Programs
Community Service Programs:
The service arm of Liga M.A.C. has 3 main areas of interest: education, medical assistance and providing basic needs. The programs dealing with these concerns are:
Educational Support (ACE)
Adelante con la Educacion or “ACE”, has been in operation for 5 years. This program provides required uniforms and school supplies to students in good standing who are in jeopardy of leaving school because of financial difficulties. Education is critical in ending cycles of poverty; this program offers that opportunity. The program focuses on Jr. High and High School levels as these have the highest drop out rate and completion is essential in obtaining a good job. Students are recommended by the social workers and administrators in the individual schools. If accepted, students are required to sign a contract with Liga MAC agreeing to provide us with report cards, to participate in a Community Service project (organized by Liga MAC ), and to attend lectures/classes provided by Liga MAC. Approximately 400 students are currently enrolled in this program in the 4 local High Schools, 5 local Jr. High Schools and several of the local Universities. Every year students are reviewed by Liga MAC and the school authorities and are individually registered at our Center, with a file set up for each student by school. Uniform vouchers from local stores are provided to each student, allowing purchase of daily and sports uniforms and shoes. Backpacks filled with school supplies are handed out and tuition is paid when necessary. The average cost is approx. $200.00 U.S. per student.
Medical Aid
Many families and individuals do not qualify for the national health care system and we offer this program to help with this issue. Most individuals are recommended to us by the Social Workers and doctors in the hospitals and clinics. After all avenues of financial support have been exhausted (government programs, family financial support, etc.), individuals are referred to us for help. The aid takes on numerous forms — medicine, lab tests, minor operations, doctor’s visits, etc., depending on what is needed. We are usually able to secure these services at a greatly reduced rate thanks to the generosity of the local medical professionals. In addition Liga MAC works with other charitable organizations, both locally and nationally, when needed.
Basic Needs (Despensa)
A short cycle program designed to help low income families in crisis. Two times a month from our Center in Zacatal, we provide food for qualified families in the form of food vouchers from a local market. We also have vouchers and clothing available for families who are in immediate need of assistance. Families in the program are given aid for three months, after which their current situation is reviewed and most often they rotate out of the program and new families replace them.
One Woman’s Struggle for Survival: A Despensa Program Story
Women all over the world are often faced with the kind of dilemma Theresa Pena Perez, 32, found herself in one year ago. She could stay in Mexico City with an abusive husband and below minimum wages, or she could risk all by leaving for an unknown destiny. She decided it would be better for her and her three children to leave, and so they traveled for days to reach San Jose del Cabo, where her sister and six children were already living. For the first weeks they all lived together, 11 sleeping on the floor and one bed, in the one-room house. But the crowded conditions were unbearable and the kids were at each other’s throats. Theresa was told about the possibility of having her own one-room house… Continue reading on our stories section
ACE student advances to University: Interview with Diana Paola Gomez Sanchez
Diana, we have profiled you before in our Liga M.A.C. Newsletter and ACE brochures and as one of the first of our ACE candidates to graduate and go on the university, we would like to continue to follow your progress. Do you consider yourself a role model for other ACE students? What about your family? You have 4 siblings, don?t you?
Me? No. For my family – yes. I have a neice who wants to be like me.
Has being involved with ACE changed the way you viewed your future?
Yes, because ACE changed my way of thinking. I had a goal but not the help. Liga M.A.C. gave me the opportunity and support…
