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Article by: Consuelo Elizondo de Virissimo In the early twentieth century, many children lost their parents due to an outbreak of Bubonic Plague that was brought on a passenger ship and passed on to the local population while the ship was in Mazatlán. Fortunately for the children, there was a woman who stood out among the citizenry of Mazatlán for empathy for those in such circumstances, and organized efforts to help those in need. Romanita de la Peña de Careaga moved forward with a plan to establish an orphanage for these children. In 1915 construction of the first wing of Orfanatorio de Mazatlán began. Land was donated by, German Evers the philanthropic businessman. He placed the cornerstone of the larger building. Construction continued until 1926 with donations and all kinds of fundraisers. In 1926 the Orfanatorio opened it doors legally under the law as a “Junta de Beneficencia”, this law does not exist anymore. Romanita was the president of the Board until 1958 when she died. Her first treasurer was Amelia Holderness de Farber Great-grandmother of Cristina Peña. Since then there have been many Board of Directors, including Amelia Farber de Peña in 1967. She was the Grandmother of our actual President Cristina Peña de Herrera. The new Board has had the responsibility of the Orphanage since June 2003 with Cristina as a Head, the legal figure changed to I.A.P. meaning “Institution of Private Assistance”. Under this figure, the Institution is obligated to have a transparent use of the money that is received from donations as well as an efficient accounting that is shown to the public in an Annual Report.
Many things have changed within a year! Help from a lot kind donors & wonderful people have made some of our dreams come true! Making it possible for the girls to have a decent home and treatment full of dignity in their lives. Good food and education for the future are one of our concerns, as well as to give them the opportunity to have a better future. Last year, with the great help from: HANDS ACROSS THE BORDERS, Helen McIsaac BINGO, El CID GOLF CLUB, and the great coordination with Arq. Armando Galvan and Lenda McKay, the roof of one of the dormitories was reconstructed, new fans were hanged and the new girl’s dormitory was painted. This led us the opportunity to have an extra playroom at the facility. This year with the wonderful help from FRONTIER AIRLINES (Headed by Tom Nunn and Cathy Miller) and also in coordination with Arq. Armando Galvan and Lenda McKay, major problems of the building were solved. Like the electrical rewiring of the whole facility, the remodeling of the perimeter wall. Painting and furniture for the babies room, new fans, new refrigerator, new stove, 2 new washing machines and 2 new blacksmith doors for security. (Many other things that they did would need a whole page to be described.)
Orfanatorio de Mazatlán has other projects for the future, the repair of all the carpentry. Orfanatorio de Mazatlán is located at: Zaragoza 227-A To give donations: Please notify us of your donation: contact the Board at: Lety Velásquez de Jaber: DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE IN MEXICO
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