18th February, 2023

It Takes a Village

I certainly did not coin the phrase, “It Takes a Village” but it is something I can relate to. Having raised two children, I found I needed more than just family and friends to support me – and them – in their upbringing. I depended on their teachers, their principal, our priests, and the occasional person who stepped up simply because of their generous spirit. We recently had the privilege of meeting one of those kind-hearted souls here in Mexico.

Phil Perkins arrived many years ago via his sailing vessel, Mannasea. He now lives in a RV under a palapa on a hill in the little village of Colimilla. He is retired and admits he never saved much money and now survives only on his Social Security payments. He spends most of his days volunteering at the local elementary school which in Colimilla is called Escuela Primaria Leonardo B. Gutierrez. Yesterday, a few of us visited the school to see what their needs were and how we cruisers can help.

But for the whole picture, I must back up.

For the last six years, there has been an annual fundraiser in Barra de Navidad to support the six schools in Barra. The cruisers help raise money by taking out tourists on our boats, taking bets while at the seaside restaurants and bars during our race, and selling tee shirts. A few times, we have had the opportunity to have a work day at one of the schools. Some of us cleared brush from the kindergarten playground. Others painted the library. Getting our hands dirty and meeting some of the recipients of our work is one of the most rewarding parts of this one-week Cruise-In that includes the Pink Flamingo Regatta.

What we haven’t done, as yet, is support the few schools that are in Colimilla which is situated across the lagoon from Barra and where our marina is located. Elinore Craig, (of s/v Nakamal) who has been instrumental in coordinating and arranging the cruisers for the Cruise-In, decided to see what we could do to help. Meanwhile, she started her own little fundraiser this year for the primaria school in Colimilla by selling hats and just spreading the word. She was able to raise $11,600 pesos (approximately $650 in US dollars), a small monetary gift for the teacher, and boxes of school supplies brought down by us cruisers. This is what led Cary and Tom from s/v Dragon’s Toy (Cary is a retired school principal) and Jay and I from s/v Cadenza to join Elinore and Phil for a tour of the school and to meet the children and teacher.

Escuela Primaria Leonardo B. Guiterrez sits on top of a hill with an incredible view of the lagoon and mountains behind it. As with most buildings in Mexico, it is made out of cement. As we walked up the stairs, Phil told us how he encouraged the children to get involved and paint the steps leading up to the school. He wanted them to take pride and ownership in their school. (He did note he had to go over some of their workmanship but what the heck, it was worth it.) He then proudly explained how he painted the entire school structure himself and surrounding walls. The government provides the paint and very specific instructions as to what color goes where. Evidently, they want all the schools to be uniform in style.

We first visited the pre-school and kindergarten playground and noticed a newly constructed swing set that Phil said he had built. (It was a complicated Ikea mess and took hours to complete.) Just off to the side was Noe, an artist who was painting a beautiful mural for the children. There was a small building used as a classroom for the five pre-school/kindergarteners (who weren’t there that day) which Noe also painted in colorful designs. I don’t believe he was paid for this and if he was, it would not have been much.

Near the playground was the kitchen, a one-room – think storage unit – space where we met Maria who cooks there part-time. She makes the equivalent of $10 US a day for her work and some of the money raised will go toward her salary. The government used to provide breakfast and lunch but since Covid, that has been suspended. It is Phil who provides most of the food now, through donations and sometimes from his own pocket. He feels strongly that children need nourishment, not only for their health, but in order to concentrate on their studies. He does ask for 25 pesos per child per day. Some families can afford it. Those that can’t, well, no child goes without food.

Phil’s latest project is putting in a sink with running water on the playground near the kitchen so the children can wash their hands before and after eating.

We moved over to the primaria school which has a supply room, restrooms, and two classrooms. The classrooms are air-conditioned. Yay! They have internet but it really doesn’t work well so the children are using old-fashioned books to learn. There are 17 students at the moment and Saul, the instructor, teaches grades one through seven just like the old schoolhouse days in our country. Sometimes his mother, a retired teacher, comes in to help.

Saul welcomed us warmly as did the children. They had big smiles and they spent the morning writing notes for us. One by one, they started up to the front of the room where we were standing and shyly handed us their letter or picture they had drawn. What a treat.

Jay asked Saul if he taught them music. Saul plays the guitar and has a beautiful voice (he sang a few notes.) He told us that he takes the children up to visit John. John was the very first volunteer and when he could no longer help because of health reasons, that is when Phil took over. John is ailing and blind with several caretakers so, every once in a while, they go to his house and Saul and the children sing songs for him. Precious.

Elinore introduced us, in fluent Spanish I might add, and proceeded to present Saul with our donation. The smile on his face and the faces of the children was just – wow.

There is a myriad of projects at this school the cruisers can help with. Phil is going to put together a list. We will take that information and make a plan for next year. We are so looking forward to it as raising money and volunteering our boats is fun, but physically participating in making the school better connects us to the community. And meeting the children and teachers who we help to support just makes it even more special. As Phil explains it, these children give him back so much more than anything he has experienced in his life. (Other than his granddaughter who he helped to raise.) It is obvious that the joy these children bring to him is the best reward one could receive – pure love.