Description
¡En tus manos está el cambio! Tu decisión hace la diferencia.
Donativo 1000 pesos
$1,000.00
$1,000.00
I always thought my name was "Leticia," because everyone called both my sister and me that: "The Leticias." This wasn't strange to me; not being aware of my name was like not being aware of my entire life.
My little world was limited to a small space, as the first years of my childhood were spent within the earthy walls of a cave.
I never knew what a bed, a table, or a chair was. I didn't have a cradle to rock me in, and I don't remember being on my mother's lap.
She, my mother, didn't speak well, she couldn't string together a single sentence with due sanity, and together with my father - they were both insane - they went down from the cave to the village to bring us some food.
These absences filled me with terror, because my parents, to make sure nothing happened to us, tied my sister and me up with a rope, and sometimes it took them a week to return.
For days that seemed endless and endless nights filled with anguish from my little sister's crying, we remained huddled in the same place, and if we felt hungry, we ate everything within reach, including our own waste.
My parents almost always returned with firewood to heat the cave, which was cold even during the summer months, and with food scraps they collected from the garbage dumpsters. Those moments were happy times for me. I rummaged through the sacks, which, although dirty and faded, contained a hidden treasure that I slowly discovered: hard tortillas, cold bread, rotten tomatoes and chiles, a pair of torn shoes, a floral skirt missing a button, a blouse for my little sister, and with a bit of luck, a battered doll.
We never celebrated birthdays because my mother didn't even know the year or day she was born, nor did she know how to read or write, and both she and my father had difficulty expressing themselves. The only thing I know about their past is that they were born in Colima and from there they came to live in this cave where my sister and I were born.
Providence decreed that one day a person would come to our cave. What she saw astonished her, for the scene was enough to astonish anyone.
It's hard to imagine living like this: two girls tied with a rope, without clothes, their bodies malnourished. Covered in infections and pimples, their heads covered in lice, crawling instead of walking, and making a series of guttural sounds instead of talking.
This portrait corresponded to two girls who looked younger than their age; those girls were my sister and I: "The Leticias"
So, with my seven years under my belt, with my five-year-old sister and with a very sad past, we arrived at the Ortigosa Home a few years ago.
The specialists gave us the all-clear; their diagnosis was blunt: respiratory problems, adenoiditis, dermatitis, seborrhea, bronchitis, parasitic infections, and chronic acute malnutrition. Mentally, the diagnosis was equally discouraging: language, articulation, and motor coordination problems, all of which demonstrated significant developmental delays.
Hogar Ortigosa does not accept girls in these conditions, but every rule has its exception, and the Mothers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of the Poor welcomed us with love.
Today, after some time, my sister and I attend a special rehabilitation school where we are given an education that will allow us to face life with greater expectations.
I know we can learn a trade because, for example, we have computer skills, and they are preparing us so that, when we leave Ortigosa, we can live with dignity. We, who suffered so much, have acquired increasingly solid moral foundations, and now the future looks promising.
I am aware that I have a space that is mine, that I am a person, that my sister is called Lupita, and above all, that I have a name too: I am not a "Leticia," I am Juanita.
There are places that mark our lives: a house, a rural landscape, a friend's home... I have only one place etched in my memory: the Marías Islands.
Arriving at the "Islands" was arriving in terror. Although I was arm in arm with my mother and accompanied by my two brothers, I never felt protected because the guards carried out an examination that was harsh on me.
I suffered this test periodically since the "Islands" were an extension of our home, as my father was imprisoned there for a crime he committed.
As in dreams I remember my little ranch, I was five years old when one night I heard my mother crying, two men came home to take my father to jail for robbery.
Two years later he was released, but soon after he reoffended and was taken to prison again.
I was nine years old when I learned that my father, along with a nephew and two other men, had committed murder. The sentence was 20 years in the Marías Islands.
My mother followed my father and went to live with him in the islands. My sisters, Mirthala and Francisca, stayed with an aunt, and I ended up in a government boarding school.
