By Judith Gille
Five years ago this month, Sher and Gary Davidson founded the Latin American Relief Fund (LARF) in hopes of helping the many Central American migrants crossing through Mexico to the US border. Their first fundraising effort was a concert in Portland, Oregon, where they raised the initial funds to start the organization. Soon afterward, they registered LARF in Oregon as a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt corporation
The nonprofit’s mission was to financially and materially support projects that provided humanitarian aid to Latin American refugees and individuals, particularly those from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. When the Davidsons heard about Pastor Ignacio Ramirez and his efforts to provide shelter and aid to migrants passing through Celaya, they met with him to see how they could help.
In 2018, LARF began assisting Albergue ABBA, a migrant shelter in Celaya run by Pastor Ignacio and his family. For the first couple of years, LARF paid the rent, utilities, and other expenses for ABBA House. Then, in 2020 when the property came up for sale, the board initiated a capital campaign and raised money to help Pastor Ignacio purchase the building that houses the shelter.
In addition to helping buy the building, LARF has funded ABBA’s educational and music programs, paid staff salaries, purchased gym equipment for the rehabilitation of amputees, helped purchase a new van, funded professional development for ABBA House staff, and provided emergency funding when large caravans came through.
But the five-year mark has brought some changes to the Latin American Relief Fund.
In July of 2021, Sher stepped down as President of LARF’s Board of Directors and Judith Gille took over leadership of LARF. The organization’s dynamic board, which also includes Dan Neuspiel, Hernan Drobny, Rebecca Eichler, Honey Sharp, Careen Shannon, and Gail Berkowitz, is embarking on an even more ambitious task: helping Pastor Ignacio purchase and develop a site for a Cultural Center for Human Rights.
For several years now, Pastor Ignacio and his family have been taking in migrant amputees who have lost limbs during their journey north. Many of them fell or were pushed from freight trains, others have been run over by cars or trucks. ABBA House provides them with food and shelter, helps them secure medical care, facilitates any needed hospitalizations, and later aids them in obtaining prostheses and rehabilitation services. Currently there are 20 resident amputees at ABBA House and six more on the waiting list.
Ignacio’s idea is to have the truly migratory men and women—people who are just passing through Mexico—stay at ABBA House, while the new Cultural Center would provide permanent housing and an array of services for people who must remain in Mexico. This transformational new center would include workshops, gardens, an infirmary, a rehabilitation gymnasium for amputees, and housing for families. In addition, the new center would provide educational information and legal support for migrants affected by human rights violations in Central Mexico.
Pastor Ignacio has secured support for the project from many stakeholders. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has committed to developing the housing, and the Red Cross will help set up and run the clinic. The state of Guanajuato and local authorities in Celaya as well as the University of Leon have also committed to helping with design and implementation.
But Pastor Ignacio is looking to us at the Latin American Relief Fund to finance the purchase of the property and we are counting on the generosity of San Miguel’s community for help.
Sher and Gary Davidson are proud of what they’ve accomplished in the past five years, but there is much more to do. In these dark times, we are all yearning for a more just world and the Board of LARF is committed to funding the Cultural Center for Human Rights. We see it as our opportunity to make the world a better place for some of its most marginalized people.
