Miguel Pro Mission is in the business of delivering people from misery.
“To reduce the poverty of families in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, by our support for multiple ministries” is one of the main goals of Miguel Pro Mission, a charitable organization that for years has worked to provide decent living to families from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The organization was created to provide hope and a future to families living in the poorest and most dangerous areas of Ciudad Juarez through programs that offer scholarships and the construction of ecological, self-sufficient housing for families who live in misery.
In places like Ciudad Juarez, it is very common that parents will choose to take their children out of school because of the difficulties they face in paying for basic needs, such as school supplies. Many of these students end up on the streets and become victims of crime, delinquency, and even worse, they lose hope.
Its founder, longtime Archdiocese of Denver priest Father Peter Urban, strongly believes that the key to success and overcome poverty is education. Therefore, Miguel Pro Mission has been dedicated to supporting these families by encouraging and helping parents keep their children in school in order for them to have a brighter future.
“How glorious that if you get through college, of course life changes drastically and you can have a very decent life,” Father Urban said. “We hope that for the people of Juarez.”
Father Peter Urban has been a priest of the Archdiocese of Denver for over 60 years, and though now retried, he stays busy with Miguel Pro Mission, a ministry he started over 25 years ago and continues to help the people of Juarez to this day. (Photo by Aaron Lambert)
Scholarships and donations to Miguel Pro Mission are used through the support of Centro de Mujeres Tonantzin de Juarez, an organization founded by a group of Catholic Sisters about five years ago. This ministry offers scholarship programs which have already helped approximately 80 students, some of whom have already graduated from college.
In addition to providing education opportunities, Miguel Pro Mission also focuses on the construction and reparation of homes. Through generous donations of people and various sponsors, Miguel Pro Mission has been able to build houses for homeless people, as well as provide materials for home improvements to families who live in “casas de carton,” or cardboard homes, and do not have the resources to improve their living conditions.
Father Urban knows first-hand the deplorable living conditions for many families in Ciudad Juarez. Many of them live in houses made out of cardboard or materials that are not suitable for a decent living. During winter or summer seasons, people suffer from extreme heat or cold, as their homes cannot cope with the climate changes of Mother Nature.
A big part of the ministry of Miguel Pro Mission is to provide ecological, strong, warm and safe houses for the poor families of Juarez at very low or no cost.
Miguel Pro Mission aims to provide ecological, strong, warm and safe houses for these families at very low or no cost. They also encourage people to be self-sufficient and help them to create vegetable gardens and raise chickens for eggs and milk.
“The bottom line for me is that if we could build a hundred houses in Juarez and get a thousand people with a university education, we would be on our way to overcoming the misery in Juarez” Father Urban expressed. “Poverty is fine because Jesus said: ‘Blessed are the poor.’ There is something good in poverty, but not in misery.”
Do you want to be part of this cause? You, too, can give hope and make a difference by contributing to Miguel Pro Mission in many different ways.
For more information visit miguelpromission.com.