We all used to get together when we went to visit my dad, but when I turned 11, I refused to go back because of the "check-ups" they gave us and also because my father scared me, had a violent temper, and was always getting into fights with his classmates.
On the islands, there are Mothers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of the Poor who provide spiritual assistance to the families living there, and one of them suggested to my mother that we stay at the Ortigosa Home.
Mother took charge, and my sisters and I now live together in the Tranquil Home. My sister Francisca is 16 years old, serious, and withdrawn. She recently graduated from high school with the highest distinction as an exemplary student, and her dream is to become a great doctor.
My sister Mirthala, who is 12 years old, is very playful, and exhibits the behavior of a child who is beginning to discover the world, a world that is offered to her full of dreams, hopes, and dreams.
When you've been missing everything, when you've felt rejected by your parents in childhood, overcoming that and growing in search of transcendence as a human being is no easy task.
If I had to find a name to title my life, without a doubt it would be this: What the world rejects, God collects, because they cast me aside, but He took me in and protected me through the love of the Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of the Poor.
I met my father the day my mother died. I was 12 years old then. I thought he would take me to live with him, but he didn't, because I had been conceived out of wedlock and he had his own family.
Due to social conventions, what people would say, and the fear that I wouldn't be accepted into their social circle, they donated me to the Ortigosa Home, forever.
I learned to grow with my reality. I never judged my father. The only thing that hurt me was the separation from my sister. She stayed as a boarder at a school in Mexico City, and I stayed at the Ortigosa Home in Monterrey.
I arrived at Ortigosa sad, insecure, I didn't know what awaited me, I had no one, I had no love.
The Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of the Poor became my surrogate mothers; they suffered for me and with me. They tried to unite me with my father, but my father and his family rejected me and them as well.
My father had six siblings and my mother twelve, and no one was able to take care of an orphaned niece, and they never looked for me. Realizing that no one cares about you produces a crushing, intense pain that seems to never end.
The first thing my dear mothers did was teach me to face my reality, to accept myself as I was, to accept that I didn't have any family, and this hurts, but when you know your own truth, your heart heals.
I enjoyed everything: the jobs, the parties, the outings, the studies, the washing up at boarding school. I think we're happy when we build happiness with the gifts God gives us.
When mothers observed my abilities and my way of acting, they helped me complete a degree at Labastida University through benefactors.
At the same time, I was growing in my faith, taking courses outside of boarding school; my mothers sent me to the Better World movement, the Christian Life Days, and the Christian Leadership Movement.
In 1963, I became the first female president of the Christian Life Days movement and began traveling, carrying a message to other cities such as San Luis Potosí, Saltillo, Torreón, etc.
Within the activity of these movements, I found fulfillment. My life changed incredibly; now I could practice everything my mothers had taught me at Ortigosa. Through action and practice, I developed further in my social life.
In this environment of young Catholics, I found two true friends. They invited me to their home, a true home, and their parents adopted me spiritually and continue to offer me their love to this day.
It was they, my spiritual parents, who handed me over to my husband at the altar of the Immaculate Conception. The Santa Sofía Home of the Ortigosa Hospice was decorated by all my companions, and the wedding reception was held there.
With my character, I demanded my rights from life: to study, to work, to leave my home, the Santa Sofía Home, dressed in white; and to provide my husband with a bride dressed in white.
After 28 years of happy marriage, I was invited to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Christian Life Days Movement, and all the young people who participated in its creation at that time gathered together.
I felt proud to be able to show them my life, the photos of my husband, my four children, my home, My Own Home! A wonderful word that makes us repeat "Glory to God!"
My husband and I became directors of the Mexican Tennis Federation. He is a renowned artist, and together we are part of the Luz de Jesús community, where I have a group of people under my care.
With my husband and children, we travel to various places. My children visit their grandmothers, "My Mothers," and I can say that nothing remains of that little girl who once arrived at the Ortigosa Home because her family rejected her. Now I can say with my head held high and a confident voice, I AM Pilar, I AM Very Happy, and I AM A WINNER.
Pilar Medinilla de Jasso.
