The colonia of El Niño began in the late 1990s and was named after the El Niño storms that ravaged most of Southern CA, including the Tijuana, Mexico area. As a result of the storms near Tijuana, many families lost their homes from flooding and mudslides. Then, the Mexican government relocated those families to El Niño, who started over with little to nothing.

In 2000, we began our first house-building trip and built three homes for families who desperately need them. It was during that trip that we came to realize that most of the children in El Niño didn’t attend school. Most families in the community could not afford to send their kids to school, so the following year we started offering scholarships and sponsoring kids so they could attend school.

On August 24th, we celebrated the 19th annual Backpack distribution Fiesta! 90 volunteers from eleven churches (including Comunidad Cristiana El Niño) and university students and grads joined together to support the students and families to give them a great start to a new school year. It was a wonderful day!

There were 13 carnival booths, each set up with a different kid-friendly game. Families took turns playing games, and 800 people enjoyed an amazing taco lunch. After that, it was time to pass out backpacks, uniforms, and build relationships with sponsored kids and families. Whether you spoke Spanish or not, everyone had a great time.

In 2019, we currently have 175 kids sponsored in elementary thru prepatoria (high school) and another 60 in the University program.  Since we started the program, over 1,000 kids have attended school and over 75 have graduated from university, seminary or trade school. We are helping change a generation!

The sponsorship program exists to love the kids in the El Niño community, build relationships, encourage them in their education and connect them with the local church. And we could use more sponsors! 

For as little as $240 per year ($600 for University with partial university scholarships available), you can change a child’s life by helping them pay for an education.  For more information on becoming a sponsor, please click here.

You can also email elninochild@yahoo.com, stop by the Outreach table in the Courtyard on Sundays, or contact Curtis Drever at Shepherd’s Grove curtis.drever@shepherdsgrove.org.