Leaders2Give’s goal is to build and sustain a children's home in El Cardonal, Baja California Sur (BCS), Mexico, that provides a temporary home for children while their families are impacted by a medical crisis.

Construction is now complete and the doors will open to children once we have raised the funds necessary for operational expenses.

Why is this home needed?

  • Poverty among women & children in BCS increased by 200% over the last few years. BCS also has amongst the highest rates of breast cancer and childhood leukemia in Mexico.

  • Fipcam (a Mexican non-profit exclusively serving women living in poverty requiring treatment for cancer in BCS) confirmed that women often have to abandon their children during treatment.

  • The DIF (the Mexican governmental department responsible for child welfare) confirmed this fact and agreed to work with us to place these children from all over BCS. 

 In addition, we have met with both the local delegation for the East Cape (the equivalent of the mayor’s office) and the sub-delegation for El Cardonal. Both confirmed the need for such a facility and are in support of the project.

Watch the video.

In the video below, you can learn more about this project and meet some of the children we are already supporting through one of our patnerships.

*Select “John Gullo Home For Children” from the drop down menu if donating through Payal or using a credit card.

The Story

Our goal to build this home was inspired by a story from a local family who became aware of a single mother of five who had to abandon four of her children in the slums of Los Cabos while seeking medical treatment for her youngest boy.

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This family lived in the slums outside of San Jose del Cabo (known locally as the “colonies”). Like thousands of other families, this mother and her children lived in abject poverty.

Typical housing in the slums consists of plywood walls and tar paper roofs at best. There are limited, and more often no basic services including running water or sanitation. Gangs, crime, and violence are commonplace.

One of the children in this family was receiving treatments for leukemia in a medical facility located 2½ hours from their home. Traveling this distance by bus on a regular basis with her severely ill son was not only financially and emotionally devastating, the mother was also forced to leave her other children in the care of others in these slums for days where they were badly neglected, did not eat properly, and stopped attending school. Sadly, the ill child passed away and the mother has returned to the colonies where she lives today with her surviving children.

In the last decade in Mexico, cancer has become the leading cause of mortality among children between the ages of four and 15. Moreover, there is a prevalence of leukemia, especially in children 0-4 years of age. Children are not, however, the only segment of the population with a high rate of cancer. In 2020, there were nearly 8,000 deaths from breast cancer, the vast majority of which were women. In fact, Baja California Sur has the third highest rate of breast cancer in all of Mexico.  Consequently, whether it is the child or the mother who is ill, children are frequently left to suffer unimaginable neglect.

The new facility is intended to provide a temporary home for children such as those left behind by the unfortunate mother in our real-life example. It will shelter, feed, and educate these children — in a loving, safe, and nurturing environment until family reunification is possible — without cost to the families. In addition to attending public school, children residing at the home will be taught age-appropriate leadership skills such as conflict resolution, collaboration, teamwork, and environmental stewardship, so that they can take these skills and knowledge back to their original communities.

Who will operate the home?

To help facilitate the development of the home and its ongoing operations, Leaders2Give created Líderes Para Dar as its Mexican nonprofit subsidiary.

Líderes Para Dar’s mission is identical to Leaders2Give’s with a board of directors composed of three officers from Leaders2Give’s Board of Directors along with a number of Mexican nationals.

Líderes Para Dar will be charged with hiring staff and overseeing the day-to-day operations of the home.

 

Is El Cardonal the right place for this home?

The site where the children’s home is being built was donated to Líderes Para Dar for this specific use.

There is an elementary school, a high school, small stores, and a medical clinic in the immediate area. It is far enough from the town of Los Barriles to maintain privacy and provide security for the children, and it is close enough to access all of the necessary services the facility and children will require. There are even hotels and restaurants in the area for the volunteers who wish to visit El Cardonal and lend a helping hand.

Best of all, there is an engaged community ready to integrate the home and children into El Cardonal.

 

The children’s home consists of four new buildings, plus the minor remodel of an existing building, including the following

  • Boys’ dormitory for 12 with bathroom facilities

  • Girls’ dormitory for 12 with bathroom facilities

  • Two-story common building with kitchen, laundry room, dining hall, and a two bedroom apartment upstairs for caregivers

  • Small stand-alone bathroom for guests

  • Conversion of an existing building into a second caregiver apartment and an office

2024 Project Goals

  • Complete construction by early summer.

  • Raise the funds to operate the facility.

  • Complete permits and start welcoming children!

Donations

All donations received in support of this project will be used for the capital and operational expenditures. All funds are deposited to our U.S. Leaders2Give bank account, allocated directly to the new children’s home. Receipts are required for all expenditures and the funds are tracked.

Select “John Gullo Home For Children” from the drop down menu if donating through PayPal or using a credit card.