Tarahumara Project co-founder Libby Townsend has firmed up two fundraisers to help the traditional indigenous Tarahumara of the Copper Canyon in northern Mexico.
The first will be a colossal yard sale Saturday, January 31, and Sunday, February 1, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Project headquarters, (Townsend’s home) at Pescadores 2, in Riberas del Pilar. Turn toward the lake just East of Mom’s Deli, where the new building is, just past Maskaras Clinic. Turn left, go two blocks and turn right. 
If looking for that one thing that you never knew you had to have isn’t your thing, the second event is for you. February 8, from noon to 5 p.m., The Tarahumara Project hosts a blanket and warm clothing drive at La Bodega Restaurant in Ajijic. Anyone donating cash or goods will be entered in a raffle for a prize. Tarahumara handcrafts will be on sale, a 50/50 raffle, live entertainment will be offered and Javier and Martha, owners of La Bodega, will donate the proceeds from a special meal.
Townsend recently spoke with staff at the free Tarahumara Hospital. Record numbers of Tarahumara are seeking help, or medical attention. According to the staff, patient numbers are up 50% over the same period last year, which is really putting a strain on resources. There has been a huge increase in cases of respiratory ailments: lung infections, pneumonia, bronchitis, and tuberculosis. The increase is probably due to exceptionally cold temperatures, it has been below freezing at night since November, with many nights of temperatures in the single digits (F). Living in a shallow cave, or under a rock outcropping with nothing between them and the cold except a pile of rocks, it’s no wonder so many get sick and die. While there hasn’t been a lot of snow yet in Creel, it has snowed a number of times this winter in the Sierra near the hospital. The Tarahumara used to migrate to the more temperate areas of the canyons in the winter, but most of that land has been sold off by the government to ranchers and “growers” who won’t allow these special people to live there, or in many cases even cross their property.
Please help these people who keep nothing for themselves if another can use it or needs it. For them it is a sin to keep more than what is needed for immediate use. We all have so much we don’t need, that someone else can use, and put to good use.
For more information or to donate contact Libby Townsend at 766-3338, or 766-1167.