BCA June 2022 Newsletter

Vol 48 NEWSLETTER

June 2022

The Border Community Alliance is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to bridging the border and fostering community through education, collaboration and cultural exchange.

Dear BCA Friends & Supporters,

As we ease into the summer months and many of you enjoy trips and stays in other parts of the country, we wish you safe travels and interesting journeys.

During the summer, Border Community Alliance will be busy welcoming six BCA Borderlands Ambassador interns to southern Arizona during our six-week intern program that starts June 20. Thanks so much to all of you who have donated funds, time and/ or household goods to make this program a huge success this summer. We could not do this program without your support.

To meet our interns and find out about their borderlands work with BCA, please join us for one or both Intern Presentation & Reception events on July 28 at 11:30am at the United Methodist Church of Green Valley or July 29 at 4pm at the Tubac Center of the Arts.

In addition, this summer we’ll be planning our fall trips to Oaxaca and Kino Bay. Our Kino Bay trip is now full but there are a few spots left in our two Oaxaca trips scheduled for October 14-22 and December 2-10. To see a sample itinerary for this trip, see here.

And if you’d like to find out more about our Oaxaca trips, join us for an informational webinar on June 6 at 2pm with Ancestours Oaxaca, who will lead these trips. You can register for this webinar here. We’re also in the planning stages for our spring 2023 trips - if there’s a place you’d like to go to with BCA, let us know!

During the summer months, BCA will also be hosting several online and in-person events that we hope you can attend. We’ll discuss the ongoing issues involved in giving humanitarian aid in the borderlands on June 22 with Tucson attorney, Amy Knight. On July 11, naturalist Jeff Babson will give a talk on rattlesnakes in the borderlands including rattlesnake safety and first aid. And our Borderlands Literature & Film Circle (BLFC) will read literature and discuss topics related to the history and mythology of “Aztlan” images (June 8) and desert-adapted architecture (July 13). And, in partnership with the Presidio San Agustin, we’re hosting a Tucson Mainly Murals Wallking tour on June 14.

To register for any of the above events, go to BorderCommunityAlliance.org

We hope you can join us for many of these summer events. Thank you for your ongoing support of our work.

In borderlands community,

Celia Bavier

Executive Director

Fundación Del Empresariado Sonorense A.C.

Update

Families Finally Transitioning

from Nogales Shelter

to the U.S.

to Seek Asylum

Alma Cota de Yanez,

FESAC Director

As many of you know, BCA and our community foundation partner, Fundacion del Empresariado Sonorense (FESAC), have been working for some time to support Casa de la Misericordia, a shelter for asylum seekers in Nogales, Sonora. Many of the families have had long stays there, while the aslyum process has been shut down for most of the last two years.

However, over the past few weeks 132 individuals have been able to leave Casa and move to the U.S. to start their asylum proceedings with the U.S. government. They are assisted by the staff of Arizona Justice for our Neighbors, a nonprofit that provides legal services to immigrants. We are hopeful that at least some of these families will be able to successfully receive asylum and create a new life here.

In addition to this unexpected good news, a group of about 50 people were able to leave Sonoyta, Mexico, where there were staying at San Pedro Shelter and being assisted at Centro de la Esperanza resource center, to transition to Casa de la Misericordia, and hopefully then into the U.S. through the asylum process over the next few weeks.

Though Title 42 and an inadequate immigration system persist in preventing many individuals and families to claim asylum currently, we’re grateful for the success that these families in Nogales and Sonoyta are finally having. We hope their lives will transition to ones of hope and success in the U.S.

From the beginning BCA has had a close relationship with FESAC, a Nogales, Sonora-based community foundation. This unique arrangement allows us to provide pass through donations to FESAC and to specific NGO community organizations that BCA/FESAC supports. We strongly stand with FESAC in lifting up local community by changing the narrative from charity to social investment.

New Spanish Classes

Start in September:

Let's Speak Spanish will start three online classes this September. They will include new sessions of our current Beginner and Advanced classes plus a brand-new class for Intermediate students.

Our program will continue to feature a large contingent of native Spanish speakers and experienced teachers to work with you in small groups. As in the past, there will be enough facilitators to allow for small conversation groups of 4 to 6 students. And each class will continue to include curated videos, songs, and games to enrich your understanding of the Spanish language and Mexican culture.

All classes will meet once weekly at 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM AZ Time (UST-7) via Zoom. This new afternoon time slot is in response to many requests we have received from potential students who frequently work during the day. The later time also will help us recruit additional facilitators from Mexico who likewise need to balance their full-time jobs with the demands of our program.

