The Daycare Center Project Mercy is supporting a daycare center in Colonia Lomas del Valle, Tijuana. The Need Lomas del Valle is one of the recently developed neighborhoods on the eastern edge of Tijuana. Residents of Lomas del Valle are low-income families. Many come from other places in Mexico to find better economic opportunities and do not have extended families in the area to help care for children while parents work. Every day in Colonia Lomas del Valle when parents leave for work, many children under 6 years of age stay home alone or with brothers and sisters little older than they are. Children are often exposed to dangerous situations due to lack of proper care and supervision. Children have been assaulted, burned and killed in fires, and hurt in accidents while parents were working away from the home. Many parents, including single mothers, are unable to work outside the home because there is no one to care for their children. History Project Mercy began building some of the first houses in Colonia Lomas del Valle in 1988. In September 2000, some of the colonia’s residents approached Project Mercy with a request for assistance in building a daycare center. Three lots had been set aside for that purpose by the state agency that subdivided the colonia and distributed lots to the residents. Project Mercy recognized the need and began participating in the project. By August of 2002, plans were drawn, permits acquired, and construction began. Construction The first construction phase was completed in December 2003. It consists of reinforced concrete block retaining walls and a concrete block building. Because the nature of this work was such that it was not practical to use volunteer labor from the US, local labor was hired to do much of the work. The second construction phase, a two-story wood frame building with stucco exterior, was built on top of the concrete block building. Volunteers from the US did much of the work on the second phase. Second phase construction began in January 2004 and was completed in 2006. Currently, a new bathroom and shower facility is under construction. Existing bathrooms on the second floor will be converted to a needed infirmary and activity room expansion. Daycare Center Operation An inauguration ceremony for the daycare center was held on January 10, 2004 and the center began operating in the concrete block building on the following Monday. The daycare operation expanded into the upper floors during 2006. The children range from infants to ten years old. Some of the children attend public school for part of the day and are returned to the center. The center provides an educational social experience for the children. Employees of the center have received training in pre-school teaching, child psychology and development and other related studies. Some residents in the colonia and in adjacent colonias work in factories (maquiladoras) at night. The center began operating 24 hours a day in 2006 so that parents working night shifts would have a safe place to leave their children. The need for this was tragically demonstrated in July 2005 when four children in a nearby colonia were left alone while their mother worked. They lost their lives when the house caught fire during the night. The center has a fully equipped kitchen and provides nutritious hot meals for the children. In addition to providing daycare, the center began preschool classes in cooperation with DIF in September 2006. DIF is the City of Tijuana family support social service agency. At the end of 2006 there were 42 children enrolled in the daycare and there were 27 children in the preschool classes. Funds Additional funds are needed to continue construction and to help support the daycare operation. Families with children in the center are charged a small fee. Because average family income is so low in the area, the fees, though small, are a burden for the families. They will never be enough to support the center. The center will need on-going support from private donations to remain operating and serving a very real need for the community. A tax-deductible donation to Project Mercy, designated to be used for the daycare center, will directly benefit children of low-income working parents. Information Contact Milton Costello at (619) 440 7869 or oldsi@cox.net for additional information regarding the daycare center,