We’ve ended starvation by 86% in Gahararo, but there is still more to do…
Since my last update, Global Care Alliance has been hard at work bringing hope to thousands in underprivileged areas of Mexico and the African nation of Burundi.
And thanks to your support, I’m excited to announce we’ve opened our long-awaited medical clinic in the San Quintín region of Baja, CA, a Mexican farm town 250 miles from San Diego.
Our clinic is a partnership between GCA and the medical school of Xochicalco University in Tijuana.
GCA built and equipped the clinic and Xochicalco supplied us two newly graduated doctors to run it.
We also built a two-bedroom apartment on top of the clinic for the doctors to live in.
GCA’s clinic primarily serves the indigenous migrants who work the fruit and vegetable fields in the area.
These migrant farmworkers are desperately poor with an entire family often subsisting on as little as $5 per day.
The clinic provides low cost general medical services.
This is crucial for the people in this community as you’ll see in this story:
I want to share a story about my friend Diego who came into our clinic in the first month of our opening.
He had a horribly infected lower leg, the worst I’ve ever seen.
What happened is that while he was picking strawberries
He got cut and his leg somehow got infected.
He didn’t have the money to seek out treatment at the public hospital
Nor the local private hospitals.
So he came to our clinic.
And fortunately, our doctors were able to give him medication, antiseptic, and antibiotics for his leg.
As a result of our clinic, his leg was saved!
The doctors told me that with the type of infection, plus him being diabetic, Diego would have certainly lost his leg.
The best part is…
We charge only 50 pesos per visit (less than $3), which includes any needed medication.
No one is turned away because of an inability to pay!
We also subsidize lab work and radiological studies.
Along with our water accessibility project in Gahararo, Burundi, the clinic is the crowning jewel in GCA’s crown.
Our doctors will see and treat hundreds of people each month, people who otherwise would not be able to afford medical care.
We believe we will have a significant and immediate impact on the health and well being of the local community.
We are excited, Xochicalco University is excited, and the community is excited.
The clinic is a great project, but it’s going to require great commitment to keep it going.
Annual costs are approximately $100,000 per year to keep the clinic operating.
This includes costs for things like personnel, supplies and equipment, medications, insurance, permits, and transportation.
Obviously, we need all the financial help and prayer support we can get.
Many have already made recurring pledges to support our medical clinic on an ongoing basis.
If you wish to also help bring much needed medical care to those in need, click the button below.
Our Story
GCA was born in 2005 with a bag of rice and beans donated to a kitchen for underprivileged children in the rural community of Colonet, Mexico.
Since that time, we have grown into an important international humanitarian organization with many projects in Mexico and the African nation of Burundi. We are continuing to grow and expand every day as we build on our successes of the past and look forward to the future.
Our projects are changing and saving lives all over the world.
275,000+
meals served to children at Frances Kitchen over 11 years
2500
people have used the community center
5000
served daily with fresh and clean water in Burundi
72
houses built for an entire village of Batwa people
100
school uniforms for underprivileged Batwa children
120,000
bowls of porridge served to the Batwa children of Gahararo
Who We Are
Global Care Alliance, formerly known as The Frances Kitchen Project, Inc., was founded in 2007 by Niles Sharif. Our very first project was to build a stand-alone kitchen at a severely impoverished school in the Mexican farming town of Colonet. Our partner in that project was a lady named Frances Sifuentes, hence the original name of our organization. Frances continues to feed 125-150 children a hot and healthy meal each and every school day throughout the year. For many of the children attending the school, the meal they are served by Frances is the only hot meal they ever get.
Niles R. Sharif
Mr. Sharif, a trial lawyer with 30 years of experience, is the founder and president of GCA. Mr. Sharif is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, where he earned a BA in Rhetoric. He earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin and was admitted to the California Bar in 1988. He is also a member of the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Mr. Sharif founded GCA as The Frances Kitchen Project in 2005, formally incorporating as a 501c3 nonprofit charity in 2007. The name of the organization was formally changed to Global Care Alliance in 2018 to reflect the fact that GCA has become a global organization with operations on multiple continents.
Mr. Sharif is married to Barbara Sharif, his wife of 34 years. The Sharifs have three adult daughters, all of whom are involved in the work of GCA.
Upcoming Projects
Serving Hot Meals in Mexico:
Clean Water in Burundi:
Solar Electricity and Safe Housing (2021):
We need your help to continue the life-changing work in these regions. In 2021 we plan to build more mud homes for the villagers in Gahararo II and Musama. We also have our hearts set to build a solar-based electrical infrastructure so families can have electricity at night and their children can have more time to study.
Please consider financially contributing as you feel led to help us continue this important work in these areas of need.
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