This scholarship covers food, books, school supplies, recreation, training, extracurricular classes, psychological support, among other things, for one school year. The donation can be $75,000 pesos annually or $6,250 pesos monthly. (Monthly charges can be made automatically via credit card in 12 installments.)
Esta beca cubre todo lo relacionado a la formación académica de la niña.
If you would like to volunteer in any way, please send us an email to info@hogarortigosa.org and we will be happy to contact you as soon as possible.
For cash donations, please send us an email to donativos@hogarortigosa.org and we will be happy to contact you as soon as possible.
| Food | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Sugar-free cereal boxes | 20 boxes of 730 grams |
| Oatmeal | 24 kilos |
| Sanísimo Toasts | 24 boxes of 720gms. |
| Spaghetti pasta | 12 kilos |
| Thick noodle pasta | 8 boxes of 3 kg each |
| Little elbow pasta | 8 boxes of 3 kg each |
| Salt popcorn | 8 kg. |
| Bimbo whole wheat bread, zero sugar, zero fat | 30 bars |
| Maria Cookies | 4 boxes of 3.60 kg containing 36 packages |
| Beans | 20 kilos |
| Santos Salty Crackers | 5 boxes of 200 packets each |
| Blueberries | 2 kilos |
| Roasted shelled peanuts | 8 kilos |
| Peanut butter | 10 cans of 1 kg |
| Almonds | 2 kilos |
| Tajín (blue cap chili powder) | 18 cans |
| Yellow corn | 7 cans of 2.9 kilos |
| Jamaica | 10 kilos |
| McCormick Mayonnaise | 8 cans of 3.4 kg. |
| Tuna in water | 16 cans of 1.88 kg |
| Clavel Milk | 2 packs of 12 cans |
| Brown sugar | 70 kilos |
| Choco Milk | 6 cans of 2 kg each |
| Knor suiza | 2 cans of 3.6 kg |
| Tomato puree | 14 cans of 1 lt. |
| Sliced chilies in vinegar | 4 cans of 935gms. |
| Salt | 8 kilos |
| Lentils | 15 kgs |
| Cleaning | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Lysol | 8 cans |
| Harpic | 6 lts |
| Kitchen degreaser | 10 lts. |
| Vel Rosita | 1 Gallon |
| Green Pinol | 12 Lts. Package |
| Suavitel | 1 Gallon |
| Shampoo | |
| Conditioner |
| Stationery (annual consumption) | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Bond legal white sheets | 7 packages |
| White bond letter sheets | 10 packages |
| Colored leaves | 8 packages |
| Cardboards | 250 |
| Thin opaline letter 120 g/m2 | 400 |
| Black, red and blue feathers | 80 of each color |
| Pencils #2 | 170 |
| Erasers | 5 packages |
| Whiteboard erasers | 1 package |
| Sacapuntas | 75 |
| Tijeras medianas | 30 |
| Tijeras grandes | 3 |
| Legajos folder carta | 10 |
| Legajos folder oficio | 20 |
| Cinta adhesiva | 130 |
| Cinta canela | 50 |
| Cinta Maskintape | 35 |
| Cinta transparente ancha | 50 |
| Silicón líquido | 5 |
| Silicón barra delgada | 12 kgs |
| Silicón barra gruesa | 12 kgs |
| Pritt jumbo | 12 |
| Pritt mediano | 12 |
| Marcadores para pizarrón | 150 |
| Marcadores permanentes | 50 |
| Marcatextos | 30 |
| Crayolas | 5 packages |
| Pegamento blanco | 5 |
| Post it | 3 paquetes |
| Protectores de hojas | 5 |
| Pilas AA | 4 cajas |
| Pilas AAA | 4 cajas |
| USB | 4 |
| Láminas de abecedario, vocales y tablas | |
| Grapas | 40 |
| Clips | 35 |
| Papel Kraft | 4 |
| Block de recibos de pago | 6 |
| Sobres amarillo carta | 4 cajas |
| Carpetas blancas con aro 1 pulgada | 12 |
| Libretas profesionales | 25 |
| Papel Lustre | 50 |
The Ortigosa Hospice has over a century of service to others, and is the oldest institution of its kind still operating in Monterrey. Its creation and operation have been possible thanks to the contributions and efforts of men and women who have dedicated their lives to this altruistic work. Its greatest achievement is that within its walls, thousands of disadvantaged girls have received the opportunity for development and happiness that circumstances seemed to deny them.
