Mexico
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Mar-28-2021 | StoriesMario’s Story: The Hard Road to Freedom
All my life all I wanted was a real family. For me, family disappears like water drops on hot desert sands. I was 17 years old when I met a sweet girl and we made a daughter, but we split up even before she was born. I lived on drugs and alcohol, so she didn’t want to stay with me. It hit me really hard. I moved deeper into the gang world of the cartel, I frequented abandoned lands, full of trash, I slept in debris within in the shells of dilapidated homes.
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Mar-21-2021 | StoriesMario’s Story: Escaping Drugs & Violence
Not everyone can climb beyond their guilt. You will see in Part 2 of Mario’s story, that ruining so many people’s lives fosters deep shame, sadness and guilt. For those that struggle with subsequent self loathing, human forgiveness is not enough, self forgiveness is also not enough. We all need a God-sized forgiveness that celebrates us down to the marrow. This universal need is more accentuated when we spend time with folks like Mario.
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Jun-25-2018 | Sports MissionsAdolfo’s Story: ‘I wasn’t alone any more’
Growing up in a small town in Central Mexico, Adolfo was no stranger to the two biggest problems plaguing his hometown: poverty and drugs.
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Jun-18-2018 | Sports MissionsSaved by Soccer: Our Impact
In 1988, our Program Director, Stephen, was working as a recording engineer in Nayarit when he heard about a job opening in a tiny town just southwest of Monterrey. "There was a community center that had been worn down to nothing, and somebody needed to come build it back up and hand it back to the community," Stephen said.
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Apr-22-2014 | Sports MissionsMexico Update: El Calor Is In The Playoffs!
El Calor (our pro soccer club in Mexico) is rounding out their season with a 6-4-1 record, which guarantees them a spot in the playoffs! We are exceedingly proud of these young men as they work to achieve their goals on and off the field.
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Jul-21-2011 | Project-AK47An Interview with the Founder: What PAK47’s Doing in Mexico. [podcast]
Listen as Marcus, the founder & director of Project: AK-47, tells about what we're doing in Mexico with children caught in cartel violence.
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Jun-30-2011 | MexicoAsi es la vida – Such is Life in Mexico
I've been in and out of Mexico recently, working with our field team on the ground. The stories I've come across in the short time since we started working here have been disturbing. Today, a lady came to us with tears streaming down her face, begging for help, since her two brothers had been kidnapped two days ago. The ransom is a million pesos (about $85,000). She recounted to us what had happened...
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Nov-26-2010 | Project-AK47Mexico Report: Hope Through Soccer
As I talked with our Latin America Director, José, about current and future projects one evening during my recent trip to Mexico, the phone rang, which wasn't uncommon for his bustling house. After he exchanged the usual pleasantries as is customary in Latin culture, I watched his countenance change and noticed a lump developing in his throat as he spoke. As he hung up the phone, he turned to me with tears welling up in his eyes and said, "A 26-year-old we pulled out of the drug trade a couple years ago just died." He paused in his grief for a moment and then added in choked words, "I'm so sick...so sick of burying kids," before he turned to walk out of the room.
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Feb-03-2010 | Project-AK47NEW PROJECTS IN THE PHILIPPINES AND MEXICO.
Hey guys! I’m Marcus Young the founder of Just Projects International, which is the mother ship for Project: AK47. Thanks again to everyone who has donated to our cause and stays connected with our mission. Every heart connected and every dollar donated means the world to a child at risk around the world. We are ...
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Jan-27-2010 | Project-AK47Mexico: our next front.
We recently returned from the slums of Northern Mexico, our next focus area. Yes, you heard me correctly: we are now getting involved in Latin America. “Why would an organization focused on Asian child soldiers go into a place like Mexico,” you might wonder? After all, there aren’t child soldiers there…right? The answer is complex ...