SALEM, N.H. — When thoroughbred horses ran at Rockingham Park, many Mexicans made the trip to Salem each race season to work as stable hands and raise money to send to their families.
The thoroughbreds no longer run at The Rock, and the stable hands no longer make the long trek from south of the border, but racetrack chaplain Lee Alphen still fosters a strong relationship with the men who came to Salem each year and their families.
For the last decade, Alphen has traveled to Colonia Benito Juarez, a village of about 35 families in a rural mountain region of Mexico - about six hours from Mexico City.
She and other volunteers teach the people there new trades and work toward bringing the community a steady water supply. After her first trip, Alphen was determined to provide a well for the community.
"When I first went there, they had never heard of a well before," she said.
The village has a short rain season and is very dry the rest of the year, making it difficult to plant crops or keep livestock, Alphen said.
After years of lobbying Living Water International, a religious organization that helps bring water to impoverished places, Alphen managed to get a well drilled in Colonia Benito Juarez.
That well allows each family to receive water once every five days from a hose that runs through the village.
Alphen, along with six volunteers from St. Joseph Church in Salem, will head to Colonia Benito Juarez tomorrow for a weeklong trip.
For Ann Halloran, it will be her third trip to the village. Her first visit was an eye-opening experience, she said.
"When you go down there, you see what it's like to live without water," Halloran said. "I certainly came back with a better appreciation of what we have here."
Each year, Alphen and the group of volunteers work toward making the village self-sustaining. Last year, they helped to develop a drip irrigation system. This year, Alphen and five other volunteers will help to build a library for the small village.
"We've been able to provide some help, so the people we work with don't have to come here anymore," Alphen said. "They are able to sustain themselves."
Some of those who used to come to work at Rockingham Park did it illegally. Alphen said she encouraged them to get visas, but many couldn't afford to pay the thousands of dollars to obtain one.
"They don't want to do it (come to the United States)," she said. "They hate to leave their families."
Her dream is to raise enough money to purchase a well drill for the village, which would cost more than $100,000. The race track chapel is raising money for a drill, and donations can be made to Race Track Ministry, PO Box 501, Salem, NH 03079.
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