Caravan of Hope Arrives in Tijuana : Donated Food Delivered to Flood Victims

Inside Colonia Mariano Matamoros, remnants of some of the worst flooding in at least a decade remained Saturday as a caravan of several U.S. cars and trucks with donated food, clothing and water from Orange County arrived in this Mexican community.

“It’s really a disaster here,” said Jose Rodriguez, 45, of Tustin as he and a dozen other volunteers pulled into the muddy parking lot of a local high school, which was being used as an emergency shelter for more than 250 flood survivors.

“I thought we brought plenty of Pampers, clothing, and water until I saw all the people here. And the children! Most of the survivors here were children. We didn’t bring enough.”

Most of the colonia’s 50,000 residents survived heavy rains that killed 15 people and left hundreds homeless in the border city. Parts of the main highway connecting their community to Tijuana were washed away, causing major traffic delays and long waits for food and supplies.

“I was asleep Wednesday night about 11 p.m. when the rain started pounding on top of my little house,” said Sylvia Marin, 29. “It woke me up. When I opened my front door I saw two rivers, one on the left and one on the right. My yard was gone.”

A dry river bed in the center of their community was transformed by torrential rain into a monstrous river with tons of debris that flipped dozens of cars like small toys, she said. The storm knocked out electricity and telephone service. Only electrical power has resumed, and residents are still without water.

As Marin and other victims saw the relief caravan enter the school grounds, she said she felt some hope. “But tell the people we need mattresses. Yes, food too. And also shovels and brooms to clean out the mud from our homes.”

Within minutes a line was formed behind the truck as victims helped unload item by item.

“Thank you,” said one man. Another couldn’t help but smile as he tossed bags of sugar and diapers to the next person in line.

Rodriguez’s boss, Sergio Velazquez, publisher of Miniondas, a local Spanish-language weekly newspaper, organized the relief effort with the help of a Los Angeles Spanish language radio station, KTNQ-1020 AM.

“Within two days, we had enough for a truckload. The outpouring has been tremendous,” said Velazquez, who added that a friend, Luis Mendoza, owner of Central Meat Co. in Santa Ana, immediately donated a truck and truck driver when he heard about the drive.

The drive got an added boost, Velazquez said, when he was contacted by a representative from Lucky Stores Inc., in Buena Park, asking if they could donate a truck and a 45-foot-long trailer full of groceries.

“We knew we wanted to do something to help, but we didn’t know how to get these groceries distributed,” said Bonnie Lewis, a Lucky spokeswoman. In addition to the trailer, the company loaned a driver and two employees for the drive to Tijuana.

A veteran of many food and relief drives, Velazquez has coordinated similar efforts for gas explosion victims in Mexico, victims of the 1985 earthquake in Mexico City, and flood victims in Baja California 14 years ago.

Velazquez said he contacted Felipe Soria Ayuso, Mexican consul in Santa Ana, and asked him for his help smoothing any red tape the caravan might encounter at the Mexican border.

When Soria was contacted by Velazquez, he telephoned the mayor’s office in Tijuana for special clearance for all commercial vehicles and for everyone in the caravan. As a result, the caravan was waived through Mexican customs and given a police escort to a distribution center.

However, Velazquez was unhappy with leaving tons of goods in a warehouse.

“We need to give these items to people who need them right now! I don’t want them to just be stored here, waiting for someone to distribute them,” he told the warehouse manager, who then provided Velazquez with several guides to take the Orange County group into an area hard hit by the floods.

Meanwhile, the Lucky’s truck and trailer, which could not be driven on small city streets, was directed to a social agency in charge of relief.

Juan Alonso, Lucky’s director of Latino sales and merchandising, who accompanied the truck, said they were guided to a warehouse next to an emergency shelter housing about 1,000 homeless flood victims.

“It was just sad. So sad. On the way there, we saw a small Fiat and two homes just completely buried. The three of us in the truck looked out at the destruction and shook our heads. Let me tell you that when we drove toward the shelter, it was painful because of all the kids who looked hungry,” Alonso said.

As they unloaded, Alonso and the others said they broke open two pallets of cookies for the children. “We just started handing them out to all the kids. For a while, it was like Christmas again. You should have seen the look on their faces.”

Theirs was not the only group from Orange County bringing aid Saturday. A group of Catholic nuns, Sisters of the Company of Mary in Tustin, caught up with the caravan after Velazquez left the distribution center.

“We come down to Tijuana once a month to work at some of the colonias, “ said Sister Ernestine Velarde. “When we heard about the flood, we started to collect blankets, money, flashlights and other things to bring down to the poor victims.”

The Catholic group took three pickups loaded with donated goods to a small colonia near Tijuana’s Abelardo I. Rodriguez Dam.

Evaristo Rangel Dominguez, 34, who was part of the Orange County caravan, summed up why he volunteered.

“Look, look at the people looking for help over there,” Rangel said, pointing to a homeless family. “The food we brought is just a little bit that we can do to help our Mexican brothers and sisters here. It’s a gesture from their extended family in the United States.”

Those interested in giving donations can contact Velazquez at (714) 547-0701.