Life in the Canyon
Helping Children and Families in Tijuana Mexico
We help families with basic needs like food, water, shelter and education.
Most children stop attending school after the 6th grade mostly for economic reasons. This limits their ability to find work. Most businesses require a 9th grade education.
Without an education, there is very little chance that the children will ever have a life outside the Canyon walls.
Cañon de las Carretas...
Is a community located in the old garbage dump of Tijuana.
... a landfill that had closed many years ago, but recently reopened.
Families came to live here so they could earn a living by savaging recyclable materials.
They continue to live here because they lived on someone else's land for years and have raised their families here.
Homes are made of scrap wood, pieces of plastic and other discarded refuge with tarps for a roof.
In many parts of the community, there is no running water or electricity to run an appliance.
Often just a single light bulb to illuminate one room homes.
Food is often cooked outdoors on make shift stoves. Other than the clothing they wear, this may be their only source of heat in the winter....
The economy here is much different than what we are used to. The people that do have jobs work an average of 6 days a week for about $60 to $75 a week. But many don't have jobs. The ones that do, may only work a couple of days a week.
That's why so many families struggle with being able to send their children to school. It cost's them about $160 to buy a back pack, school supplies, school shoes and the required uniforms and gym clothes. That's per child. Most families have 4 or 5 children. So for some, it means they have to make choices and some won't be able to go to school.
Thank you to Kenny Burkey for loaning us his photographs for the web page. Click on his name to see more of his work with the children in Africa, NYC and Washington DC.