Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association relief news update from Mexico.
Beginning on August 31, floods swept through North Mexico as Category 5 Hurricane Jimena prompted a state of emergency in the northern municipalities of Los Cabos, La Paz, Comondú, Loreto and Mulegé.

Some 4,000 people were displaced, and one person perished as homes and crops were damaged.
Expressing all her love and sympathy, Supreme Master Ching Hai pledged an initial US$10,000 in aid on September 4, requesting that our native Association members go help the most desperate, such as orphans and the elderly without caregivers.

She later donated an additional US$10,000 for further relief.
The combined US$20,000 could acquire US$66,000 in urgent supplies, if purchased in the United States, based on Mexico’s cost of living.

Our Association’s relief team from Mexico and California, USA traveled to Ciudad Insurgentes, a town of 8,000 citizens, the majority of whom are low income families who work in agriculture.
 However, most of them lost their jobs to the hurricane, which also destroyed many of their homes.

Dr. Joel Villegas, Mayor of the Comondú municipality, Mexico (M): Housing has suffered damage, with nearly 1,000 homes completely lost, and 2,251 partially lost. So, practically 95% of our municipality of Comundú was devastated.

VOICE: Mayor of the Comondú municipality, Dr. Joel Villegas, and his kind wife, arranged hotel, vegetarian meals, and transportation for our Association’s relief team, who covered their own travel and related expenses.
The mayor also postponed all his governmental activities to join Mrs. Villegas and his personal staff members in helping our relief team distribute aid supplies door-to-door to the affected residents.

The Mayor also informed the victims about Master’s SOS work, advising them to reduce their meat consumption.

Dr. Joel Villegas, Mayor of the Comondú municipality, Mexico (M): I thank you in name of all the people from Comundú to Supreme Master Ching Hai, who has given us this support, because it alleviates a big part of the big problem that we have in Comundú.

Relief recipient, Mexico (F): I am very thankful to Master for the aid that she has given us.

VOICE: Our Association members visited all officials that had helped with the relief work, transportation, and preparations. The relief team gave them Master’s #1 international best-selling book “The Dogs in My Life,”
flowers, and fruit.

Our appreciation, Mayor Joel Villegas, Mrs. Villegas, and staff, for your enthusiastic assistance.
We are grateful for Supreme Master Ching Hai’s wholehearted care of those in need, and for the earnest work of our Association’s relief team.

Wishing the Mexican people a quick recuperation to the regularity of their day-to-day lives as Earth’s stability is restored through humanity’s increased compassion and eco-consciousness.