PPM Disaster Response: US Border Migrant Caravan
Updates From The Field
December 12 Update
by Adam McLane | December 13, 2018 11:04 AM
What an amazing day. Truly incredible when things align and click. So many days have felt a little lonely in this, today was the opposite.
Last night a family from San Diego came by to organize all the donations that continue to pour in. Kristen and I have been overwhelmed by this task, so it might sound trivial but it meant a ton to have them come by and pack up the donations.
This morning I met Jody, a nurse from Philly sent by an organization interested in getting involved, at the border. We instantly hit it off and headed to cross while talking a million miles an hour.
Full stop, Mexican customs pulled me into secondary to look at what we had. Fortunately, after they x-rated the van and had a look at all the diapers, they let me go without charging me anything. Woohoo!
From there we tried to find a donation center, after stopping a couple of times and talking to a sleeping police officer, we finally found it... only to discover that they weren’t receiving donations. And they don’t know why they were on the list!
Onward, we went to El Barattel, the main city shelter for members of the migrant caravan. Once we got there we spent an hour or so sharing stories and hearing details of all the work Nazarene Compassion Ministries volunteers have been doing as they served the caravan from the Southern border of Mexico to Tijuana.
The sad news for me was that this was the last time I got to bring them things as they are moving on, heading somewhere else in Mexico to meet the needs of those in need. It’s hard to see these friends leave but at the same time I’m hopeful we can find a group of local doctors willing to take up the task.
I prefer to be discreet with my visits to the shelter, in and out as quickly as possible, so today’s lingering was really special. I was emotional when it ended.
Another member of the medical brigade took Jody and I into the part of the shelter reserved for families to try to share some lice medication with a little girl. I love that the city has provided a safe place for families, it’s out of the weather, it has a roof, it provides security and some privacy, but it’s not great conditions. I’m really worried about the long-term impact on the children in the shelter, I’m hopeful we will see more child-friendly spaces emerge as time goes on.
After some more sharing and lingering we connected with an American pastor from San Diego who told us about her partner church in downtown Tijuana. It is the same place the Nazarene clinic people have been staying so we got connected with the pastor to take our donations.
Back across the city we go to make that delivery and get to know that pastor a little. It turns out he is in the process of opening a shelter, so I look forward to hearing more about that soon.
So now what? It’s a simple question with layers on layers of complexity in the answer.
The quick answer is “onward.” There’s much to do and I’m committed to helping.
Part one of our response is, for now, coming to an end. The emergency need is well managed. I’ll stay engaged with meeting these needs as they arise.
But part two is blossoming. Every day I’m making connections with amazing orgs & people who are committed to the same values we are, meeting immediate needs while resourcing churches and non-profits to meet the needs of migrants long-term, sustainably, for everyone regardless of ability or circumstance.
Thank you for your continued partnership. Without neighbors and friends near and afar, none of this would be possible.
Thursday, Dec 6 Update
by Adam McLane | December 7, 2018 3:35 AM
An Update from Wednesday, Dec 5
by Adam McLane | December 5, 2018 9:08 AM
An update from Monday, December 3
by Adam McLane | December 4, 2018 10:39 AM
An Update from Sunday, December 2
by Adam McLane | December 2, 2018 6:42 PM
Here's a long update from yesterday: I took two separate trips to Tijuana yesterday serving two different goals.
Please, please, please consider giving. The need is massive.
#1 - Providing immediate relief
We loaded up my minivan with a lot more stuff than we had before, crossed our fingers that we'd get in without problems, and set out to drop-off at the city's new migrant shelter 11 miles south of the Otay Mesa border.
Honestly, it couldn't have gone more smooth. Zero problems crossing the border, less-than-average traffic on the streets, the drop-off of goods was easy.
