Two local organizations have teamed up with Ignite the Light of Hope to collect and distribute hygiene kits and supplies for over 3,500 refugees at the Tijuana border.
Phoenix Rise Project and Pueblita are seeking the public’s support with monetary and supply donations until Friday, Oct. 1.
The organizations and a group of volunteers will head to the border on Oct. 6 to host a distribution.
“It’s important to me because our mission is to help families in need,” Lorraine Aceves, founder of Ignite the Light of Hope, said. “Seeing children and families without any food or essentials to go about their day, it breaks my heart.”
Donations needed include deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, bars of soap, hair ties and clips, feminine hygiene products and hand sanitizer and wipes.
The October distribution will be the second time Aceves and her organization have partnered with nonprofit Journey of Love and Hope to host a distribution at a refugee encampment in Tijuana.
“The first time we went it hurt to see the way they were living,” Aceves said. “Immediately when they saw us pull up with our trucks loaded with donations their eyes lit up, the children ran to the line.”
Approximately 1,000 of the refugees the organizations hope to help are children.
According to Border Report, those waiting at the border predominantly come from Mexico and Central America and are fleeing violence and instability in their home countries.
The refugees have been stuck at the Tijuana border due to policies like Title 42 used by the Trump administration and has continued under President Biden. The policy allows for asylum seekers and other migrants to be expelled to Mexico or countries of origin.
A spring 2021 newsletter by Refugee Health Alliance, a nonprofit that provides medical care at the border, noted that Tijuana does not have the resources to respond to a “crisis of this magnitude.”
Participating in this donation drive is important for Amanda Guevara, founder of Phoenix Rise Project. For Guevara this is a way to give back to the Latinx community and dive back into her culture.
“I think the best way I can do that is by giving back,” Guevara said. “And the power of self-care, that’s where it starts.”
“My goal is to empower them, to say ‘Yes you can,’ and although you may not have the resources to do so, you have community support in helping you climb that ladder.”
—Amanda Guevara, founder of Phoenix Rise Project
For Guevara, it is important that refugees have a clean space to lay at night and hygiene items they can use to continue their journey.
“My goal is to empower them, to say ‘Yes you can,’ and although you may not have the resources to do so, you have community support in helping you climb that ladder,” Guevara said.
Those who are interested in donating can do so by purchasing items from a curated Amazon wish list or they can donate through Ignite the Light of Hope’s venmo.
Additionally, those interested can also make their own care packages and send them to Ignite the Light of Hope at 21618 Golden Triangle Rd. Suite #103 in Santa Clarita, CA 91350. Item donations are also welcomed.
Pueblita created its own Amazon wishlist dedicated to feminine hygiene products that will be distributed at the border.
Proceeds from Pueblita tortillas purchased online will also go toward the purchase of supplies.
“Giving them a package it’s like you’re instilling hope and that’s my mission,” Aceves said. “I want to be able to, you know, give them hope and let them know that there’s people that care about them and they’re not alone.”
For more information on donations and the distribution follow @ignite_ the _light _of_hope on Instagram.
