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Fostering Faith for the Future
El Paso , Texas / Juarez , Mexico
Each week , over 30 people arrive at shelters in Juarez and Ojinga , Mexico , which were set up by Father Hector and his parish . Many of these individuals have traveled far , fleeing violence and seeking asylum , only to find themselves with nowhere to go . Some have been deported from the United States and need somewhere to stay while they reorient and determine their next steps . Father Hector ’ s shelters provide a sense of dignity and safety to people who are in great need .
In 2020 , Diamond leader Dawn Behm and her team of Wellness Advocates , the Heart Nature team , partnered with the Rio Grande Borderlands organization in El Paso , Texas , to meet the needs of refugees , asylum seekers , and deportees caught in limbo on the border . The dōTERRA Healing Hands Foundation supported the cause by sending 250 72-Hour Emergency Relief Hygiene Kits to Father Hector and his shelters . When people arrive at his shelters , they ’ re in desperate need of necessities to help them recover as they work toward finding a place to call home and rebuild their lives .
Dawn Behm says , “ The emergency relief kits make them feel remembered , and the essential oils have been so soothing and supporting . Father Hector said their faces and countenances changed dramatically when they received this gift — from devastation and lack of hope to a sense of gratitude and wonder at having these simple gifts so they can attend to their basic needs .” This effort is ongoing as more refugees travel from Guatemala .
Caring for the displaced following COVID Closures
San Diego , California / Tijuana , Mexico
As of May 2020 , approximately 20,000 individuals were awaiting processing at the Mexico – United States border in Tijuana . Normally , many of these individuals could stay temporarily in San Diego shelters ; however , due to the COVID-19 pandemic , most temporary shelters in San Diego closed . As a result , many people are living in unsafe shelters and unstable environments on the Tijuana side of the border .
To combat the crisis this year , Wellness Advocate Heather Bickel Stevenson worked with the Global Immersion Project , the Minority Humanitarian Foundation , and the dōTERRA Healing Hands Foundation to distribute 200 72-Hour Emergency Relief Hygiene Kits and 208 MamaBaby Kits in Tijuana , as well as the surrounding areas .
This isn ’ t the first time Heather has distributed kits here , nor will it be the last . Since 2018 , Heather and other Wellness Advocates have distributed over 2,500 72- Hour Emergency Relief Hygiene Kits and hundreds of MamaBaby Kits to shelters in Tijuana and San Diego . They have also distributed donations of dōTERRA On Guard ® , dōTERRA Breathe ® , and dōTERRA On Guard ® Beadlets to short-term shelters in San Diego . In December 2019 , she and other volunteers carried 1,000 emergency relief kits over the border . Of that distribution , Heather said , “ The migrants were so grateful to receive the kits . The sweet mamas let their kids open them , like little Christmas gifts .” doterrahealinghands . org 37