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Welcome to the World of VAMOS!

Every penny we collect goes to the Mexican poor.
No administration fees! No fund-raising costs!

VAMOS! is a registered charitable organization based in the U.S. and Mexico. We began in 1986 when our founders, Bill and Patty Coleman and Ike Patch visited Cuernavaca, Mexico and were shocked by the contrasts between the rich and the poor.

Cuernavaca has been the summer home of Mexico's rich and powerful since the time of the Aztecs. Today, it is also home to a nearly million poor people who flocked to the city looking for work and opportunities for themselves and their children.

Work, when it is available is poorly paid, often less than $10US per day but basic living expenses can be as high as in the US. Imagine trying to live and feed a family on $200 or $300 dollars per month!

VAMOS! helps by helping communities build schools and community centers and by feeding upto 2200 children and their mothers per day.

Visit our friends at www.EveryDollarFeedsKids.org

Through their churches (Congregational - UCC) they collect money
to buy the food which feeds so many of our kids.

Great pictures. Wonderful people.

!!!BIG NEWS!!!

Through a very generous donation to VAMOS! we have created
CASA VAMOS!, an elegant place for a retreat, conference or
a quiet vacation.

All proceeds go to feed hungry children.

Casa VAMOS! is for sale, please email for details.

www.VAMOS.org.mx/CasaVamos

 

We really need your help, contact us at:

Twenty years of free service
to the Mexican poor!
1987 - 2007

In February, 2007 VAMOS! celebrated its 20th year working alongside the Mexican poor.

We will be continuing the celebration in Weston, Vermot on the 25 of August, 2007. Contact us if you would like to attend!

Schedule of Events and Accomodation

THE SHOCKING TRUTH ABOUT MEXICO

1. Mexico has a higher percentage of extreme poverty (almost double its nearest contenders) than India, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Algeria or any other country with similar economic development, according to the CIA World Factbook 2002.

2. The minimum wage for those who have a job is less than US$4.00 a day, not an hour but a day. Prices for food and other necessities are similar to those in the U.S. or Canada. Imagine providing food, transportation, shelter, medical care and education for your family on $4.00 a day!

3. The poorest 10% of Mexicans use only 1.52% of the nation's GNP, while the richest 10% use 38.7%. This is the worst distribution of wealth in the world.

4. The U.N. warns that these figures should alert the world to the very real possibility of social unrest and this on the border with the U.S.

5. Neither the introduction of NAFTA in the 90's nor the fall of the PRI party which ruled Mexico for over 70 years has done anything to help the poor. Their plight worsens daily.

Please take time to read the tables below to get a full view of the pain of poverty in Mexico. And, please help us help the Mexican poor.

MEXICANS IN EXTREME POVERTY

Compared with countries with similar economic development.

- Mexico
- India
- Dominican Republic
- Algeria
- Chile
- Brazil
- Costa Rica
- Poland
- Ireland
40%
25%
25%
23%
22 %
22%
21 %
18%
10%


WORLD BILLIONAIRES

Number in each country and the percent of the nation's wealth they own.

- Mexico
- Brazil
- Spain
- Turkey
- India
- Korea
- Ireland
- Chile

12
7
7
6
5
2
2
2

31.6%
14.8%
16.9%
14.4%
14.0%
4.4%
3.5%
2.9%