As of September 1st, Amistad Canada and Programa pro Niños Incapacitados Del Lago are entering into a project partnership for the benefit of sick and disabled children and their families in the Lake Chapala region of Jalisco.
Niños Incapacitados is a not-for-profit, all-volunteer organization that provides counselling and direct financial support to poor families that need help to pay for medical and related expenses for children with serious disabilities or life threatening illnesses.
It began in 1974 as an effort to help one family and has grown to support about 160 children who live in and around the lakeside communities of Ajijic, Chapala and Jocotepec. Niños Incapacitados distributed 2,170,000 Mexican pesos ($154,000 CDN) to those children’s families in 2016.
Amistad Canada (Amistad) is a registered Canadian charity that distributes tax-deductible donations to projects run by seven non-governmental organizations based in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, and now to an eighth, Niños Incapacitados.
Amistad-supported projects include literacy, music and art education for children and young adults, school hot-meal services, dental care in poor communities, midwife training as well as high school and post-secondary scholarships.
In addition to issuing Canada Revenue Agency tax receipts, Amistad conducts annual financial and performance audits of all its partner NGOs to ensure donations are being used for their intended purpose. Niños Incapacitados is Amistad’s first partnership outside of San Miguel.
Dave Pike, president of Niños Incapacitados, says “the organization is delighted to join forces with Amistad Canada whose extensive experience in assisting other NGOs in Mexico, and stature as a Canadian charity, will be of real benefit to our ability to help children and their families in the Lakeside community.”
Aguilar
“Amistad Canada is excited to be launching a new project in the Lake Chapala region,” says its president Charles Novogrodsky, “Niños Incapacitados has a sterling community reputation. This project advances our work to build civil society relationships between Canada and Mexico.”
As part of the agreement, Niños Incapacitados vice-president Bill Dingwall has been elected to the Amistad Canada Board of Directors, and Mark O’Neill will be the Amistad project auditor for Niños Incapacitados.
For more about Niños Incapacitados, go to: www.programaninos.com
And, to learn about Amistad Canada, visit: www.AmistadCanada.org
