dr. Scott. There was a great deal of laughter. The physical therapist at the clinic said that with a walker Alejandra could walk now. Larry had doubts, but was told not to worry and was given a small walker. Alejandra took off. We have a video of Alejandra’s first steps with the walker which was filmed by our Dr. Libni, which we will post soon.

With what we have we will do all that we can to respond to the suffering this precious child has experienced. She truly is a lovely child. We are grateful to Dr. Libni, to Doc Wood, all those good people associated with Shriners and to those who pray for the work here and offer support in so many ways.

Get Up and Give! on September 15th

On September 15, 2011 Juntos Servimos is taking part in Get Up and Give! North Texas Giving Day. On September 15th, your donation above $25 will be matched in part if you donate to Juntos Servimos through Donor Bridge, an online resource sponsored by the Communities Foundation of Texas that connects donors with nonprofit organizations.

Please visit the Juntos Servimos page on Donor Bridge and click the “Donate Now” button anytime between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. central time on September 15th. You can follow this link directly to the Juntos Servimos page on Donor Bridge, or you can follow the link from the Juntos Servimos website. The Donor Bridge site is sometimes slow, so you may want to avoid the busiest times and instead visit and donate during off-hours, 10-11 a.m. and 2-4 p.m.

Last year, almost $25,000 in gifts and matching funds were generously donated to Juntos Servimos through North Texas Giving Day. The need of the people of the colonias for physical and spiritual wholeness has never been greater. Your gift onSeptember 15th through Donor Bridge will go a long way toward continuing the healing and education, and the peaceful, transformative presence of Casa Bugambilia, in the colonias despite the violence in Matamoros. Please join us.

News From Casa Bugambilia – September 1

Although Matamoros remains unsettled, it has been peaceful at Casa Bugambilia this summer.

Each day, we continue to treat colonia residents at the Casa Bugambilia clinic. We hold exercise classes to help control diabetes (the Bollywood dancercise videos are still the most popular), and care for the 11 ill and abandoned staying at Casa Bugambilia. Most of them have limited mobility, some are completely paralyzed and helping them eat and bathe and keep comfortable through the heat of a Matamoros summer takes a lot of effort from our caregivers. We coordinate with specialists to provide treatment for the complex cases. Just next week, Dr. Nancy will be taking two little girls, Alexsandra and Alejandra, to a clinic in the Valley hosted by Shriners Hospital of Houston.

In the colonias, treatable conditions often go untreated. Many colonia residents don’t seek medical care until they are already ill, with sometimes devastating results. Rather than wait for patients to come to them, the Casa Bugambilia doctors reach out to help educate and prevent, as with our diabetes program. Women’s health is another area of intense focus for our doctors. In the colonias, the loss of the mother almost always means the loss of the family. Dr. Nancy is working with Dr. Libni to hold a women’s health campaign in October where we will screen for illnesses like cervical cancer and follow up with any needed treatment.

 Over the summer, we deepened our relationship with Con Mis Manos (With My Hands), a school for deaf children from the colonias led by Michelle Zuniga, a missionary from the United States. (You may remember Ricardo, a Con Mis Manos student with foot malformations we were treating earlier this year.) Because of the limited resources of colonia families and the local public schools, the education of deaf children is often completely ignored. They live in isolation, unable even to communicate with their parents. Con Mis Manos teaches the students (and their family) Mexican sign language, as well as academic subjects and gives them vocational training.

 Our mission is to eliminate barriers to physical and spiritual wholeness. The barriers we find in our work with students are not just in the classroom. It’s also getting students to the classroom in the first place. The ability or willingness to transport the student may simply be lacking, or the home situation can get in the way. Our local construction team, including 14-year old apprentice, Chuy, is leading the construction of new classrooms and residential living quarters for Con Mis Manos with materials being provided by Con Mis Manos. The new residences will eliminate a very real barrier to education for many deaf students, like Ricardo. Ricardo will be living at Casa Bugambilia starting next week until the Con Mis Manos residences are completed. He will be supervised by Vicki and her husband, Ramiro. I’m sure many of you remember Vicki from your trips to Casa Bugambilia. She worked in the kitchen, and always had a big smile. The impact of her steady presence these last few months cannot be overstated, and now she and Ramiro will be staying at Casa Bugambilia full time.

