Bold Echo Supports Comunidad Para Baja California's Beca Program
June 23, 2010 - Bold Echo, a Silicon Valley-based speaker support and media training agency, announced that it is supporting Comunidad Para Baja California and its Beca (scholarship) program by financing a Nativo student's education for each new client it works with in 2010. "Bold Echo's generous contribution is a great kickoff to our 2011 school year fundraising," said Teresa Moreno, Comunidad Para Baja California's Beca director. "We'll be going down to Ensenada in August to distribute next year's scholarships, and it's great to have an organization like Bold Echo joining our list of contributors."
"Bold Echo is proud to support Comunidad Para Baja California's efforts to provide education to Nativo children through our participation in their Beca program," said Bold Echo co-founder Kristin Tedford. "We applaud their efforts to improve the lives of the Nativo communities while respecting and preserving their native heritage."
The Beca program is Comunidad Para Baja California's promise to fund middle and high school education for the Nativo children (the government only funds education up to the sixth grade). The cost to fund a child’s education (tuition, books, transportation and materials) is $200/year.
To sponsor a child, please contact Teresa Moreno:
Teresa Moreno, c/o Teifeld & Co. Insurance
255 W Julian St #403
San Jose, CA 95110
Comunidad and Rotary Team Up to Help Nativos of San Jose de la Zorra
April 19, 2010 - In late March of 2010, the Rotary Club of San Jose North teamed up with Comunidad Para Baja California for a service trip that included a dental clinic and infrastructure surveys, including a survey for a proposed medical clinic site in an indigenous community in Baja California. San Jose de la Zorra is a small village about one hour northwest of the port city of Ensenada, Mexico. Located in a valley known as Valle de Guadalupe, about 41 families live in San Jose de la Zorra. The people of San Jose de la Zorra are known as the Kumeyaay (Kumiai in Spanish).
The isolation of the Kumeyaay’s land, combined with many years of social and governmental neglect, has created a unique situation in which the Kumeyaay lack many of the basic necessities such as health care, education and infrastructure. Comunidad Para Baja California, a Los Gatos based non-profit, works with volunteers to provide much needed assistance to these indigenous people.
The tribes of the Kumeyaay in Mexico include: Juntas de Neji, San Jose de la Zorra, San Antonio Necua, La Huerta, and Santa Catarina (Pai-Pai Kumiai). Comunidad Para Baja California works with all these tribes and helps provide them with basic necessities such as health (Salud), education(BECA) and infrastructure (Infrastructura).
The Rotary Club of San Jose North was so impressed with Comunidad Para Baja California’s projects that they are in the process of supporting the construction of a medical clinic and community center in San Jose de la Zorra. The recent visit was to survey the proposed site for the building, and get to know the Kumeyaay people. 
The Kumeyaay arrived in the Baja California region about 2,500 years ago. Their native lands stretched from Escondido, California just north of San Diego, all way south to Santo Tomas-50 kilometers south of Ensenada, Mexico. The Kumeyaay were a nomadic people who moved about in bands or clans in search of resources, typically in time with the seasons.
Spending the summer and fall months in the mountains, the Kumeyaay depended upon wild game and harvesting fruits and nuts. The winter months were spent in the coastal valleys much like their current home, San Jose de la Zorra.
By the time the Spanish missions began to arrive, the Kumeyaay lands were being taken away and they were being rapidly reduced in population. By the 1900s their numbers had be systematically lowered from over 150,000 in 1845 to about 16,000 (Source: http://www.campo-nsn.gov/).
The persecution faced by these Native Americans during the early part of the century forced the Kumeyaay further back into the valleys and mountains, away from their native lands. When Mexico lost its northern territories in 1848, the border was created and forever split the tribes in half. Eight reservations managed to survive in the San Diego area and four in Baja California.
In the coming months, Rotary and Comunidad Para Baja California will be meeting to discuss how best to work together to meet the needs of not only the people of San Jose de la Zorra but the larger indigenous population of northern Mexico. To get involved, please visit www.bajacomunidad.org or call Comunidad Para Baja California President, Tom Hogan, at 408-355-0108.
Ecological Project: Home Waste Recycling in Telesecundaria Cucapah
October 27, 2009 - Winning a prestigious national award is impressive enough. When the majority of your learning is self-motivated, with lessons provided by a satellite downlink rather than in-class instruction, it’s even more impressive. That’s what the Telesecondaria (satellite middle school) students of the Cucapah tribe accomplished this year.
The Premio Nacional “Amanda Rimoch” a la Educación Ambiental is a major public recognition from the Mexican Secretary of Enviroment and Natural Resources, Secretary of Public Education, the Mexico City Junior League and the Liomont Foundation. Students from schools all over Mexico submit environmentally focused projects for consideration.
The Cucapah students—all fellows of Comunidad’s Beca (Scholarship) program—won the recognition for their project “Recycling Domestic Waste” and its impact on the Cucapah tribe. The project was an outgrowth of their science class, giving the students a real-world application of their lessons.
“We couldn’t be prouder of these students,” said Teresa Moreno, Director of Comunidad’s Beca program. “To compete—and win—against schools and students with so much more in the way of resources is a real tribute to their dedication. The sponsors of these children should be proud of the opportunity they’ve given these kids to learn and grow.”
First grade of Telesecondaria (7th grade in US system) worked with plastic bags, second grade (8th grade) recycled plastic bottles, while the third grade (9th grade) experimented with recycling cooking oil. The plastic was recycled into brooms, vases and chairs, while the cooking oil, when combined with native plants, yielded a rich soap for spa use.
The winners of this prestigious award are:
Ceceña Sainz Sergio Francisco, Laguna Beltrán Jesús Antonio, Saiz Carrillo Samuel, Carrillo Saiz Jesús Misael, Rapp Avila Daniela, Jauregui Laguna Ramón, Galaviz Saiz Alfonso , Soto Torres Jaziel, Laguna Beltrán Reyna Gabriela, Galaviz Saenz Dayana.
The students have voted to take the prize money ($10,000 US dollars) and put it towards laptops and a WiFi system for the tribal community.
Photos of many of these students can be viewed here.
A video (in Spanish) about the project can be viewed here.