Project Amigo

History:

Project Amigo has a long history in Colima, Mexico.  When Ted Rose first visited the state of Colima, back in 1984, he went to hike on a volcano.  But, instead, he took the wrong bus and found himself in a little poverty-stricken village. That mistake, and a few other fortuitous events, led to his decision a couple of years later to trade his comfortable life as the owner of an office machine company for a life surrounded by wonderful, and very poor, children who appeared to need a helping hand if they were ever to break out of poverty.

In December of 1984, he and his wife Susan Hill went to Colima to hold a Christmas party and beach trip for the 50 disadvantaged rural poor children that Ted had met a few months earlier.  The children lived in an albergue (a room and board facility provided by the State Education Department to help families send up to three of their children to primary school). 

In 1986 Ted and Susan moved to Mexico and set up a small typing school at the rural albergue.  Boys and girls in fifth and sixth grades learned to type, and discovered that a skill like that could help them find better employment in the future. 

Project Amigo's involvement with the other three albergues in the state began in 1990, bringing educational materials, access to dental care and cavity-prevention programs, and stimulating field trips to nearly 200 children each year.  These programs were (and still are) intended to keep children motivated to stay in school to finish their primary school education.  As support from friends, Rotarians and Rotary Clubs grew, Project Amigo expanded its mission and its programs.

Efforts to improve education and health standards at the migrant labor camp in Queseria began in 1997.  Over the years, Project Amigo has built two classrooms, a kitchen, children's bathrooms, and hired two teachers.  Playground equipment, a protective fence around the school grounds, and a roof over the veranda of the school have been added with funds from Rotary Foundation matching grants and donations from individuals and Rotary Clubs.   

The State-run albergues were closed in 1999.  Project Amigo continues to offer incentive programs to needy 4th, 5th and 6th graders in rural communities throughout the State of Colima. 

The scholarship program in place today had its humble beginnings in 1996.  It has grown from offering seven junior high school scholarships to providing 100 scholarships a year for junior high, high school and university. 

M ission:

To enable the poor children of Colima, Mexico, to achieve their highest potential by providing educational opportunities, material support, enrichment activities and medical and dental services.

To provide opportunities for volunteers from developed countries to help and become friends with disadvantaged children in Mexico.

To foster friendship and understanding between Rotarians from developed countries and from Mexico.

Current programs and activities:

Enrichment programs - offered to poor rural primary school students to encourage them to remain in school.  Programs include: annual Christmas fiesta with gifts of new clothing and shoes, day trip to the beach, and an outing to local ruins or museums.  Mini-libraries and books of one's own (consisting of Spanish language fun children's books) are part of our effort to promote a love of reading in young students.  Project Amigo links Rotary Clubs in the US and Canada with Rotary Clubs in Colima, Mexico to obtain grants from The Rotary Foundation.  These grants provide mini-libraries and books of one's own that are distributed to dozens of schools and over 1,000 poor rural students each year.

Scholarship programs - scholarships to students who maintain an 8.5 (out of 10) grade point average, maintain good citizenship at school and perform community service activities each month.  Scholarships provide school registration fees, uniforms and shoes, school supplies, transportation to school, school lunches, and in some cases room and board.  Each year, 100 deserving students receive scholarships to attend junior high, high school and University.  Nine college students to date have graduated from the University of Colima.  All of them are now employed in their fields and leading their families to better lives. 

Volunteer activities - more than one hundred fifty volunteers (mostly from the USA and Canada) visit Project Amigo each year, providing dental and vision services, reading and enrichment programs, and physical labor in projects that allow the visitors to interact with and make friends with the children Project Amigo serves, and with the local Colima area Rotarians.  Work weeks provide opportunities for meaningful service vacations that make a difference in children's lives.

Partners

Rotary Clubs and Districts

Rotarians, Rotary Clubs, and Rotary Districts throughout the US and Canada partner with Project Amigo in order to further their international service efforts, to foster family service vacations, and to promote goodwill between their clubs and Mexican Rotary clubs.

Project Amigo's Relationship to Rotary Clubs

Project Amigo is an independent, non-profit corporation, and is not part of Rotary International. We work closely with Rotary Clubs in Mexico, the United States, Canada and other countries. Project Amigo's programs and services are supported by donations from Rotary Clubs, individual Rotarians, corporate matches of employee contributions, non-Rotarians and businesses.  A majority of Project Amigo's donors and supporters are non-Rotarians.  All of our activities are open to Rotarians, non-Rotarians and their families.

Project Amigo is a registered Rotary International World Community Service site.  Rotarians wishing to volunteer for one to two months may be eligible for Rotary International Volunteer grants through one of the local Rotary Clubs.