 Paco, also a student at Con Mis Manos, is also staying with us for the time being. Paco had become a leader among the students, but was finding it difficult to continue at the school because of an abusive home. He, his younger brother, Jose, and their mother, Delfina, are at Casa Bugambilia now while they build a different and better future. The Con Mis Manos school is only about a mile away from Casa Bugambilia, so it will be easy for Paco and Ricardo to attend classes until the living quarters are completed.

Soon a new school year will start at the Derechos Humanos public school, and soon our Las Estrellitas and La Escuelita students will be returning to Casa Bugambilia. Saira will continue to lead the Las Estrellitas program for pre-elementary children. A few weeks ago, the 2011 Estrellitas held an open house to show their parents their work for the year, as well as introduce the younger children who will be in the 2012 class. We’ll be posting photos in the photo galleries at our website so check back. Cecilia and Charys will tutor the older children.

The need for Casa Bugamilia’s mission of healing has never been greater. Thanks to modern technology and many friends, Dr. Nancy and Larry have been able to guide all these activities at Casa Bugambilia from the United States side of the border. Still, the spirit Dr. Nancy brings by her presence has been missed and, when circumstances permit, she will return to Casa Bugambilia on a daily basis. We hope that will be by year end.

In the meantime, we continue on and strive to grow in our capacity to respond in a violent environment.

Flip Flops and More

Alisa Allen, the Mexico Missions Coordinator at Custer Road UMC, will be travelling to the Valley tomorrow with her children and a good friend to deliver goods donated for the families of the colonias. Even though Dr. Nancy and Larry have relocated to the U.S. side until the violence directed against them passes, we still are in need of, and able to deliver, donated goods to Casa Bugambilia. The items Alisa brings will be taken across the border by good friends in the Valley who regularly visit Casa Bugambilia, the colonias and the fishing villages.

Among the items Alisa will be bringing are more than 300 pairs of flips flops that were donated during CRUMC’S Pandamania Vacation Bible School held in June. Most of the children in the colonias go barefooted through much of the year. Those of you who have been to Casa Bugambilia know that the colonias streets are largely unpaved and can be littered with dangerous trash (the colonias are built on former garbage dumps), so the flip flops are much needed and appreciated. Alisa will also be bringing over 200 personal care packages put together by the children in CRUMC’s “Missions” Sunday School Classes from the Journey program since March. The items in the care packages were donated by the children and their families, and prayed over to bless God’s people who receive these gifts.

Alisa is an elementary teacher in the Allen ISD. Some of her students and their families donated “theme activity boxes” and school supplies to help the children in Casa Bugambilia’s education programs get a great start when the new school year starts.

We are grateful to Custer Road UMC, Alisa’s students, and all the individuals who helped in this effort, including Alisa’s son. For his birthday, he asked his friends to bring new school supplies for the abandoned children living with Larry and Nancy. Please keep Alisa, her children and friend in mind as they travel.

Casa Bugambilia is Still “In Business”

It’s been a challenging three weeks since we posted the news that Dr. Nancy and Larry were forced to leave Matamoros under threat to their lives. We’ve been working hard to adapt to the changed circumstances, and we are happy to report that Nancy, Larry and Casa Bugambilia are definitely still “in business”. Larry speaks of how encouraged he has been by his sisters, who tell him that wherever Nancy and he are, they can do what they are to do in serving those who struggle.

There are many parts to still being “in business.”  14 people from the community work 7 days a week/24 hours a day to care for 11 persons who are ill and abandoned and living at Casa Bugambilia. Four of these 11 have limited mobility; five need help for almost everything. Dr. Delhi and Dr. Libni are providing medical consultations at Casa Bugambilia to persons in the neighborhood. Even if the patient is there for a seemingly simple visit, like a baby with a fever, they receive the in depth attention that distinguishes the care those led by Dr. Nancy provide. Because so often we have found that the condition that prompted the visit is but a symptom of other conditions in the home that also require treatment. That attitude goes back to the origin of Nancy and Larry’s collaboration – the realization that true healing requires more than medicine. It requires a transformation in the patient’s living conditions and spirit.

We also continue to care for many adults and children, like Alexsandra whom we’ve written about below, who have a chronic condition that requires a sustained, coordinated response from many. Alexsandra cannot walk today without a walker, but one day she may because of the effort made by the staff at the Mi Casa children’s home where she lives, the officials at the U.S. consulate in Matamoros who arranged appropriate visas for treatment in the United States, the staff at Shriner’s hospital in Houston and the eye surgeon in Dallas, and the many volunteers who helped arrange appointments and travel, all under the inspiration and guidance of Dr. Nancy.

