A Child’s Recent Stay
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A child recently stayed at the El Cardonal Children’s Home, but not for the reason you might think.
He had been staying there with his mother after they needed a safe place because of domestic violence. The home was again fulfilling its mission: to be a place where a child could feel safe, cared for, and supported.
Their experience also gave us a clearer understanding of what the home can offer, what families need, and what must be in place before we can responsibly take on more cases like theirs.
The El Cardonal Children’s Home was created to provide temporary care for children whose families were facing a medical crisis.
The idea was not random. It came from research, conversations, statistics, and what the community told us was needed.
The goal was simple: if a parent or caregiver needed to travel for medical treatment, their children would have a safe, caring place to stay until the family could be reunited.
That mission still matters to us.
But over the past year, as the home became ready to serve families, we began to understand that the greatest barrier wasn’t the building, the staff, or even the need. It was trust.
In several cases, families came close to accepting temporary care at the home. Then, at the last minute, they stepped back. One mother was warned that if she left her children at the home, she might never see them again. Others were warned by relatives or community members not to take the risk.
For families who have lived with poverty, crisis, trauma, or fear of authority, this concern does not come out of nowhere.
In Mexico, as in many countries, children can be placed in residential care when authorities determine that a child needs protection. Those systems exist to protect children. But institutional care is also a serious and sensitive issue, and Mexico has faced documented challenges with oversight, regulation, and reliable data in residential child care.
There is also a broader context of fear. Mexico is facing a major crisis involving missing and disappeared people. Human rights organizations have reported more than 128,000 missing and disappeared people, and recent reporting places the number above 130,000.
Children and adolescents are part of that crisis. According to REDIM, the Network for the Rights of Children in Mexico, 10,707 reports involving missing or unlocated children and adolescents were recorded in 2025. As of January 5, 2026, 2,856 of those children and adolescents had still not been located. That amounts to approximately 29 new reports every day.
It helps explain why some families hesitate.
In an environment where families hear stories of children being taken, placed in institutions, trafficked, or disappearing, trust is not automatic.
Even though our intentions are good and the home is safe, families are being asked to trust an unfamiliar organization with the most important people in their lives.
Taking a Closer Look
Because of what we have learned, the Leaders2Give Board has begun a feasibility study to better understand how the home can best serve children and families going forward.
This is not a step away from the mission. It is an effort to make sure the mission is carried out in a way that is useful, trusted, and responsible.
The home’s directors have been speaking with families, community members, local professionals, government agencies, and organizations. As part of that work, they have also conducted community surveys to help identify both the greatest needs and the trust barriers that families are facing.
They are asking practical questions:
What does the community need most that families will actually trust and use?
What partnerships are available or would be required?
What professional support would be necessary?
How can the home be used in a way that truly helps?
One possible direction that has come forward is support for women and children experiencing domestic violence.
That possibility became more real when the home recently provided temporary refuge to a woman from the community and her young son who needed a safe place to stay.
During their stay, the home’s Directors provided meals, care, school support, and daily supervision while his mother worked. The child also received pro bono medical and dental care from East Cape Health Center, one of Leaders2Give’s community partners. He was able to play, study, spend time in nature, and experience a peaceful environment.
What That Experience Taught Us
The experience also showed us the seriousness of this work.
Domestic violence cases require more than a safe building and caring people. They require specialized training, psychological support, legal guidance, social-work support, clear protocols, and strong partnerships with government and community agencies.
Having the heart to help is not enough. To serve families responsibly, the home must also have the right structure. That lesson is now guiding the Board’s next steps. We are continuing to explore whether the home could become a shelter for women and children escaping violence.
We are also looking at other possible uses, including partnerships with organizations that may already have the experience, staff, and program model needed to serve vulnerable children and families well.
The Purpose Has Not Changed
Leaders2Give’s purpose is to protect vulnerable children. That remains true.
What may change is the way the El Cardonal Children’s Home fulfills that purpose.
It can continue serving children during family medical crises. It can become a shelter for women and children escaping violence. It can support educational, therapeutic, or family-stability programs. It can become a place where trusted local organizations can bring their expertise into a facility that was built to serve.
We do know this: the home will be used in a way that is needed, trusted, and sustainable.