Acting as his executor, Valentín Rivero fulfilled Don León's wishes by establishing a nursing home for the elderly, run by the Mothers of the Incarnate Word, officially opening its doors in 1889. In the 1920s, the country was engulfed in a new violent movement called the "Cristero War," whose greatest impact on this institution was the expulsion of the nuns who ran it. Despite this, it was decided that the Ortigosa would not close, and a group of women selflessly accepted the challenge of managing it took over.
It also suffered a severe decline in private contributions, as its main patrons were local businessmen, who endured very difficult times during the Revolutionary War. One of the main patrons who supported the Hospice from its founding was businessman Isaac Garza, who was committed to its administration and financial support until his death in 1933.
The armed conflicts seemed to have come to an end, but in the 1920s, the country was engulfed in a new violent movement called the "Cristero War." As in the rest of the country, several Catholic churches in Monterrey were ordered to close, including the chapel inside the Hospice. But the greatest impact on the institution came when the nuns who served at the Ortigosa Hospital were expelled. Unfortunately, they had to pack their bags and return to Spain, forced to separate themselves from their work. However, it was decided that the Hospice would not close, and a group of women took on the challenge of managing it.
Later, the Ortigosa Hospice was taken over by the members of the Sembradores de Amistad Club, founded in 1936 by a group of Monterrey businessmen, including Eugenio Garza Sada, Roberto Garza Sada, Manuel L. Barragán, Antonio L. Rodríguez, and Francisco G. Sada. Taking up his father's philanthropic activities, Eugenio became the head of the Hospice's board of trustees, providing constant support for 40 years, from 1933 until his death in 1973.
It is worth noting that in 1947, the possibility of returning the hospice to the hands of a group of nuns was considered, considering that the country's political situation had normalized. It was decided that the Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Poor, a congregation founded by Father San José María Yermo y Parres, would be in charge. Taking advantage of the situation, the institution's purpose was changed from a nursing home to care for abandoned, orphaned, orphaned girls, or those with serious family problems.
In keeping with its new vocation, in the following years the Hospice began to be called the Ortigosa Home. They quickly began to admit their first girls, while also caring for the last remaining elderly adults in the home, although from that year on they accepted only girls. The Home offered the little girls a decent place to live, and to directly address their education, a kindergarten and an elementary school were established, offering classes up to fifth grade. However, since these schools were not incorporated into the Ministry of Public Education, the option was to obtain scholarships for the girls to study at the Juana de Arco School, a subsidiary of the Labastida School, for sixth grade.In the 1950s, the number of girls began to grow, and their educational needs also increased. For this reason, the first secondary school was established at the Home in 1958, and in 1962, construction began on the Santa Sofía Home for high school and university students. To ensure immediate health care, a Nursing Department was created.
Don Eugenio Garza Sada directly addressed the institution's needs, making personal and corporate donations and leading fundraising campaigns. He ensured that the Home had a self-sustaining financial foundation within its means. To this end, for example, he donated land for commercial premises, the income from which provided a steady source of income for the institution.
The businessman also structured in-kind donation campaigns to cover the girls' constant need for food, and schemes where contributions could be delivered directly or indirectly through vouchers. He never stopped looking for ways to help the institution, using increasingly effective means. He also ensured that the budget was spent appropriately, spearheading essential renovations to the building and facilities, ensuring they would be spaces of the utmost dignity.
Continuing his father's generous work, Eugenio Garza Lagüera served as the Home's board member for several years. His brother, Alejandro Garza Lagüera, also became involved in this work beginning in the 1960s, coordinating donation campaigns with his father. He often kept track of fundraising efforts and monitored the institution's needs.
