FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q:
Are the children available for adoption?
A: The children are
not available for adoption due to strict Mexican Laws,
as well as our desire to see them remain in Mexico
and become productive members of society.
Q: Where do
the children come from, and how do they get to the
Marsh Children's Home?
A: Many of the children
come from small villages in the mountains of Guerrero,
one of the poorest areas in Mexico. Many are from
single-parent families who cannot take care of them.
These kids are mostly abandoned and abused, as they
are an obstacle and nuisance to some of these irresponsible
parents. The Marsh Children's Home is well-known
in the area and it is usually a neighbor or relative,
or the local authorities, who bring the children to
us. Here they rapidly make friends and immediately
start to mingle and play with their new family, the
Marsh Children.
Q: Do the
children stay at the Marsh Children's Home throughout
their childhood once they get there?
A: Sometimes the parents
come back and get their kids as we have no legal way
to retain them. Mostly, they just leave them
and forget about them. When the kids grow up, sometimes
around their 17th or 18th birthdays they leave and
look for a relative, like an uncle or grandparent,
with whom to live, while they use the education they
received at the Marsh Home to begin their adult lives
in a way that keeps them above the poverty line. Other
times, like our driver, Chucho,
who fell in love here at the Marsh Home, married and
has a beautiful baby girl called Esperanza
(Hope); they decide to stay with us and help others
to flourish and live a more dignified life. Since
we consider this their home, there is no age limit
when they have to move out. They are part of the staff
and consider this their home.
Q: If the
children reach adulthood at the Marsh Children's Home,
what planning is made for their future?
A: We try to give
our children as much love, direction, responsibility,
discipline and good schooling (government school plus
private education at Home) as possible, so they can
integrate into the community and achieve a better
life than their parents. In future, we would like
to develop a program to help them find jobs in the
community.
Q: What is
the typical daily agenda at the Marsh Children's
Home?
A: At the Marsh Children's
Home, the kids follow a simple schedule. They get
up at 6 am, make their beds, clean their rooms and
patios, and arrive at breakfast at 7 am. At each table
in the dining room one of the children is designated
Captain. He or she is responsible for bringing the
food from the kitchen and ensuring that all eat a
proper meal. This job is rotated on a weekly basis
so that every child grows up accepting responsibility.
After breakfast all are off to school, returning
between 1 and 2 pm. They have time to shower and change
before lunch at 2 pm. From 3 to 6 pm, a teacher
assists the children with homework and helps them
out if they are behind in their studies. Plus they
have anywhere from 3 to 4.5 hours of computer lessons
a week in our newly inaugurated state-of-the-art computer
center. At 6 pm they spend 30 minutes helping with
chores that vary from kitchen work to cleanup of the
grounds, laundry, setting the dinner table or various
other activities. They are then free to play. After
a light dinner; they get cleaned up for a 9 pm bedtime.
Saturdays involve 3 hours of study, then playtime,
chores and outings. On Sundays, they attend church
in the morning, with afternoons free to play, swim,
football on the beach or other activities. Often,
we have volunteers who visit to help the kids with
computer lessons, music, singing, games and Bible
study.
Q: Do all
the children at the Marsh Children's Home go to school?
A: All our children
must attend school! We have teachers come in six days
a week to help the children with their studies and
homework, and to help with remedial studies. Many
of our children arrive speaking no Spanish, so we
have to spend a lot of personal time with them at
the beginning. At the Marsh Home we have many children
whose native tongue is NAHUATL, MIXTECO and
AMUSGO.
Q: How can
I send books or other material to Acapulco, Mexico?
A: If they are books
what you are sending, make sure to write on your commercial
invoice: "BOOKS / PRINTED MATTER". This
way they are tax exempt / no import duty. Please ship
donations to the following address: We humbly request
that you send books in Spanish, please.
Hogar Infantil Marsh, A.C.
c/o Jean Paul Valtorta
Ave Costera M. Aleman # 40-3
Suite # 200, Fracc. Costa Azul
Acapulco, Gro. Mexico
C.P. 39858
Telephone: 011 (52) 744-449-0701
Email: vjanpaul@prodigy.net.mx
Q: How can
I send a monetary donation without sponsoring a child?
A: Just make a check
out to Marsh Children's Home Acapulco, Inc. [A 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Corporation]
and send to the following address:
Marsh Children's Home Acapulco, Inc.
c/o Robin Blackwood - Treasurer
120 S. Houghton Rd. Suite 138 - 152
Tucson, AZ - USA
85748-2155
Telephone: (520) 777-0066
Email: Larobinb@aol.com
Please specify if you would like a tax-deductible receipt.
Or you may
send us a financial donation via Paypal® .
Just visit our Donate page - here you can select options to pay by check, Paypal® or by credit card.
