Stories
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Jose Avila Tamayo
Jose first came to Doxa when he was 6 years old and entering 1st grade. His mom came looking for help for him and his 2 older siblings. Jose is now 9 years old and in 4th grade. With the support of Doxa’s education program, Jose has developed his reading comprehension and mathematics skills. He is now a collaborative participant in the classroom with the desire to learn something different every day. In his specific case, Doxa education provides uniforms, school supplies, and homework help after school. Jose and his family have made effective use of these resources and tools to stimulate his scholastic growth. One day Jose hopes to be a great soccer player!
Maria Figueroa
In the moment that Doxa started to partner with us, everything changed for the better. We have received a lot of help on projects, resources, and relationships that were once very difficult to obtain. For example, the children eat better than they used to and are much better supported in their education. Their performance and grades in school have only increased (thankfully!). We have also been able to increase our staff and provide opportunities for growth, where there used to be none. This has contributed to increased stability and overall health of our home. We have also been able to do more for the community through the house building program. As families contribute their hours of volunteer service, this has helped the operations of Unidos por Siempre and aided in growing an organic network of people. This community is slowly changing from the inside out.
Finally, it is so gratifying to be able to help families with a new house that really fills them with happiness. It provides for a more dignified life and home for their children. Through Doxa we have been able to achieve things that we never thought possible and met people that we would normally never have, from our local community and faraway places in the United States. Thank you for everyone who has helped support Unidos por Siempre and the families and children in our part of Tijuana!
Josh
Leading groups of students here each year has been one of the great joys and highlights of my time as a youth pastor for 11 years! The Holy Spirit has used Doxa’s ministry in Tijuana to open up more doors than we ever thought possible! Staying at partner orphanages and building houses with families has created a mutual & cross-cultural love between my group and families in Tijuana. It’s given my students a heart to not only serve in Tijuana, but to come home and continue to be the hands and feet of Jesus right here in their hometown! Some students even ask their parents to not buy them anything for Christmas so that they can use the money toward serving in Tijuana over the summer! On top of all this, getting to return to the same orphanage year over year, students have developed deep relationships with the people there. They get to see the orphanage change, grow, and improve – and they get to see their tangible impact & how it’s contributed to not only the vision of the orphanage, but more importantly to the Kingdom of Jesus! I would recommend partnering with this community through Doxa to anyone and everyone!
Romero Fernandez Family
Blanca was 12 years old when her condition of Guillain-Barré syndrome almost took her life. She was in a medically induced coma so the doctors could effectively diagnose and treat her. During this time, her family experienced many expensive and unplanned medical bills. In response, the local community rallied to organize a fundraiser. After a successful fundraiser and some help from Doxa, Blanca’s family could completely focus on her full recovery. The Doxa community also offered their continual support through encouraging messages along the way. She is now dancing again with Doxa’s dance group. Her amazing recovery and being a valued part of Doxa’s community ensures she will always have people to support her, regardless of what life throws her way.
Tanish Ambulkar & Era Dewan
San Fransisco, CA
After a few house-building trips, two teens from the Bay Area noticed that STEM subjects were noticeably missing from Tijuana schools. One volunteer, Tanish, decided to donate robotics kits that could be assembled and programmed. He brought laptops, Legos, cables, and the necessary software to teach kids how robotics works. He left several full kits so kids can continue to experiment and learn basic robotics. The kits have varying difficultly levels designed for older and younger kids. Another volunteer, Era, later assembled STEM kits with several basic experiments. Each kit came with Spanish instructions to guide kids through the proper steps. They illustrated basic STEM concepts, such as circuits and chemical reactions. Targeted activities like this help to introduce kids to topics that they wouldn’t normally see. Perhaps a future engineer, mathematician, or computer scientist will result!
Blanca Avila Santana
Blanca was 12 years old when her condition of Guillain-Barré syndrome almost took her life. She was in a medically induced coma so the doctors could effectively diagnose and treat her. During this time, her family experienced many expensive and unplanned medical bills. In response, the local community rallied to organize a fundraiser. After a successful fundraiser and some help from Doxa, Blanca’s family could completely focus on her full recovery. The Doxa community also offered their continual support through encouraging messages along the way. She is now dancing again with Doxa’s dance group. Her amazing recovery and being a valued part of Doxa’s community ensures she will always have people to support her, regardless of what life throws her way.