Survivors in Mexico need your help to rebuild their lives!
Mexico is dealing with possibly the biggest humanitarian crisis in its history, and we need your help.
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3 Awesome Ways You Can Help Mexico’s Earthquake Victims
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Bone Broth
Recently among the Prepper and Homesteading groups I follow, there’s been a lot of excitement about bone broth. Apparently, it’s the best thing to come along since sliced bread. Only, it isn’t something new. We’ve been making bone broth for years.
For those of you not familiar with bone broth, it’s the liquid that results from boiling the bones of an animal, poultry, fish, sheep, goat, cow, pig. That’s it. (Bone Broth Basics, Nourishing Broths, Bone Broth Benefits: From Digestion to Joint Pain, Traditional Bone Broth in Modern Health and Disease, Making Real Homemade Chicken Stock or Bone Broth, Gut-Healing Bone Broth Recipe)
It’s SOOOOO healthy. Look at this list of health benefits!
Alphabetical Listing of Conditions that Broth Benefits
aging skin, allergies, anemia, anxiety, asthma, atherosclerosis, attention deficit, bean maldigestion, brittle nails, carbohydrate maldigestion, Celiac Disease, colic, confusion, constipation, dairy maldigestion, delusions, dental degeneration, depression, detoxification, Diabetes, diarrhea, fatigue, food sensitivities, fractures, Gastritis, grain maldigestion, heart attack, high cholesterol, hyperactivity, hyperchlorhydria (reflux, ulcer), hyperparathyroidism (primary), hypertension, hypochlorhydria, hypoglycemia, immunodepression, increased urination, infectious disease, inflammation, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis), insomnia, intestinal bacterial infections, irritability, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Jaundice, joint injury, Kidney stones, leaky gut, loss of appetite, meat maldigestion, memory, muscle cramps, muscle spasms, muscle wasting, muscle weakness, Muscular Dystrophy, nausea, nervousness, Osteoarthritis, Osteomalacia, Osteoporosis, pain, palpitations, Periodontal Disease, pregnancy, rapid growth, restlessness, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Rickets, seizure, shallow breathing, stupor, virility, vomiting, weakness, weight loss due to illness and wound healing
My first real exposure to bone broth was at Mama Sofia’s dinner table. Mama Sofia is now nearly 100 years old. Think on that! She served us up some chicken broth and there was a chicken foot in it. The broth was absolutely delicious, but I didn’t know how to eat the chicken foot. My son, only 4 at the time, was also taken aback. He couldn’t stop staring at it. My husband’s aunt Caro finally picked up the chicken foot and said that this was her favorite part because she could use the toenails to scratch the top of her mouth. She was teasing of course. Once the bone was out of the way, we all tucked in.
We tend to have either chicken or beef soup at least once a week. Twice a week when it’s colder. There isn’t a set recipe. We use whatever happens to be in season. The guy who runs a vegetable stand in front of his house always has a small bag of freshly cut vegetables for 12 pesos and then we add whatever else we have at the house.
Today, for example, we made beef soup with 2 kilos of soup bones, 3 garlic cloves, first of the season squash, some carrots, an ear of yellow corn, a bit of cilantro, 2 chayotes, a medium sized onion, a tomato, 6 small potatoes, a hunk of cabbage, a piece of cauliflower, a joconol (yet another type of cactus fruit), a piece of broccoli and a handful of chickpeas, a handful of green beans and salt to taste. Sometimes we have nothing but potatoes and onions available, so that’s what we use.
Let me tell you, a mugful of broth from this hodgepodge soup is just the thing right before bed.
These middle-class ladies that have “discovered” bone broth might be on to something. That something being real food is better.
This broth will raise the dead–South American saying
Sometimes I wonder why it is I feel more alive here in Mexico. I still have health problems, life sure ain’t easy, money is ALWAYS an issue. It could be as simple as there’s no fluoride in the water. Or perhaps it’s the constant challenge of managing in a culture not my own. Or just maybe it’s the bone broth.
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Filed under Health, Homesteading, Mexican Food and Drink
Disasters in Mexico September 2017
Did you know that September is National Preparedness Month? The motto is “Disasters Don’t Plan Ahead. You Can.” I’m a little underwhelmed with that statement. In general, the idea is that you, as an American (because only Americans are prepared), should take the month of September and review your overall preparedness for a variety of disaster scenarios. The government has even so kindly provided a calendar to help you freak out all year round–oh I mean think constructively about your action plan during a disaster throughout the year, not freak out.
