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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:
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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
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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.
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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% |
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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% |
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