We’ll be posting more soon about our continuing operations, collaborations, plans and dreams to bring spiritual and physical wholeness to the communities along the border.

Alexsandra – An Update

Do remember Alexsandra? We wrote about her on May 13^th. She is 3 years old and has lived at the Mi Casa Children’s Home in Matamoros since she and her sisters were removed from their home three years ago because of abuse. We’ve been working with Shriner’s Hospital in Houston to treat malformations of her feet. Alexandra also has strabismus. At the end of June, Nancy and Larry brought Alexsandra to Dallas for surgery to correct her eyes. A simple outpatient procedure was all that was needed, but without Nancy’s intervention and persistence it’s unlikely it would have happened. Her eyes are in great shape after the surgery. She will be back in Dallas in September for a checkup. Nancy was with Alexsandra almost constantly during their five days in Dallas, and even during that short period got Alexsandra talking a lot more. Larry called Nancy the envelope and Alexsandra the postage stamp, Alexsandra clung to Nancy that closely.

An Update

We had been fortunate that the violence that has plagued northern Mexico missed Casa Bugambilia, but that has changed. Conditions deteriorated rapidly in the colonias in the end of May. Intimidating strangers began making their presence visible. A father and son were beaten and kidnapped. Colonia residents were approached and asked for information. Nancy and Larry were mentioned by name, and the strangers had many details of life at Casa Bugambilia.  Nancy and Larry heard about threats against them from multiple sources. After investigating, Nancy and Larry then left immediately for the US. They are currently, Larry and Nancy living in the Valley in a house provided by friends.

As they adjust to the new realities of their life, Nancy and Larry continue to carry on the mission of Casa Bugambilia. And it is their intention to carry on, albeit from a distance for so long as the situation in the colonias remains as it is now. There are so many who need help. The colonias are still a place where families struggle to live on $10 or $15 a day. There are men like Julio Cesar, for whom we prepare food every day that is squeezed through a feeding tube to his stomach. There are 12 ill and abandoned living at Casa Bugambilia, six of whom, like Daniel and Jose Nieves, have almost no movement. There are the children like Juan Pablo, Alexsandra, Lucas, Lupita and all the others who need the care Casa Bugambilia provides.

We believe the people of the Casa Bugambilia community still in Matamoros – both patients and staff – are safe. The doctors and caregivers remaining have been extraordinary, as have the many friends in the Valley who have helped us logistically to operate Casa Bugambilia over the last two weeks. We ask for your continued prayers and support to carry on the mission that, because of you, has already made such a difference in the lives of so many.

Thank you again for all you have done.  And check back. We will be posting.

Unmentionables

You’ve no doubt heard the saying “No one likes change except a wet baby”, probably in a leadership seminar discussing organizational resistance to improvement. But consider the baby for minute, and how really good it feels to be clean and dry.

It can be embarrassing to talk about, but some of the patients staying at the Casa Bugambilia albergue (medical haven) have no control over their bodily functions. They must wear adult diapers, and the diapers must be changed frequently. We have found a brand of diapers that really seem to reduce the risk of skin ulcers. They cost more than other brands, but they are better for the patients. Jose Nieves has ankylosing spondylitis, an inflammatory disease that causes the vertebrae to fuse and the bones to weaken. Jose’s case is very severe. He cannot leave his bed and he has almost no movement. His body is frozen. This makes his care difficult. His bones are so brittle that moving his body is time consuming and delicate for the caregiver, and painful for Jose. When Jose came to Casa Bugambilia over a year ago, the back of his body was covered in open skin ulcers, or bedsores. Where he had been staying, they simply hadn’t gone through the “inconvenience” of moving or cleaning him. Now, after many, many months of care by Dr. Nancy and others at Casa Bugambilia, Jose is free from ulcers. We believe this brand of diapers has been a significant factor in that. There are new drugs that may reduce Jose’s inflammation, but they cannot be used if the body has ulcers. So these diapers also contribute to Jose’s healing.

We go through a package of 40 diapers every 4 days, about 90 packages each year. Although we have negotiated a discount with the local pharmacy in Brownsville, it’s still expensive, about $3,000 a year. Today, we received a gift from the Seekers Sunday School Class at St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas specifically to be used to help cover the expense of these diapers. We thank them very, very much.