Hysterical Prepping aside, I do believe there are some simple safety precautions everyone (not just Americans) should take when faced with the threat of a disaster. I’ve mentioned a number in my A to Z Surviving the Apocalypse series published earlier this year. (See Surviving a Windstorm, Surviving global Climate Change, Surviving a Quake)
Be that as it may, there are some situations that are totally unexpected or the severity of the disaster is woefully underestimated. Mexico was hit by several of these this month and the month isn’t even over yet.
Beginning with Tropical Storm Lidia on September 1 which resulted in 7 deaths when it made landfall in Baja California Sur. Two of the deaths were a result of electrocution from downed power lines. Two deaths were drownings, one a woman who was swept down a flooded street and a baby who was wrenched from its mother’s arms while crossing a flooded area. Rains from the tropical storm caused havoc as far inland as Mexico City where flooding caused a 33 ft wide, 23 ft deep sinkhole and the collapse of El Angulo dam.
Then on September 8, Mexico and Guatemala experienced the most powerful earthquake in a century, measured at a magnitude of 8.2. To date, there are at least 90 reported deaths as a result of the earthquake in Mexico. In Tabasco, two children were killed, one when a wall collapsed and the other after the hospital lost power and the child’s respirator stopped. Oaxaca, specifically the area of Juchitán, was the hardest hit.
“It is a nightmare we weren’t prepared for,” said a member of the City Council, Pamela Teran, in an interview with a local radio station. She estimated that 20 to 30 percent of the houses in the city were destroyed.“A lot of people have lost everything, and it just breaks your heart,” she added, bursting into tears. (Mexico Earthquake, Strongest in a Century, Kills Dozens)
As a result of the earthquake, a tsunami warning was issued for the coasts of Oaxaca and Chiapas.
Over the next several days, the already devastated area was hit was multiple aftershocks, with at least 6 measuring above a 5.0 in magnitude.
Also on September 8, Hurricane Katia made landfall near Tecolutla, Veracruz. A state of emergency was declared in 40 municipalities in the area due to heavy flooding and mudslides.
On September 14, Hurricane Max made landfall in Guerrero, near Acapulco, sinking 6 ships off the coast, destroying more than 1,500 homes and causing major flooding and deadly mudslides.
On September 18, Tropical Storm Norma caused dangerous ocean conditions off the coast of Cabo San Lucas. Meanwhile, the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center Washington (VAAC) has issued an ash advisory indicating current volcanic activity in the volcano Popocatepetl, near Mexico City. Later, one explosion and 256 “low-intensity exhalations” between Tuesday and Wednesday were registered. A church in Atzitzihuacan at the foot of the mountain collapsed during the quake and eruption, killing 15 worshippers as they celebrated Mass inside.
On September 19, on the anniversary of the deadly 1985 earthquake, Mexico City experienced an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale. More than 200 confirmed deaths as of September 21 with desperate rescue attempts ongoing. One of the hundreds of buildings that collapsed was an elementary school. Thirty children are still missing and hope is dwindling.
On September 23, an aftershock measuring 6.1 was registered in Lázaro Cárdenas, Oaxaca, Mexico while another measuring 5.8 occurred in San Luqueño, Chiapas, Mexico. Rescue attempts were suspended as already damaged buildings collapsed in Mexico City.
Thousands and thousands of families have lost everything this month in Mexico. Reportedly 300,000 homes were damaged or completely destroyed as a result of the earthquake on September 8. No definite number of homes destroyed by hurricanes or subsequent earthquakes.
Map of damaged and destroyed buildings in Mexico City after the September 19, 2017 earthquake.
How can you help? Fabiola Blogger at My Heart of Mexico lists the following donation sites:
Donate to Unicef Mexico Earthquake Victims
Donate to Save the Children Mexico
Donate to Global Giving Mexico Earthquake and Hurricane Relief Fund
If you know of any others, let me know and I’ll add them to the list.
There is every indication that this sort of climatic devastation will not only continue but get worse. (See also 100 million will die by 2030 if world fails to act on climate: report, Climate change and health, NASA Releases Detailed Global Climate Change Projections) I don’t mean to be an alarmist, but maybe, just maybe it’s time to build your ark or head for the hills.
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Filed under Safety and Security
Surviving Mexico 