Brigido is 68 years old. He has no relatives. Someone robbed him and threw him under a train. The train severed both Brigido's legs. When he was released after two months of recuperation in the hospital, he had no place to go. The Mexican government asked the Hand of Help staff to accept him. They did. Ramiro is blind. Abandoned at an early age by his parents, he somehow survived abuse, malnutrition and drug addiction on the streets--but barely. A Good Samaritan finally brought him to Hand of Help. Now Ramiro says, "I have found in the refuge my heaven on earth. People have been so bad to me, but you have proven that goodness exists."
Hand of Help has accommodations for only 20 elderly people, but also shelters 175 children.
The staff had to refuse 75 needy people who came to them last year. Because of lack of space,
they can take only the most desperate cases. But it breaks their hearts, and they wish they could
do more. Volunteers occasionally arrive and tackle some of the tasks that cannot be
accomplished by the overworked staff. For instance, a group of professionals from Ann Arbor,
Mich.--dentist, carpenter, mechanic, engineer, plumber--recently spent a busy, fruitful week
there. A larger group from the San Luis Valley in Colorado lends wits and muscle twice a year.
In St. Louis on April 4, Fr. Clifford Norman, the director, was honored for 32 years of
cooperative work with lay volunteers. Fr. Clifford and the men and women on the staff depend
on donations to keep hand of help functioning. They need at least $600 a day just to keep going.
Once a year we bring Hand of Help to your attention, but their needs are present on a daily basis.
Hand of Help is as worthy a charity as you can find. We hope that you can make a donation at
this time, or even better, can send something on a monthly or regular basis. The address is:
Hand of Help, c/o Fr. C.A. Norman, Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, P.O. Box
1406, Robstown, Texas, 78380