Colonia 89

A small part of Colonia 89, as viewed from Lantern Hill's community center.

Colonia 89 isn’t easy to explain, but if you’ve been to another country in Latin America, you may be able to imagine it. If you haven’t, then I’ll do my best to explain it in words.

Colonia 89 is a large community that rests in the hills above downtown Ensanada, Mexico. It is the largest concentration of people living in poverty in Baja California Norte with approximately 87,000 people (based on my friend JJ’s statement that 30% of the population of Ensanada lives there and that there are 290,000 people in Ensanada). The community rests on miles of rolling hills with homes built one next to the other.

The homes themselves are in any number of conditions. They are all built of block and concrete….well, almost all, other than those that are pulled together with whatever materials the builder could find, such as plywood. Some are painted and relatively well maintained. Others have only the bare minimum to provide shelter.

In the picture posted here, you can see some of the differences. Note also the dirt road that runs through the center of the picture. Few roads in Colonia 89 are paved, and after a rainstorm washes out portions of the road, it can take weeks for the government to come through and grade the road.

Colonia 89 includes an area called Freeland. Freeland rests on a hillside and is land that is not owned by either the government or private land owners, so the government has allowed residents to claim whatever space they want, without charge. This is where you see some of the most dilapidated homes in Colonia 89. Electrical and water lines are not run into Freeland, unless the residents find a way to run the lines into the homes on their own.

This is where Lantern Hill has chosen to open its community center, to aid children and families living in poverty to build better lives for themselves. From this center, Lantern Hill will base its feeding program, both at the center and in local schools; teach English and art classes; and offer rec programs for kids. The center will also provide a central location for Lantern Hill’s work building additions on to local homes so that the children who live there will have a quiet place to study and to rest.

The organization is currently working with 30 families in the local neighborhood, and these families are engaged, trying to make a better life for their kids.

It’s been asked of us, and I’m sure of JJ and Abby, “Why give them a handout? Why not teach them how to make a better life for themselves?” By providing a nutritious lunch at school for $1 or a quiet room to study or to rest, Lantern Hill is doing just that. They are providing kids with the foundation for getting a good education. It doesn’t take a PhD in education to know that a child struggles to learn when she is hungry or not well-rested or cannot find the necessary space to adequately study.

Further implementation of the school lunch program was part of the work that we did during our visit. No public school in Baja California Norte has a cafeteria, so the goal is to enhance the education of the local children by providing a nutritious and inexpensive lunch. While Lantern Hill has already started the food program by operating in the courtyards of a local school, the goal is to have a physical structure to operate. Ultimately, a patio-style cafeteria, with a roof but no walls, will be built. We spent two days working toward that goal by digging out dirt to level the ground and then mixing and pouring concrete to set a floor for the cafeteria. We worked on one school, and Lantern Hill’s goal is to build cafeterias in schools throughout Colonia 89.

Obviously, this can only be done with the help of volunteers and donors. The organization has been blessed to have a major donor who is buying the property at the community center. Now the programs need to be sustained, as well.

What we saw in Colonia 89 was high density poverty. But the kids who come into contact with Lantern Hill have an advantage because their families are involved. Their parents want their children to have a better life, and they are doing what they can to make that happen.

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Tags: Lantern Hill, Mexico, Poverty, social justice