The Rotary Club of Ajijic recently hosted 38 sixth grade students who attend school in the upper reaches of the Copper Canyon.
The trip (the tenth such venture for children of that area) was organized by hotel owner and Rotarian Doug Rhodes.
Rhodes approached the Rotary clubs of Lakeside and Guadalajara last year to bring this trip to fruition.
“The idea is to reward these kids for sticking with school,” said Rhodes. “It isn’t always easy for them because there are no school buses and many of the kids have to walk more than an hour each way to attend school.”
For the majority of the children and their chaperones, this was their first view of the world outside of the Copper Canyon. They experienced restaurants for the first time (many thanks to Agustin of Viva Mexico in San Juan Cosala and the Ajijic Rotary Club) and had a delicious surprise with their first-ever ice cream cones.Earlier annual trips took children to Los Mochis, Sinaloa. This year’s outing took them to the Guadalajara zoo, a trip to experience local aquaculture, playtime on the Chapala malecon and rides on fishermen’s launches on Lake Chapala.
“These trips are a stimulus for the kids and may help to end the cycle of poverty in which they live,” said Rhodes.