Due to the commitment, responsibility, vocation, and generosity he demonstrated in his support of this project, on April 1, 1968, Don Eugenio Garza Sada proposed that Don Alejandro join the board of trustees, along with Virgilio Garza González, Armando Ravizé, Jorge Morales Treviño, José Rivero, José Emilio Amores, and Edgar García Sada. Alejandro subsequently took over as board member of the Hogar, replacing his brother Eugenio, and continues to manage it to this day.
The significance of the Ortigosa Home is undeniable, as it highlighted efforts to serve vulnerable groups in society previously ignored by the state. It became a model for the creation of future public and private institutions that addressed this need, such as the Melitón Villarreal orphanage, the Buen Pastor nursing home, and the state and municipal government programs that were developed in subsequent decades and are more common today.
But the institution's greatest impact is reflected in the lives of each of the girls who have been part of its history. The Ortigosa Home has trained more than 10,000 people, many of whom have earned professional and technical degrees in engineering, architecture, bachelor's degrees, nursing, business, social work, advertising, communications sciences, and tourism business administration; others have followed the spiritual calling to pursue religious training.
In this way, social mobility has been promoted and well-being has been brought to a group of women who were previously vulnerable, transforming them into happy people and agents of social transformation. Through the institution, girls are given the tools to break and overcome the negative inertia of their circumstances of poverty, marginalization, negative behaviors, hunger, ignorance, violence, and despair.
The institution's current goal is to provide comprehensive education to Mexican children, adolescents, and youth through its programs: a group home, a school, and a youth residence. The Ortigosa Home facilities include bedrooms, living rooms, a kitchen, consulting rooms, playgrounds, and offices—everything necessary to facilitate the education, socialization, and unity of the group of girls.
In its work, which seeks "excellence in life," the board relies on the nuns of the Congregation of the Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Poor and also has a professional team of psychologists, teachers, doctors, and counselors. The Ortigosa Home is an institution steeped in historical tradition, yet it is also a modern organization that reflects integrity, love for one's neighbor, passion for serving others, and solidarity. In a chaotic world, it has allowed us to see how far the fruits of human generosity can reach.
Sources
Eugenio Garza Sada Archive, Private Affairs Collection, Private Contributions Series.
CUEVAS MENDIRICHAGA, Tomás. The Immigrant: The Life and Work of Valentín Rivero. (1989). Monterrey: Enmediciones.
REYES SALCIDO, Edgardo. (2010). Don Isaac Garza. Monterrey: Nuevo León Publishing House.
FLORES TORRES, Oscar. Monterrey in the Revolution. (2006). Monterrey: UDEM.
VIZCAYA CANALES, Isidro. The Origins of the Industrialization of Monterrey: An Economic and Social History from the Fall of the Second Empire to the End of the Revolution (1867–1920). (2006). Monterrey: Fondo Editorial Nuevo León.
Official website of the Ortigosa Home. https://hogarortigosa.org/historia.php
It's a pleasure for me to have the opportunity to present the work that Leon Ortigosa ABP has been doing for almost 70 years, and in particular the achievements of 2015.
I am convinced that comprehensive childhood education—one that not only provides academic instruction but also educates and shapes the whole person—is the formula that guarantees the foundation for that person to advance in life and solve many of the problems that currently plague them and negatively impact our society.
Educating a person in the fullest sense of the word means recognizing their dignity and fostering the potential they have had since they were created by God. This is the platform for a more just Mexico for all.
In 2015, Leon Ortigosa ABP once again achieves that goal and, with a true example of social commitment, works with a training model that empowers and strengthens the girls and boys who will be agents of change of tomorrow.
I am pleased to see happy faces, a committed attitude, and confidence in a better future in each of the people educated at this institution.
At Ortigosa, day after day, the joint efforts of the nuns and each of the collaborators and volunteers who support it bear fruit...
My deep gratitude to our patrons and donors, because without them we couldn't make this reality possible. May God bless you.
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