THE HISTORY OF THE CASTAWAY KIDS
By Mark Mulligan
Back in the mid-90’s, while working as a volunteer English teacher for the Casa Franciscana in Guaymas, there was a knock on my door
from a little boy named Juan, his sister Viridiana, and his cousin Ana Lilia. They were kids I had seen playing outside a cardboard shack
just down the street from me in the old dump section of Fatima, one of Guaymas’ poorest neighborhoods. This was the first time,
however, they had ever asked me for money. When I asked them what it was for, they answered that it was for food. They had not eaten
that day. I opened up some cans of tuna and, as they wolfed it down, I knew they weren’t just trying to get some extra cash to go play
video games. They were desperately in need of help. As I got to know the kids over the next few months, I also met their mothers, who
were quite simply uneducated women who had been abandoned by the fathers of these children.
I didn’t spend much time in San Carlos in those days, but sometime in 1995, I met a man named Jim Hopkins at a home party there,
hosted by my friends Jim and Joel Huff. Mr. Hopkins had heard about the neighborhood I lived in and the kids I “worked” with. He pulled
fifty bucks out and told me to give it to the kids. I refused, but offered to drive him out to Guaymas to personally give the kids the money.
When he arrived at the filthy shacks these kids lived in, he was shocked at what he was seeing, and at that moment he committed to
sending me $100 per month. Although I’ve only seen him once since then (Jim has since returned to Tucson), he’s never failed to
remember the kids every month. That money, in addition to small donations from other fellow gringos, has helped to take little Juan from
his full time job as a grocery bag boy (he supported his entire family with his tips) and put him into school where he belonged. Juan is
now 21 years old and a successful, hardworking college student who is scheduled to graduate from the university in July 2008. His
brothers, Ricardo and Oswaldo, are studying hard and hope to attend college someday too, as well as his sister Miriam. We supported
Juan through college, giving him scholarship assistance ($80 a week). Juan now helps us with the maintenance of our latest project,
Parque de Adela. So that’s how things got started........
Since then other Americans have also gotten involved with the Castaway Kids. We’re not a huge organization…just a group of hands-on
folks who like to help out in this poverty stricken community however they can, with financial donations or volunteering labor, etc. Nobody
gets paid or even gets personal name recognition. Whatever is done is simply done out of love and the desire to help someone less
fortunate. We have helped in many ways, including helping some of the neighborhood children visit the dentist for the first time, providing
donations of computers, printers, clothing, shoes, school uniforms, school supplies and hygiene kits. We also host annual Christmas
parties in which each child receives a gift. Most of all, we want the kids to know that, even though they live in conditions hard to fathom,
someone out there cares about them. They will have an opportunity to better themselves and their situation.
We have constructed three small adobe block homes with electricity and water which now provide a safe, decent place to sleep. Two of
these homes are located directly across the street from the old shack where some of the kids used to live. Plus, we even had someone
donate playground equipment which will be a great addition to the neighborhood, where currently kids have not much to play with except
rocks and broken toys.
In the last two years, there have been major changes to the Castaway Kids. On October 3, 2006, Castaway Kids, Inc., an Arizona non-
profit corporation was formed. In 2007, the last of the three houses for a fire victim and her children was completed. In December 2007,
the Castaway Kids threw their biggest Christmas party ever, entertaining 130 kids and their parents with food, pinatas, music and gifts
given out by Santa Claus. In 2008, a sister Mexican nonprofit corporation, Castaway Kids Mexico, A. C., was formed. One of the first
acts of Castaway Kids Mexico, A.C. was to permit the San Carlos Art League to operate under the umbrella of its non-profit corporation.
This association has proven to be valuable to both The Castaway Kids as well as La Liga de Arte de San Carlos. The Castaway Kids
constructed and dedicated their first park in Fatima on May 4, 2008. Parque de Adela commemorates the life of Adela Ruiz de Mulligan,
the former wife of Mark Mulligan, and a co-founder of the Castaway Kids. On June 5, 2006, Castaway Kids, Inc. became a tax deductible
corporation pursuant to Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All donations made since October 3, 2006, whether in cash or
in kind, are now tax deductible. Castaway Kids Mexico, A.C. is currently in the process of seeking tax deductible status in Mexico with
Hacienda, the Mexican taxing authority roughly equivalent to the I. R. S. The Castaway Kids are currently in the process of negotiating
with the City of Guaymas for 4.5 acres of land in Fatima on which to build a second park. If the land donation materializes, the new park
will have a community center, caretaker's house, basketball court, volleyball court, barbeque area, state-of-the-art playground equipment,
a jogging track, a combination baseball-soccer field and a skate board park.
Looking for ways to be a part of the project? We need donations of cash as well as in-kind donations and volunteer laborers. Check this
website frequently for updates on Castaway Kids' activities. And if you get to the San Carlos/Guaymas area, please check us out by
contacting one or more of the volunteers listed in this website. We would love to show you around and let you see for yourself how these
kids' lives have been changed by the Castaway Kids. Thank your for your interest, and we hope to hear from you soon!
