United in Service Latin America

USLA has develop partnerships with various groups in the El Paso and regions of Northern Mexico. In February and May of 2009, we were able to provide the Rotary Cub of Cuatemoc, Mexico with 10 computers to schools attended by the Tarahumara Indians of Chihuahua, Mexico. The Tarahumara live in extreme poverty in the mountains of Chihuahua. Some have also moved to Juarez in order to find work.

[by Gisela Simental]
Cuidad Juarez, Mexico is going through a very difficult situation right now. Most of us who live near the border are familiar with crossing it whenever we want. However, the current situation has made it difficult for people in El Paso to visit Juarez as regularly as they used to. There are also many people who sadly see the city they love becoming more insecure with no apparent solution. The most important challenge is taking care of Juarez’s children, who will be the ones dealing with these problems in the future.

[By Jessica Murillo]
To me, the most fascinating USLA project involves the Tarahumaras in the desolate mountainous regions of Ciudad Juarez. Tarahumaras speak a Uto-Aztecan language named Raramuri. It is an ancient language with several different dialects. There are over 60,000 speakers of this language with the majority of speakers in the state of Chihuahua.

[By Becky Gomez]
On October 4, 2009, the El Paso Times conducted a poll that stated that 80 percent of El Pasoans had not been personally affected by violence in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, but 60 percent do feel threatened by it. Every day El Paso is inundated with negative news of their sister city, Juarez, and it’s not surprising that they feel severely concerned. However, there are many of us who live in El Paso --- the border city on the US side of the US-Mexico border just across from Ciudad Juarez --- who are is affected personally by the violence and for whom it is personal.