Here is a brief description of each class:

(CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING)

VISIT SPANISH CLASSES WEBPAGE

Borderlands Literature & Film Circle (BLFC)

BOOK DRIVE

FOR

BABOQUIVARI SCHOOL

BCA’s Borderlands Literature and Film Circle (BLFC) is hosting a book drive in collaboration with Books for Classrooms https://booksforclassrooms.org/, a Green-Valley based organization, to meet the needs of the Baboquivari School on the Tohono Nation in Topawa, Arizona. https://www.bhswarriors.com/

We are asking for your help in reaching our goal this summer of raising all the books in the teacher-generated list by the beginning of the 2022/23 school year this fall, and they are fabulous selections. You can check out the list at this link: https://smile.amazon.com/hz/charitylist/ls/1WESKNR01N1YE?ref_=smi_cl_lol_lls0_ls0

Here’s how it works: You can either give a direct donation through BCA for Books for Classrooms (we’ll earmark it to go just for this), or you can order the books directly by . . .

(CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING)

The Borderlands Literature and Film Circle (BLFC) meeting in June will be on June 8, 10-11:30 am on Zoom. To register and receive the Zoom link go to BorderCommunityAlliance.org or call Suzy at 520.398.3229

The BLFC group meets monthly, generally on the second Wednesday of the month. All are welcome!

Spring/ Summer 2022

Upcoming Events

Mark your Calendar for these Events:

June 6, 5pm: “Magic of Oaxaca” Informational Meeting. Interested in going on one of our 2022 Oaxaca trips (October 14-22 and December 2-10) but want to find out more about this amazing experience? Join us for an info and Q&A session with our tour leaders, Ancestros Oaxaca, and some of those who went on our April trip. By Zoom.

June 8, 10-11:30: Borderlands Literature & Film Circle (BLFC) By Zoom. Fee: $10

We’ll be exploring the history and mythology of “Aztlan.” ...

(CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING)

June 14, 8am: Tucson Murals Walking Tour, led by tour guide Dorothy Yanez, features many of the murals found in the downtown area, discussing the artist, history of the mural, and many of the artists’ inspirations behind the pieces. The tour begins at the Presidio Museum in Tucson, is approximately two miles long and will last about two hours. Fee: $20 members; $25 non-members

June 22, 2 pm: Humanitarian Aid in the Borderlands. Learn from attorney Amy Knight, of the Knight Law Firm in Tucson, about the legal rights of migrants and humanitarian aid workers to receive and give humanitarian aid. By Zoom.

July 11, 2pm: Rattlesnakes of the Borderlands. The borderlands of southern Arizona are home to several species of rattlesnakes. This presentation showcases these remarkable reptiles including their identification and biology. We will also explore ways to prevent getting bitten by a rattlesnake and what to do in the unfortunate circumstance if you are bitten. With naturalist Jeff Babson of Sky Island Tours. By Zoom. Fee: $10

July 13, 10-11:30: Borderlands Literature & Film Circle (BLFC) Southwest Desert-Adapted Architecture, historic and current examples. We’ll focus on a number of true-to-the-land desert building approaches, from small-scale traditional adobe and cob to larger modern designs, and will speak with (and possibly visit) some local sites. Book selections and author/historian interviews TBA. By Zoom. Fee: $10

July 28, 11:30-2pm: Luncheon & Presentations with our Summer 2002 Borderlands Ambassador Interns: Hear from and meet with our Summer 2022 Borderlands Ambassador Interns as they reflect on their six weeks in the borderlands. Location: United Methodist Church of Green Valley. Lunch fee: $10

July 29, Reception - 4:00 pm: Presentations - 4:30 pm: Summer 2022 Borderlands Ambassador Intern Reception & Presentations: Hear from and meet with our Summer 2022 Borderlands Ambassador Interns as they reflect on their six weeks in the borderlands. Location: Tubac Center of the Arts

September 14: Nogales Cross-Border tour: Visit our partner nonprofit organizations in Nogales, Sonora, lunch & afternoon coffee. Fee: $75 members; $95 non-members. (All day tour)

A donation of $10 is requested for events, unless a fee is required as shown on the event registration page. To register for events go to www.bordercommunityalliance.org or call Suzy at (520) 398-3229.

Borderlands Ambassadors PRESENTATIONS

Join us on

July 28 at 11:30am

at United Methodist Church, Green Valley

July 29 at 4pm

at the Tubac Center of the Arts

for a reception with and presentations from our 2022 BCA Borderlands Ambassador Interns. These six students will share their reflections from their six-week experience in our immersive borderlands internship program. Please register for this event at BorderCommunityAlliance.org

Volunteer Opportunities with the Border Community Alliance (BCA)

We hope you will consider volunteering with BCA to pursue our mission of bridging the border and creating community through education, cultural exchange, and social investment. Volunteering with BCA is a wonderful way to get to know other BCA supporters and others who live in the borderlands and to find out more about what we do.

CLICK HERE FOR WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

To volunteer at BCA, please contact Suzy at info@bordercommunityalliance.org or fill out our Volunteer Application at BorderCommunityAlliance.org. We look forward to seeing you at BCA!