Sending Support To Earthquake Effected Oaxaca, Mexico Is No Easy Task

Let's Jump Through Hoops Shall We?

The hoops you have to jump through just to make sure your donations gets to your loved ones and their surrounding community can be far from convenient in any third world country and Mexico is no exception. NOT because the shipping of the boxes is detoured by an earthquake damaged Mexican Postal Service, but by good old fashioned greed. It is also well known that the government sometimes intercepts the shipment of the products and takes it to disperse to their own family and friends.

The process is not as simple as tossing some donations into a box and shipping it. They have to log everything they send and the receiving end has to verify it made the journey untampered. This is because when it was arriving to just anyone, the first person receiving the boxes would open it and take all the best items and leave scraps of nothing for others. It is understandable why in a time of desperation a person is capable of doing something like that. Thus sending the boxes directly to a trusted family member or friend is the best way.

In the series of pics you see my girlfriend (Etel Briseño), one of the students from her university Mary Cruz, and her friends compiling boxes full of donations they have collected from a variety of sources. Etel and Mary both have family in Oaxaca.

A lot of people care, and a lot of people donate, many of whom are not well off by any means. Written on the cans are messages of love:

1. Tijuana Los Apoya - Tijuana supports you / sends support

2. Fuerza Istmo - Strength to the Isthmus from Tijuana

Interesting Coincidence / Fact:

The particular date the second quake hit [September 19th] is the exact date in 1985 that an 8.1 earthquake hit the same area killing 5000+ people. I was told that Mexico City was just finishing up their annual earthquake drill and remembrance of those they lost in 1985 when the latest 7.1 quake hit in Puebla (just south of the city).