About Casa Alegria
For the past 24 years, Casa Alegria has provided
a loving and nourishing environment for children under 12 years of age who live
in the poorest neighborhoods in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Casa Alegria was born in response to a calling
from our LORD to help children from Nuevo Laredo, a border city in south Texas that
thrived on tourism but has become economically devastated in recent years due
to the insurgence of drug cartels using it as their headquarters. Many of the children who participate in Casa
Alegria come from neighborhoods near the City’s dumpsite where they live in
cardboard shacks with their families.
Program
Description
Each day, approximately 45 children are
transported daily to/from their neighborhood to the Casa Alegria facility and
are provided a warm, cooked meal, tutored on their school work, and engaged in
Bible Study classes. Each group of children spends three hours a day at Casa
Alegria. Once a week on Fridays, the children have 30 to 45 minutes of free time
to play games or to engage with approved visitors like volunteers, pastors, dentists,
and teachers. Casa Alegria conducts two program sessions, one in the morning
and a second in the afternoon.
The program operates year round to
ensure that the children get nourishment and developmental guidance, as many
receive their best meal of the day while at Casa Alegria. The facility used by Casa Alegria contains a
kitchen, a dining hall, restrooms and a classroom equipped with chairs and
desks for the children. There is also a
courtyard where the children play and dance.
Photos of the children can be found on Facebook: Patronato Alegria.
Impact
of Casa Alegria
The impact Casa Alegria has on the
children can be seen through their improved performance in school as well as
their positive social growth and spiritual development. Many of these children perform best in their
class, and often well above their peers.
Hundreds of children have benefited from the services provided by Casa
Alegria over the past 23 years. Many of
the graduates from the early years have now gone on to college and graduated
with bachelors and associate degrees. They
are employed as professionals in the City’s government and in private business.
These young professionals often return to help at Casa Alegria in gratitude for
the impact it had in their lives.
For the past 24 years, the majority of
the resources to operate Casa Alegria have been provided by Taide Vizuet, the
founder and overseer of the program, at a monthly operating budget of $3,000. Using
her personal resources from her business, she has provided the facility that
serves as the site for Casa Alegria. She also provides funds for purchasing of the
majority of the food, utility costs, and materials needed for operation of Casa
Alegria, along with salaries for the four part-time employees. Some support is provided by a local church,
Laredo Church of the Crossroads, as well as a handful of supporters.