By Mark Mulligan
Back in the mid-90’s, while working as a volunteer English teacher for the Casa Franciscana in Guaymas, there was a knock on my door
from a little boy named Juan, his sister Viridiana, and his cousin Ana Lilia. They were kids I had seen playing outside a cardboard shack
just down the street from me in the old dump section of Fatima, one of Guaymas’ poorest neighborhoods. This was the first time,
however, they had ever asked me for money. When I asked them what it was for, they answered that it was for food. They had not eaten
that day. I opened up some cans of tuna and, as they wolfed it down, I knew they weren’t just trying to get some extra cash to go play
video games. They were desperately in need of help. As I got to know the kids over the next few months, I also met their mothers, who
were quite simply uneducated women who had been abandoned by the fathers of these children.
I didn’t spend much time in San Carlos in those days, but sometime in 1995, I met a man named Jim Hopkins at a home party there,
hosted by my friends Jim and Joel Huff. Mr. Hopkins had heard about the neighborhood I lived in and the kids I “worked” with. He pulled
fifty bucks out and told me to give it to the kids. I refused, but offered to drive him out to Guaymas to personally give the kids the money.
When he arrived at the filthy shacks these kids lived in, he was shocked at what he was seeing, and at that moment he committed to
sending me $100 per month. Although I’ve only seen him once since then (Jim has since returned to Tucson), he’s never failed to
remember the kids every month. That money, in addition to small donations from other fellow gringos, has helped to take little Juan from
his full time job as a grocery bag boy (he supported his entire family with his tips) and put him into school where he belonged. Juan is
now 21 years old and a successful, hardworking college student who is scheduled to graduate from the university in July 2008. His
brothers, Ricardo and Oswaldo, are studying hard and hope to attend college someday too, as well as his sister Miriam. We supported
Juan through college, giving him scholarship assistance ($80 a week). Juan now helps us with the maintenance of our latest project,
Parque de Adela. So that’s how things got started........
Since then other Americans have also gotten involved with the Castaway Kids. We’re not a huge organization…just a group of hands-on
folks who like to help out in this poverty stricken community however they can, with financial donations or volunteering labor, etc. Nobody
gets paid or even gets personal name recognition. Whatever is done is simply done out of love and the desire to help someone less
fortunate. We have helped in many ways, including helping some of the neighborhood children visit the dentist for the first time, providing
donations of computers, printers, clothing, shoes, school uniforms, school supplies and hygiene kits. We also host annual Christmas
parties in which each child receives a gift. Most of all, we want the kids to know that, even though they live in conditions hard to fathom,
someone out there cares about them. They will have an opportunity to better themselves and their situation.
We have constructed three small adobe block homes with electricity and water which now provide a safe, decent place to sleep. Two of
these homes are located directly across the street from the old shack where some of the kids used to live. Plus, we even had someone
donate playground equipment which will be a great addition to the neighborhood, where currently kids have not much to play with except
rocks and broken toys.
In the last two years, there have been major changes to the Castaway Kids. On October 3, 2006, Castaway Kids, Inc., an Arizona non-
profit corporation was formed. In 2007, the last of the three houses for a fire victim and her children was completed. In December 2007,
the Castaway Kids threw their biggest Christmas party ever, entertaining 130 kids and their parents with food, pinatas, music and gifts
given out by Santa Claus. In 2008, a sister Mexican nonprofit corporation, Castaway Kids Mexico, A. C., was formed. One of the first
acts of Castaway Kids Mexico, A.C. was to permit the San Carlos Art League to operate under the umbrella of its non-profit corporation.
This association has proven to be valuable to both The Castaway Kids as well as La Liga de Arte de San Carlos. The Castaway Kids
constructed and dedicated their first park in Fatima on May 4, 2008. Parque de Adela commemorates the life of Adela Ruiz de Mulligan,
the former wife of Mark Mulligan, and a co-founder of the Castaway Kids. On June 5, 2006, Castaway Kids, Inc. became a tax deductible
corporation pursuant to Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All donations made since October 3, 2006, whether in cash or
in kind, are now tax deductible. Castaway Kids Mexico, A.C. is currently in the process of seeking tax deductible status in Mexico with
Hacienda, the Mexican taxing authority roughly equivalent to the I. R. S. The Castaway Kids are currently in the process of negotiating
with the City of Guaymas for 4.5 acres of land in Fatima on which to build a second park. If the land donation materializes, the new park
will have a community center, caretaker's house, basketball court, volleyball court, barbeque area, state-of-the-art playground equipment,
a jogging track, a combination baseball-soccer field and a skate board park.
Looking for ways to be a part of the project? We need donations of cash as well as in-kind donations and volunteer laborers. Check this
website frequently for updates on Castaway Kids' activities. And if you get to the San Carlos/Guaymas area, please check us out by
contacting one or more of the volunteers listed in this website. We would love to show you around and let you see for yourself how these
kids' lives have been changed by the Castaway Kids. Thank your for your interest, and we hope to hear from you soon!
| Castaway Kids History |
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