Where is Valle de Moreno? Located in a valley between the Sierra Cuatralaba and the Sierra de Ocote Mountains in central Mexico, the village is only 10 miles away as the crow flies from Guanajuato, the State Capital, but it takes three hours by car to reach the village. Location Map

What are the conditions that the people of the Village of Nuevo Valle de Moreno face? Like many other villages in Mexico, the soil of the surrounding farmlands has become depleted; production of corn can not compete with the imported corn of the highly efficient and subsidized farms of America. Click on Panoramic View to see the desolate beauty of the approach to the Village.

Except for a small brick factory there is no work for the people in the village. Although some residents have found jobs in Leon, the largest city in the state and a couple of hours away, most of the young men make the long and risky trip across the border and find work in the United States. Although many of them send money home to their families, there are ancillary problems that stem from this. First, there is always the danger of meeting a tragic fate and never returning, and some men removed from their families drift away over time and abandon their families. The money sent back to the village is vital but surveys we have conducted indicate that another downside is that young boys in the village see their best possible future in crossing the border as soon as they can and are not interested in advancing their education. Fortunately, girls who have less chance of immigrating to the U.S., are anxious to continue their schooling. Someone once observed that one of the great hopes for Mexico is the women of this nation. We agree with that observation and want to help the young women of Nuevo Valle de Moreno to achieve their full potential.

What Some Americans Are Doing to Help the People in the Village. Phil and Jan Contreras, Guanajuato retirees, have adopted Nuevo Valle de Moreno and over the years have given their time and their money to helping the people there. They have also asked the small group of Guanajuato retirees if they would like to help out by attending an annual breakfast fundraiser to provide scholarships to Nuevo Valle's young people and to raise money for school supplies. Click on breakfast to see some pictures of the fundraising event held in the home of Ruth Burchard at her place at the beautiful Ex-Hacienda de Guadalupe in Marfil, GTO.

Computers Connect Nuevo Valle de Moreno To the World. Computers and Internet service arrive in the village. Click on computers.

Village Scenes
Click here to visit the Village.

What you can do to help the people in the Village?
To learn more of what is needed in the Village and how you can help, click how.

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