Local group helps raise walls, hopes for poor Tarahumara children

A Tarahumara family poses for a portrait in front of a small school classroom that was built in the community by the Mexican government. The Salud para Suchil Medical Mission of Gallup is helping to fund the construction of a dormitory so area children will have a place to stay during the school week. The dormitory will also house a small room that can be used as a medical clinic by visiting doctors and nurses. [Courtesy Photo]

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Adobe walls aren't usually thought to be the most exciting subject.

But Lorenzo Dominguez is excited about 12 adobe walls in Mexico and their potential to impact the lives of Tarahumara Indian school children.

Dominguez, the founder of the Salud para Suchil Medical Mission, returned to Gallup with stories and photographic images from this summer's mission to a mountainous Tarahumara community in the state of Chihuahua.

He also brought back photographs of the 5,000 adobe bricks that went into the construction of the 12 walls.

Salud para Suchil Medical Mission is a nonprofit volunteer organization based in Gallup and is made up of physicians, nurses, and community members. For five years, the group has solicited donations of money and medical supplies to take small medical clinics to Indian communities in remote regions of Mexico.

This summer the group returned to the Tarahumara community of Cuchiverachi. In addition to setting up its medical clinic, the group helped work on the construction of a school dormitory that the group has been helping to fund.

Hence the 5,000 adobe bricks.

Currently, there are just two concrete block classrooms that the Mexican government built for area children. Each week Tarahumara parents walk their children through the mountains to the school, and they return at the end of the school week to take them home. During the school week, the children have to sleep outside or sleep on the concrete floor of the classrooms.

Beneficial project
Because of these harsh conditions, the Gallup group decided to help fund the construction of the dormitory. Prior to the group's arrival this summer, they initiated a work project whereby Tarahumara men could earn money by making the adobe bricks and preparing the building's foundation. When the Gallup group arrived in late June, they helped build the walls.

According to Dominguez, the Tarahumara men who have been working on the project have been happy for the chance to earn much needed money and happy to build something of value for their children.

"They're benefiting their own community," he said, "and that brings a lot of pride."

The dormitory is designed in the shape of a cross, Dominguez explained, so if future additions are needed, the community can just add two walls and create another room at one of the dormitory's 90 degree exterior corners. In addition to the boys' dorm room and the girls' dorm room, the building will house a kitchen, dining room, bathroom, and a medical supply room. Dominguez would eventually like to see the addition of a small school library.

Depending on the amount of charitable contributions the group can raise, members hope construction will be completed in December.

"Hopefully, next year we can bring back pictures of the building," said Dominguez, "full of kids."

The mission group has invested about $10,000 into the construction of the dormitory, and Dominguez estimates it will take another $20,000 to complete. Lumber has already been bought for the roof, and flagstone rock from the Sierra Madre will be hauled in for the flooring. However, sheets of roofing tin still need to be purchased, as well as bunk beds, plastic mattresses, and blankets for 80 students.

The project also includes plans to install a water tank on a nearby mountain. The mountain's spring water will then be used to supply the dormitory with water.

Dominguez explained the group would eventually like to provide a few chickens, sheep, and goats for the school, so the students can learn how to care for the animals and have a supplemental food source. The group would also like to establish a school garden once the water tank is installed.

Dominguez believes none of these goals are "grandiose." Instead, he said, the group is trying to work toward small, reachable goals that will improve the children's lives.

Health realities
As in previous years, this summer the group's physicians and nurses treated several hundred people who sought medical treatment.

According to Dominguez, the Tarahumara people from this particular community face some conflicting public health realities. On the one hand, the circumstances of their isolated life in the mountains causes them to have some very healthy habits. Because they have no vehicles or mechanical equipment, their only transportation is walking or running, and daily chores are all done by hand or with simple tools. Their diet consists mostly of healthy fare like corn, beans, and squash.

On the other hand, they suffer from a serious lack of food, water, and medical care. Malnutrition is a concern for Tarahumara families, particularly for children, and infectious diseases pose a constant threat. Tarahumara people regularly suffer and die from diseases that are easily preventable in the United States.

Dominguez expressed appreciation to the many local individuals, organizations, and businesses that have supported Salud para Suchil Medical Mission thus far. "As small as we are, we get a lot of good support from the community," he said. "We want to thank the community for what they're doing for us and these people."

However, there will be one important change in the organization soon. Dominguez, who has been working as a registered nurse at the Gallup Indian Medical Center for the last several years, will be moving to Texas in early October. He expects the mission group will continue to operate out of Gallup, and he expects to continue working with the group through telephone and Internet contact.

Editor's Note: To learn how to assist the Salud para Suchil Medical Mission, contact Lorenzo Dominguez before Oct. 1 at 726-9374 (after 6 p.m.).