Bringing hope and love to vulnerable children and their families living in extreme poverty on the outskirts of Oaxaca City.
Oaxaca, Mexico is among the poorest regions in Latin America. Zaachila is a very poor and underdeveloped area on the outskirts of Oaxaca City. Most families have come from smaller villages in search of a better life and are facing severe unemployment and dire housing conditions. For many, daily life is focused on survival with little hope for a purposeful future.
Three out of four people lack access to basic necessities and have only a primary level education. Many children suffer from malnutrition, neglect and abandonment, and are often forced to quit school for low-paying jobs that trap them in an endless cycle of poverty; a cycle that often brings with it drug use, gang membership, and teen pregnancy.
Our program currently provides a healthy meal once a day, six days a week, to over 100 children. It also offers safe drinking water, education and tutoring, medical check-ups, weekly church services and discipleship groups, a savings bank, and a private Christian school. Trigo y Miel also collaborates with our homebuilding ministry called Operation Enduring Homes, which provides jobs to local men and safe homes for families in dire need.
Most families in the area we serve are forced to live in one- or two-room, dirt-floor shacks without electricity, running water, or a sewage system. This leaves families unprotected from weather, pests, and disease.
This desperate need for safe homes is what led missionaries Tom and Wendy Hogan to start our home-building ministry, which provides secure homes as well as jobs, training, and long-term economic development. Recipients of these homes are empowered to save for and purchase their own plots of land, giving them a hand-up, not just a handout.
Declaring and demonstrating the Good News of Jesus Christ has always been – and will always be – at the heart of everything we do. Our program is led by Pastors Victor and Lety Velasco who run a vibrant church located at our program.
Children are the seeds of the future. When we invest in them, they have the capacity to be agents of change in their communities for generations to come. Our program focuses on the individual needs of each child and reaches out from there to their families and communities.
Our program is holistic, caring for the whole child – their mind, body and spirit. We provide regular meals to children, food baskets for families, education, tuition and supplies, safe drinking water, medical care, safe homes, discipleship, and a caring community.
Victor and Lety, natives to Oaxaca, are local Christian leaders with a heart for the next generation. We work closely with them to ensure high levels of trust and stewardship in the program.
Victor and Lety, both natives of Oaxaca, Mexico, are the Program Directors of our Mexico Program. In 2006, God called both of them to work in a children’s ministry that is now known as Trigo y Miel. Since then, they have experienced God’s deep love and provision for the children and for themselves. Victor and Lety work to provide food, education, healthcare, and the teachings of biblical principles through the presentation of the gospel.
What drew you to the mission of Forward Edge? Forward Edge is dedicated to a holistic approach and that’s something that we deeply believe in – it’s what drew us initially to the ministry. We are now compelled and excited by getting to belong to this group of men and women passionate about serving God and His people.
If you could have dinner with any person in history (excluding Jesus) who would it be and why? We would dine with Joseph Anfuso, Nicole Klepec and Jeff Thompson. We can learn a lot from each of them.
What is something about you others are often surprised to learn? People are often surprised by our large sense of humor.
Monthly giving enables our program to have sustained impact in the lives of children and their community, but every gift of generosity makes a difference.
$25 can provide a medical check-up for 14 children.
9 years old (01-24-2016)
Female
To All Children Program, Mexico
14 years old (01-22-2011)
Female
To All Children Program, Mexico
10 years old (01-27-2015)
Male
Trigo y Miel, Mexico
8 years old (05-01-2017)
Female
Trigo y Miel, Mexico
17 years old (01-19-2008)
Female
To All Children Program, Mexico
4 years old (08-18-2020)
Female
Trigo y Miel, Mexico
As a child sponsor, you’re providing things like nutritious meals, safe drinking water, education, health care, and spiritual instruction. Beyond meeting their critical needs, you’re also building a priceless personal relationship with your child, helping them discover their true worth and God-given potential.
Teams of 10 or more are invited to go on a 7-night mission trip to our program in Oaxaca, Mexico. You will be the hands and feet of Jesus as you serve children and their families, build relationships, and grow in faith.
Partnering your church or school with our program in Mexico creates a meaningful, long-term, and holistic impact for all parties involved.
