Over 60 families receive food at La Santa Biblia, located in Anapra, every Wednesday

Food insecurity has practically doubled in the Borderlands in the past two years, especially in the mountain range areas of Chihuahua, known as la sierra, where little villages of indigenous people are experiencing the deadly results of no food.

“When I saw the video of a young girl living in the sierra, so thin from not having food, it broke my heart,” Rev. Dr. Karl Heimer, CEO of Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care (YLM), shared with his staff, “There’s no reason why they should be suffering like this. Thanks to multiple partnerships, we can provide food for them.”

Out in the sierras, indigenous families receive food after months of struggling with lack of food

Working in partnership with a Juarez-based non-profit organization, Juarez Mio, YLM has been sending hundreds of pounds of food across the border to be dispersed where it is most needed. Close to the border, Anapra is one of many colonias of Juarez dealing with poverty and need for food. Thanks to the partnering mission churches of La Santa Biblia, Cristo Rey, and San Lucas, food is given out to vulnerable families –single parent households and the elderly.

Through Juarez Mio, food has been transported into the mountain ranges of Chihuahua, given out at orphanages, nursing homes, and outside of community centers. For many of these indigenous people, poverty is not a strong enough word for what they are experiencing. The desperation they are living daily is finding a bit of relief through these food distributions.

Little community centers in the mountain ranges of Chihuahua are being used to distribute much needed resources

“That young girl,” Pastor Heimer further explained concerning the video he had been shown of the needs in the sierras of Chihuahua, “She didn’t make it. God continues to provide for us, and through us, so this will not happen again.”

Medical equipment and supplies have been taken to rural clinics in Chihuahua to help serve people in need

“One of our partners is the Orphan Grain Train,” Maritza Hernandez-Muñoz, YLM’s Donations and Distributions Facilitator, “In the last six weeks, we’ve received three semi loads of pallets with clothing, medical equipment, and food. We’ve been able to get all of these donations across the border, through Juarez Mio, where it is desperately needed.”

With the help of a liaison between Juarez Mio and YLM, these donations have made it to where they are needed most. They’ve identified the most vulnerable communities, as well as connect with Mexico government officials, making it possible to get these much-needed resources to Chihuahua with little to no importation fees. Aside from food, medical equipment and supplies have also been taken across the border and distributed among rural clinics, who are limited in what they can offer their communities because of lack of supplies and equipment.

With needs growing both in El Paso and Juarez, YLM continues to find ways to help bring resources donated to those in need of them. Thanks to God providing the support of individuals, churches, organizations, and companies, the commitment to change lives through simple acts of kindness for the purpose of sharing God’s love and mercy in tangible ways will continue to take place.