The home was built with love, generosity, and the belief that children and families in Baja California Sur deserve safety, dignity, and care.
We are listening, learning, and asking what will actually work. We want the home to serve a real need, in a way that children and families can trust and will actually use.
We’re proud to be part of a growing community of partners who are making a difference. Keep reading below for updates from our partners.
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PARTNER UPDATES
El Cardonal Children’s Home
The El Cardonal Children’s Home (formerly John Gullo Home for Children) provides temporary shelter for children in BCS whose families are experiencing medical crises. Read the latest update below:
The home’s Directors recently met with the Municipal Women’s Institute of Los Cabos to learn more about the support currently available to women and children experiencing domestic violence. The Institute shared that Los Cabos has one women’s shelter, along with two small transitional homes that can accommodate women and their children while legal and support processes are underway.
The meeting gave Belén and Sara a clearer picture of how referrals, intake, legal support, and temporary shelter can work together. The Institute also shared operating guidelines for women’s shelters and plans to visit the El Cardonal Children’s Home to see the facility firsthand.
Belén has also reached out to the National Network of Shelters and is continuing discussions with the State Women’s Institute in La Paz as part of the ongoing feasibility study.
New Creation Kids (NCK) Children’s Home
New Creation Kids is a children’s home in La Paz providing safe, stable shelter for children whose families are facing serious challenges such as addiction and homelessness. Read about our involvement with the home below:
As many of you know, NCK has been with us since the very beginning and continues to hold a special place in our journey. Operated by Roberto and Alma Osuna, this independent, registered Mexican nonprofit provides a safe and stable home for up to 30 children at a time.
Children whose parents are unable or unfit to care for them due to circumstances such as addiction, violence, or homelessness.
While Leaders2Give does not oversee NCK’s operations, we help fund essential daily needs like food, electricity, education, fuel, and water. Our involvement also includes stepping in for urgent capital improvements like when we installed cisterns to help address water shortages in 2021.
Thanks to your generosity, we currently have enough funding to cover their basic needs for the year. That said, the needs at NCK are ongoing and often unpredictable. If you’d like to help cover the cost of essentials like water deliveries or meals, please consider making a donation. Just $25 can support one child for ten days.
The East Cape Health Center
The East Cape Health Center is a nonprofit clinic in Los Barriles offering full medical and dental services with discounted or free care for families in need. Read their latest update below:
People Helping People
This month, we want to step beyond our regular update and speak directly to the people and organizations who have made our work possible over the years.
East Cape Health Center has been providing medical and dental care to the communities of Los Barriles and the broader East Cape region for years.
We serve a place where the nearest city is hours away where for many families, we are simply the only option. Our patients are neighbors, seasonal workers, long-time residents, and people who walk through our doors with nowhere else to go. Serving them is not just what we do. It is who we are.
Keeping that care available, consistently and with quality, takes more than dedication it takes community. And today, we are reaching out to ask for yours. If you have ever considered supporting meaningful healthcare access in Baja California Sur, this is a direct and open invitation to do so. Every contribution to East Cape Health Center goes toward one thing: ensuring that the people of this community continue to have a place to receive the care they need.
No contribution is too small, and every one of them reaches real people in a region that genuinely depends on us. We are grateful for every person a organization that has stood with us and we look forward to continuing this work together. When people help people, care reaches where it's needed most.
SNAP - Spay, Neuter, and Prevention
SNAP offers free spay/neuter services for the local community in and around Los Barriles, BCS and promotes youth leadership through animal welfare education. Read their latest update below:
Access on Wheels: SNAP's Mobile Surgical Clinic Takes to the Road
For years, the remoteness of Cabo Pulmo kept it beyond SNAP's reach. This southernmost community, isolated at the tip of the East Cape corridor, lacked access to the critical services we provide throughout our region. But this summer, everything changed.
After months of dedicated work by Dr. Cristobal, who transformed a van into a fully operational mobile surgical center, SNAP made its maiden voyage to Cabo Pulmo. The journey marked a milestone for our organization and, more importantly, for the community that had been waiting so long for help.
