May, 2023

Dear Friends of Liga MAC

Monitoring 300+ students can be an onerous task for Liga Mac’s staff - that’s where our volunteers are able to relieve some of the pressure. A volunteer program that was developed prior to the pandemic is now coming into it’s own and guest contributor, Karen Woodard Chavez, will report on Liga MAC’s mentorship program in an interview with mentors Eric Parizek and Lisa Heid.

As the school year winds down so are Liga MAC’s student support programs but the drive to recruit new students is heating up. Also kicking into high gear is construction progress of Liga MAC’s new Learning Centre.

The Race for Education fundraiser, has concluded with a happy result!

Dr. Deneb Poli draws our attention to some important health considerations as the WHO declares an end to the COVID-19 global health emergency.

Lisa has been coming to San Jose since 2004 while Eric has been a resident for 6 years. Eric started mentoring the son of a family friend encouraging him to stay on track with school, attending his soccer games and showing him how to work out at the gym. Together they committed every Sunday morning to mentoring Mariano - doing yard work, washing cars and having conversations about values, decision making, goals and commitments. Mariano has since graduated high school and is pursuing a university degree.

Liga MAC provided an opportunity for Lisa and Eric to share their life lessons and stories to help make a similar difference in another kid’s life. Familiar with Liga MAC through fundraising events, Lisa and Eric connected with Elva to discuss their mentoring journey and aspirations for other kids. It felt right and resulted in three new mentees - a boy and two girls. A win-win-win!

Lisa and Eric knew their conversations with Mariano made a difference. They offered a different perspective informed by their experiences growing up and working in Canada and the USA. Converting their experiences into sharable life lessons, their hope is to seed inspiration to enable personal growth. Lisa sees this as a “do over”, allowing them to relive through others with the benefit of experience and making the learning curve of life more productive and less chaotic. 

Nothing makes Lisa and Eric happier than spending time with ‘their’ kids. Their advice is that mentoring is all about connecting with the kids based on their needs and interests, framing lessons so that they are engaged, all with the goal to inspire them to reach higher. Continue reading.

Spanish & Math Tutoring Classes - Classes finished in early May and students were given a final assessment to measure results. The final report on results will follow next month.

Agentes de Cambio/Agents of Change - This program will continue until the end of June.

Student Support Program Application Drive

The first applications have been received and submissions will be accepted until June 2. Students will undergo an orientation session, admission exams and interviews. The entire process, including review and renewal of contracts, will be completed in July. We anticipate that 34 Liga MAC students will graduate this June and that we will have approximately 300 students for the 2023/2024 school year.  Of the 34 graduates, 18 have been encouraged to apply for university scholarships to organizations like Building Baja’s Future (BBF) and Becas Green. Liga MAC’s Coordinator of Student Social Services, Consuelo Espinosa, has been working with this year’s graduates to help them make appropriate post secondary choices. Students have been offered vocational testing and counselling plus career and scholarship information.

Message to our English-speaking friends and supporters: If someone you know (helpers at home, employees, etc.) has a student entering grade 7 or 8 (primarily although spots do open for other middle and high school grades) who needs financial assistance in order to continue with their education please point them to our website or social media. Students are selected on the basis of academic merit and financial need. Here’s the link to a video that explains the process in Spanish.

Now that all our permits are in place, progress on the Learning Centre is ramping up. As the adage says, “a picture is worth a 1,000 words”.

Race for Education

Approximately 200 local adults and 50 children participated in the first annual Race for Education held on Sunday, April 30. The race which began at 7:00 am in Plaza Mijares ended there following a 5 km route. The race was organized by Ricardo Graillet from Urban Runners with the support of the Municipal Sports Office (Instituto del Deporte Municipal) and sponsored by Terramar DMC, Baja Luna, El Armario Art & Coffee Bar, and Dental Health. The purpose of the race according to Ricardo was to promote sports, promote a healthy lifestyle and to benefit Liga MAC. One participant, firefighter Xico Rivera who received a special commendation, completed the 5 km run wearing 13 kg of firefighting gear in the hopes of inspiring fellow firefighters! Several participants who would not normally be involved in a 5 km run came out to support Liga MAC and were motivated to finish the race by cheering Liga MAC students, their families and Liga MAC staff.

On May 9, 2023, the government of Mexico announced that the extraordinary actions currently in place to prevent, control and mitigate the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus (Covid-19), are now terminated. In BCS the state health authority has reiterated the call for those who have respiratory symptoms to seek medical attention and stay home. Given the impossibility of staying at home, it is advisable that patients with respiratory symptoms use face masks outside their home to avoid propagation of illness. Also, the state health authority recommends that people over 60 years of age and those with comorbidities use a face mask in places where healthy distance cannot be maintained. 

Inspiration comes from many sources. Sometimes it comes from a cheer of encouragement at a race finish line or watching a man wearing an oxygen tank, fire retardant clothing and heavy boots running 5 km to benefit students. For students being mentored by Eric and Lisa, years of vocational and personal experience imparted with love and sincerity is the inspiration that will help carry them to personal success and achievement. Whether it is a kind word, a commitment to action, the gift of time or a financial gift … we can all inspire others.

With gratitude and appreciation,

Maria Lindenberg, President

Liga MAC Board of Directors