In 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2022, I had the amazing opportunity to be part of the medical team that went deep into the canyon to distribute food and conduct field clinics for various remote Tarahumaran villages deep in the Copper Canyon of Chihuahua, Mexico. Because I witnessed first-hand the unbelievable hardships of life in the canyon, I was given the gift of deep perspective. We all have SO MUCH, endless toothbrushes and soap, hospitals, most of us have 3 meals a day, shoes. Amid the alarming poverty, I also found a profound depth, an expansive home for the collective soul and love of all humankind. Your donation to Tarahumara Ministry will go 100% to the effort to provide food, clinics, and shelter for the desperately poor Tarahumara in the Copper Canyon of Chihuahua, Mexico. Read the following paragraphs for more information about how Tarahumara Ministry began and their mission to bring health and peace to the Tarahumara people.
The Tarahumara Ministry is an initiative that was born many years ago when the Mexican media showed scenes of Tarahumara Indians dying of hunger and hypothermia in the Copper Canyon of the Sierra Mountains. They were saying that the 100,000 Tarahumarans were a tribe that would become extinct in a few years. Fifty percent of the children die from malnutrition before the age of 10. They later reported that entire families of women and children were jumping off the canyon cliffs to their deaths as a better alternative than starving to death. They are a people with desperate realities and little hope.
Tomas Bencomo had seen this on the news and believed that something should be done to help these people as the Mexican government would only help a few who were easy to access on the outskirts of the canyon. He traveled deep into the canyon to see and understand the severity of the problem. On his first trip he encountered a man deceased on the walking path, due to malnutrition. He discovered that the Tarahumaran communities were isolated and suffering. Different dialects were spoken in each community making it difficult to communicate or help one another.
Tomas went in search of the most remote places and discovered people living as though it was still the 1500’s. They lived in caves and wore loin cloths. The wealthy ones lived in dilapidated shacks. There were other tribes needing help as well – the Pima’s and the Guarojio’s. Thus began a quest to help with the most urgent physical and spiritual needs and to teach the people how to care for themselves. For many years Tomas and his helpers have been providing food supplies, clothing, medical help, and education for the extreme conditions of the mountains. In 2007 a boarding school/orphanage was established believing that if the children were taught, the next generation would be spared such horrible living conditions. All building supplies, including concrete, wooden beams, metal roofing and heavy steel wood stoves were brought in by mule and donkey – a 6 hour hike with over 4,000 feet of elevation and river crossings. Tomas has gone to great lengths and effort to help these people.
A plan is underway to address the physical and spiritual needs of the people in this area. Biblical teaching, spiritual knowledge and understanding is communicated. Food and clothing are given on a regular basis. Much travel has been done to remote villages in order to build churches to facilitate the needs of the people. As people gain spiritual understanding and physical health their lives are renewed with hope and love.
