On March 17 the streets of Bucerias were full of tourists and our carts were fully booked…. on April 1 we were living in a ghost town and our carts were sitting empty. As Covid-19 spread throughout the world and throughout our community, we saw an opportunity to use our carts to help our neighbors in need. Beach vendors, restaurant workers, hotel workers – they were all suddenly without work and in emergency need. We began by disbursing food that our clients had left behind in their condos. Then friends, family members and customers began sending us money and we began assembling and delivering food hampers – they’re called despensas (pantries) here. Over the next year, we delivered over 5,000 bags of food to 1500 different families. We raised close to 1,500,000 pesos. Our carts were out a minimum of 5 days a week for 1 year. On April 1, 2021 we made our work in the community permanent by opening Refuge of Hope, a Children’s Shelter to help single Moms care for their children while they worked. Healthy meals, education, skills training, psychological and spiritual care. We now care for 22 children every day and are grateful for the support of many of our Banderas Bay Carts clients who have visited our shelter and given generous gifts. Make sure you schedule a visit the next time you’re touring around town in your cart!
