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Geramino Gonzalez Santos was one of Jerry and Sue Machetta's sponsored students, and he changed his degree to education once he witnessed the impact of the Mexican Children's Refuge and the support they offered. Courtesy/Jerry Machetta
Program offers low-cost classes to impoverished families
For about 10 years, local residents Jerry and Susan Machetta have been involved in the Mabel’s Foundation and in particular its Mexican Children’s Refuge which provides education, healthcare and other needs for families in the border town of Nuevo Progreso, Mexico.
“We went over to Mexico with a couple of friends at the RV park,” Jerry, a former snowbird, said. “That’s how we were introduced to the program. They were sponsoring a couple of kids, and at the time we had just retired. So we started sponsoring a couple of kids, and we got up as many as 12 kids.”
For four of those years, the couple has organized fundraiser dinners for the Children’s Refuge. The first two dinners were held in Weslaco, a town on the United States side not far from Nuevo Progreso. In 2019 and this year, the dinner is being held at Lake Fork Baptist Church in Alba Nov. 5.
The Mexican education system is fraught with the government aiming for compulsory upper-secondary education but having trouble actually implementing it due to funding or administrative issues, according to the World Education Services. The problem especially affects rural areas in Mexico, and the Children’s Refuge, through sponsorships of individual students, aids them graduate high school and earn a bachelor’s degree.
“We have roughly 85 sponsors all across the United States and Canada that keep 168 kids in school right now,” Jerry said.
The classes are low-cost at $120 a year for secondary students and $260 a year for high school and university students. An admin fee for $40 also comes from sponsors to help provide uniforms, clerical services and emergency items.
“We’re all volunteers,” Jerry said. “Every bit of the money goes to the students.”
To speak to the impact of the Mabel’s Foundation, Jerry spoke about a letter from a grandmother to the US sponsors thanking them for their work and charity. She is a third-generation beneficiary of the program, which is in its 59th year.
“She was overjoyed at the program has helped their families and their neighbors’ families,” Jerry said.
Jerry also talked about one of his sponsored students, Geranimo Gonzalez Santos, who decided to change his degree from business management to education.
“He was so impressed that somebody was willing to take a chance with him that he changed his field of education so he could give back,” Jerry said.
The goal this year is $10,000. It pays for a $3,000 salary for the Refuge’s teacher (“We offered her more but she said no,” Jerry said.) and provides for 145 impoverished families on the outskirts of Nuevo Progreso. This year also has the goal of providing funds for the remodeling of two homes to properly accommodate families.
“Because of COVID, four families had to go live with cousins, so we’re remodeling homes to accommodate extra bedrooms,” Jerry said.
The dinner will start at 4:30 p.m. and includes lasagna with all the sides. Cost is a donation to the Children’s Foundation. For more information or for those interested, Jerry Machetta can be contacted at 605-431-9655, and Susan Machetta can be contacted at 605-431-9654.