Christmas at a Mexican Orphanage

For Christmas this year the orphanage I work at received more than 15 presents per child. Some may say the Lord has really blessed us, but I’m trying to figure out a way to receive fewer gifts next December.

All these Christmas donations seem like a new phenomenon in Tijuana. Americans have always tried to dump their used toys and clothing on the people of Mexico. But now, in the weeks leading up to Christmas the emails and phone calls pour in from folks in the U.S. wanting to give new presents to the orphans in this city. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a welcome change. But when is it too much? The days before the 25th at our orphanage are like a non-stop party with groups of Americans coming in by the van load to lavish the children with gifts.

I’m the one who coordinates these visits for our place. I try to make it very clear upfront that we are already receiving so much this season, but few are discouraged. So how do you tell people “no, you cannot bring our children gifts”? Or is that even the right call? There are some positives that come with all this:

• Lots of people come down to see the orphanage for the first time. A few turn into regular donors and many of them write later to tell us they are praying for the children.
• This is the only time of year we get new clothes. I tell everyone “we get lots of toys during the holidays but new clothing is the biggest help” (and I send a list with sizes). The few who listen are a big blessing to us. The new stuff really lasts and the children’s eyes light up when they get to wear a new outfit compared to the used stuff from the donations that come in the rest of the year.
• People do this in service to the Lord. And they often get lots of other people involved in the process. Some will get their whole congregation to help out or all their co-workers.

But having all these gifts leads to problems on our end:

• Our kids see Americans as people who bring them presents. This is a complex issue deserving of its own post. Suffice to say here that it leads to all kinds of problems that we are almost constantly having to address.
• They cherish nothing and destroy everything. Toys become a sort of renewable resource this time of year. As soon as the teddy bear Group A brought has found its way to the mud, Group B shows up with two more.
• It further separates the kids from their peers in the community. No kid within 20 miles of our place (unless they are in another orphanage) get anywhere near the amount of gifts ours do. Our children already have issues at school being “orphanage kids.” When their classmates realize how spoiled they are with material things it only gets worse.

Our unofficial policy for donations has always been If you can bring it to Tijuana, we’ll take it. I know most people I work with (adults and children) will think I’m nuts for wanting to change it. But I’m hoping we can come up with something more appropriate for next Christmas.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 28th, 2007 at 12:14 am and is filed under Missionary Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.