A Grateful Community Welcomes Us
When we arrived, we were met with the warmth and gratitude that makes this work possible. The clinic operated smoothly, and we were able to provide comprehensive spay and neuter surgeries to animals from the community. The impact rippled beyond surgery—we also provided rabies vaccines to anyone in Cabo Pulmo who wanted to protect their animals and their families from this deadly disease.
This was more than a routine clinic day. It was proof that with innovation and determination, we can remove the barriers of distance and deliver lifesaving care to communities that need it most.
Building Our Capacity
Our mobile clinic van is just the beginning. In July, we'll receive delivery of a complementary surgical trailer that will further expand our capacity to serve remote communities across the East Cape corridor. Together, these two units represent a fundamental shift in how we can reach the animals and families who depend on us.
Your Support Fuels Our Mission
As we launch this expanded mobile program, we need partners like you to help us meet critical operational needs. Transporting the trailer to Baja California, acquiring specialized equipment for both the van and trailer, and adapting our systems as we work out the logistics of dual-unit operations—these investments will ensure we can serve communities safely and effectively. Your support directly enables us to overcome the final obstacles standing between remote animals and the care they deserve.
None of this would be possible without the generosity of Leaders2Give donors like you, who understand that access to veterinary care is about more than animal welfare—it's about public health, community resilience, and compassion in action.
SNAP is grateful for your partnership in bringing care to those who need it most.
Crescent Moon Project - Art for Children
Crescent Moon Project offers free arts-based classes that spark creativity and help children grow into compassionate, community-focused leaders. Read their latest update below:
From Grid to Art: Honoring Ana Teresa Barbosa Through Textile Exploration
This month, Crescent Moon Project is celebrating the inspiring work of Peruvian artist Ana Teresa Barbosa by introducing our students to the world where textile art, geometry, and creativity come together.
Barbosa is known for transforming traditional embroidery into sculptural and landscape-inspired works that blur the boundaries between art, craft, and nature.
Inspired by her innovative approach, our students have been exploring embroidery on plastic canvas grids, discovering how simple materials can become colorful works of art.
We began this project with the challenge of learning to see an image not as a finished picture, but as a collection of shapes, points, and patterns. Students first deconstructed a design into its basic elements and then carefully rebuilt it, stitch by stitch. This process taught patience, focus, and perseverance while encouraging children to think creatively about problem-solving.
Working on a grid also introduces important mathematical concepts. As students count spaces, follow patterns, and manage thread tension, they develop spatial awareness and logical thinking skills. At the same time, the repetitive motion of stitching strengthens fine motor coordination and hand-eye control.
One of the most exciting lessons of this project was watching students transform a rigid, structured surface into something vibrant, expressive, and alive. Through color choices, texture, and design, each child created a unique interpretation that reflected their own imagination while honoring the artistic vision of Ana Teresa Barbosa.
At Crescent Moon Project, we believe art education is about much more than creating beautiful objects. It is about helping children discover new ways of seeing the world, building confidence through creative challenges, and developing skills that extend far beyond the classroom.
We are proud to continue providing opportunities that inspire curiosity, creativity, and growth. Through projects like this, our students learn that even the most structured framework can be transformed into something extraordinary—just as a simple grid can become a work of art.
Wonderland for Kids Sponsorship Program
Wonderland for Kids is a bilingual Montessori and childcare center in Los Barriles offering a Sponsorship Program to help low income families access affordable childcare. Read their latest update below:
It has been a wonderful month at Wonderland for Kids as we wrapped up successful Montessori school year and transitioned into our exciting summer program. We celebrated this milestone with a joyful graduation ceremony, recognizing our children’s growth, confidence, and love of learning.
This season has also brought an opportunity to make an even greater impact.
Thanks to the incredible generosity of donors through Leaders2Give, we have welcomed two sponsored children into our summer program. Both come from low-income, single-mother households that rely on quality childcare while parents work to support their families. One of these children has special needs, and we are honored to provide a safe, nurturing environment where every child can learn, play, and thrive.
We are deeply grateful for the community that makes opportunities like this possible. If you would like to help us continue supporting families in need, sponsoring a child costs $500 per month. Every contribution helps provide quality education, compassionate care, and peace of mind for hardworking parents while giving children the opportunity to flourish.
To learn about the different ways to donate to Leaders2Give and any of our Partners, visit our Donate page.