Thread: Childrens' Orphanage In Acapulco

Originally Posted by LisaB

Just to let every one know, the group from the 23rd cancelled their visit to Marsh, I was never notified and they decided to go with another charity, Susan G Koman Walk for the Cure that was done on the ship.

They tried to arrange it all directly with Jovita and she barely speaks any English, things got confusing for the group leader and still don't understand why they didn't email me or post a message on my thread at their forum, i asked a few times how they wish to handle it and no reply.

Was surprised when I called Jovita to ask how it went and they never showed, I have my opinion and say on the matter, but, will keep it to myself. I felt so terrible and responsible, that I arranged a small donation with the help of a few good buddies.


Just to let everyone know the groups intenstions were to donate the $ 721.00 they raised for this orphanage, unfortunately it was brought to our attention less than two weeks before our cruise that the Marsh Children's Orphanage was unable to accept donations from outside the country of Mexico.
We are no longer accepting financial donations from the USA, or any country outside of Mexico.

NOTE: Due to Hogar Infantil's decision NOT to change from an A.C. to an I.A.P, Marsh Children's Home, Inc. has been dissolved. All references to personnel participating in the US Corporation have been removed from this website.

This was a decision that was made by the US Board of Directors. Collectively, the members of Marsh Children's Home, Inc. worked feverishly - donating thousands of hours to complete this website for Hogar Infantil Marsh under the belief that they were making good faith efforts to change their legal status from an A.C. to an I.A.P.

After multiple consultations with our legal advisors in Mexico City, we were told that the acceptance of financial donations from outside of Mexico could possibly result in the closure of Hogar Infantil Marsh, as they would not be compliant with Federal Law in Mexico.
Therefore, we made a strategic decision to cease our efforts in assisting the orphanage. Collectively, we refused to be potentially responsible for Marsh Home's closure and the removal of 80+ children from the site.

ALL COMMUNICATIONS WITH HOGAR INFANTIL MARSH SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO THE FOLLOWING E-MAIL ADDRESS:

marshhome@hotmail.com




This raised some red flags as it was once mentioned that we could just meet Roberto on the pier and mak the donation...Of couse we could not do that so our intention was to make a stop along the way with our tour guide ROSIE,
We had several email conversations with Jovita and then suddenly communication with her ceased.
We also thought Roberto was going to meet us at the pier and escort us along with his father and neice to the Orphanage and upon debarkation in ACA, we did not see him and it wasnt until our secnd last sea day did we decide to doate to the Susan G. Koman foundation...

We were saddened by the information we found regarding donations to the home but we did not want to be responsible for the closure of such a wonderful facility.
We tried aother orphanage in Manzanillo and were met with the same obstacles. Donating to such organizations that are not I.A.P are ILLEGAL.....

we are truly sorry you are upset with us Roberto, but communication is key, you hadn't returned to our forum since Jan 2nd knowing we were coming in 3 weeks.
Roberto I am sure you have your thoughts and opinions regarding this and I would just like to say THANK YOU for what you had tried to arrange.

I know members on this forum made a large donation on a previous trip which was before the new ruling.. I wish we too could have made a contribution.

In closing , I would like to suggest that anyone interested in donating to such causes in a foreign country, be aware of the legalities......


Lisa

Thanks Lisa, all I can say is it's their loss that they didn't persue it more vigilantly. Roberto is a Port Authority officer, so I believe him more than a website host. Roberto clarified what all that meant from the website, and I can assure you, he nor Jovita would do anything to close the children's home.

I don't know where the mix up went but we must remember, Roberto's job is as a port authority. He tries to help any group who would like to help the orphans there. When we visited that day, Roberto went with us and his passion to help those children was very clear.

It was my post that suggested you meet with Roberto and give the donation to him, I'm sorry I was not clearer about that, I only meant that if no one in your group wanted to actually go to the home. Also to be clear you did not tell me your intentions of going with ROSIE to visit prior to my suggestion to meet Roberto and give the donations to him (which could have been in the form of a check made out to the Orphanage), I was blindly trying to help out without knowing all the facts (my bad).

The saddest part is that none of us adults will suffer from all this but the kids who need all the help they can get.

Hopefully Jovita will get after the web masters and have that removed as she was told would be done.

Also I would like to add, yes Jovita does not speak English (understandable as her country speaks spanish), she was also an orphan herself and had very little schooling from schools in Mexico. They do not let children attend public schools unless they have a $80.00 school uniform. I'm not sure how she and her husband managed to keep and expand the orphanage all these years but I'm sure it has all been legal.

I'm not accusing anyone of saying any of the above, I'm simply making a statement for anyone reading this thread who might be interested in helping with Marsh Orphanage in the future.

On the other hand, a nice donation was made to a really good cause after all is said and done

Steward note:
LisaB's response to Ziggy was inflammatory and has been removed.

I remember some one posting the note the webmaster made, about it being illegal to donate, it was a big misunderstanding between the home and the webmaster. I called Jovita that same day to contact them to remove the message from the site.

It's basically paperwork for tax purposes; the home is sitll up and running, the children are very well attended and Jovita is an angel for working so hard to get people to donate. I confirmed with many goverment agencies and none had any objections.

I recall posting on the other forum if there was a plan, with no reply, I assumed they had made direct contact with Jovita and decided to let them work it out on their own. Last time there was a small amount of money left over and told Ziggy to give directly to Jovita, I will not take a dime directly, even a check, I would have Jovita come to the pier to receive it.

I went to the pier hoping to ID some one from the forum, I stood close to the gangway for about an hour and a half and never saw a "themed logo" shirt.

The important issue is that the money went to a good charity, I do my best to handle a full workload and help out visitors have a memorable stay. Things may get confusing if you get mixed signals from a third party and I will do my best to insure things are done properly.

Trust me it's a wonderfull experience that hooks you the first time you visit the children.

With that said and done, let's just focus on the next group.

Roberto, there is no question that you do everything you can and CLF appreciates it. The confusion and problems were NOT on your part. We appreciate all you do here and for the kids This group is done, and we move on

Very well said, Roberto!

Next?

Hi, I stumbled across this message thread regarding the kids orphanages in Mexico. I believe we all should what we can in life to help others -- especially children, where ever they may be. I commend all those who give of their time and resoucres.

Jerry
Ride For Casa Hogar