Liz's Cause-Tepehua Community Center would love your help

 

Peggy's good friend Liz Fowler and her husband Ted spend their winters in Mexico. Lucky them! 

But Liz Fowler is more than just a fortunate vacationer, Liz and other community members spend their free time helping out  in one of Mexico's most impoverished communities: Tepehua in Chapala.

 

 

  

As Peggy shared her decision of visiting Liz (Febr 12. 2014), our minds started racing with ideas of how we can help Liz's Cause. Here is Liz's letter back to us explaining what the community's needs are. We hope you will join us in helping Liz's Cause, as together we can make a big difference. So we invite you to sit down for a minute, open your heart, read and ponder:

"Dear Peggy and the team at Rousseau's,

I am so excited at the prospect of what could come of the idea of collecting donations via Rousseau's. Many thanks for opening your hearts to this community!

I have many ideas floating through my head, so here goes......the dental clinic relies totally on donations to operate and the need for dental care is unbelievable.   All the dentists are local Mexican dentists who faithfully donate their services every week etc.
The equipment we use is outdated but gratefully received through donations.  If we had a monetary fund....then Wanda, the American volunteer dental hygienist who started the clinic, could actually buy new equipment and dental supplies for fillings etc.   For example, right now the instrument sterilizer (which was donated....an oldie but goodie) is broken and we don't have the funds to repair it or purchase a new one.    Miraculously, they make it work but it could be so much easier and better if we had a ready supply of the "right" stuff on hand.

So Peggy, what if we invited people to make a cash donation.....i.e., a loonie (to represent Canada) and a toothbrush.  That way, we would have our always needed toothbrushes ( children and adult brushes, soft variety) and we could have a ready fund to buy the right supplies as needed.  Our dollars go a long way here in Mexico pesos.  So it's not like we're having to raise a huge amount of money.....but it would be so helpful. 

On another front, our next big endeavour is to start an education program for the mothers and their children.....oral hygiene and nutrition.   I'm working on this project with Wanda and my friend, Shirley.  It's proving to be quite challenging as many of the women are illiterate and our Spanish is limited. There is so much equipment/materials we need to get this project underway....to give you an idea of how basic our needs are....we want to put up up a bulletin board so we can post information, pictures etc.  We are scrounging to find cork to make the actual bulletin board.  If we had the resources to purchase visual aids and materials for hands on teaching activities, it would be amazing. We would be in heaven if we could buy 2 or 3 ipads with wifi, because there are so many free interactive dental education activities in Spanish on the Internet.  The kids and Moms could learn so much, so easily with that kind of technology at our disposal.  So there's another way we could put our loonies to work. 

 This is so exciting! We could help so many people ! Love,Liz"

We hope Liz's letter has inspired you to help.

Please join us and donate what you can, be it toothbrushes,

 I-pads or Canadian Currency. Peggy will personally deliver all the donations to the village during her trip. We will send you updates of her visit and of the impact on the community.

 

Donations can be dropped off at our store (before Febr 12)

216 Mary St East, Whitby

905-668-3483 

orsipanos@rousseaus.ca 

 

If you are not able to personally come into our store with a donation, we can give you the information for Tepehua Community Center's Paypal account. Please get in touch with Orsi at info@rousseaus.ca

 

 

For more information on Tepehua C C, click here to see their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Tepehua-Community-Center/190063381037039

 

They also have a website, where you can get to know Tepehua a little better:

http://www.tepehua.org/



 

Thank you and God bless,

Peggy and the team at Rousseau's