After we dropped your donations off we hung around for a while and I'm glad we did. All four of us spent time walking around inside and outside of the shelter area to get the vibe. It's much larger and the city is much less involved in running it (they are out of $$$). But it is large, secure, and much better conditions. There is a building that'll be used for families so that they are inside, though it's unheated. And the rest of the area is high and dry so it won't flood like the sports complex did.
The problem really is going to be the distance from the border, I'm afraid it's going to be "out of sight, out of mind" where they moved them. We estimated that only between 2000-3000 of the group were there as of yesterday morning meaning there's 3000-4000 people somewhere else in the city, which isn't good because these are very vulnerable people.
Tents, blankets, soap, diapers, wipe, hygiene items are all still a need. I'll post an official list if I can get it.
On the outside of the building were some churches offering clothing and food. As I mentioned yesterday, we had a chance to talk to the couple leading things from a small church who was feeding 1,000 people yesterday and will be back today. We were able to contribute $40 to help provide oatmeal for today's distribution. (They are making an oatmeal drink that is a staple for Central Americans, so a little bit of comfort food.)
I think I'll be making a trip down there later in the morning (Sunday) as I've got lots of stuff to deliver. Again, thank you so much!
If anyone wants to go, please let me know. It helps to have people along for the ride, and the church doing food distribution said they could use the help.
#2 - Supporting local churches offering long-term shelter to migrants.
Last night we met with a pastor who has been hosting migrants in his church for a little over 2 years. When we arrived they were hosting 26 people. They had 39 earlier in the week, but 13 were recently able to have their cases heard. We were impressed at how well organized and comfortable things are. They've converted Sunday school classrooms into living quarters. Pastor even gave up his office to house families.
To me, it was very important to hear that the whole church and even people from the neighborhood are rallying to support them.
While we were meeting with pastor, Mexican immigration brought them 15 more people from Honduras that will stay with them a few weeks while their paperwork is processed to return home.
I'm happy to report that everything checks out with this church. They come highly recommended, and having met with them personally, I have high confidence that everything is legitimate.
With an eye on a long-term solution for the migrants arriving in TJ, we're going to begin supporting them on a small scale with the funds you are donating as we get to know one another and explore other ways to support.
Here's a list of their current needs:
- $260 for their water bill (41 people taking showers, using the toilet, cooking, washing... you can imagine they are using a TON of water.)
- $100 to feed 41 people for a week in the shelter.
- $150 for socks and women's underwear.
- $150 towards jackets for everyone... it's winter here and it's really, really cold if you're from Central America!
- Big bottles of dish soap (Think Costco or Smart & Final)
I am going back tomorrow (Monday) and would LOVE to be able to meet those specific needs.
They also have a larger need that I would love to see you all help me rally to meet. Right now, the city considers this church an emergency shelter. But they'd like to get certified to be a permanent shelter so that they can get access to some city programs and not worry about getting shut down if the government decides the emergency situation is over. To do that, they are going to need about $20,000 in materials to add some more private rooms and safety stuff to meet the cities requirements. Honestly, we're not at a place where I can commit to that but if we want to rally together I think we can do it.
Here's How You Can Get Involved:
To give money, please visit this link. Praying Pelican Missions is matching the first $10,000 given towards this relief effort:
https://www.prayingpelicanmissions.org/re…/us-border-caravan
To give something to the city-run migrant shelter, see this Amazon WishList: http://a.co/ghTbtqU
If you are local (San Diego area), you can collect/buy things and bring them to my house. I will deliver them for you.
Here's what is needed:
- Tents
- Tarps
- Warm blankets
- Feminine hygiene products
- Toothpaste
- Diapers (all sizes)
- Baby wipes
- Body wash and soaps
PLEASE NO CLOTHING.
An Update from Friday, Nov 30
by Adam McLane | December 1, 2018 7:29 PM
An Update from Thursday, Nov 29
by Adam McLane | November 30, 2018 8:21 PM
An update from Tuesday, Nov 27
by James Noreen | November 28, 2018 4:12 PM
Subscribe To Updates
REQUEST INFO