Update: Driving in Mexico
In a previous post, I wrote about a conversation I had with several boys at Esperanza Viva about driving a car. They were all very eager to learn how to drive and also very unsure as to how that was going to happen in their lives. So I asked one of the staff members how/when the kids learn to drive:
The ones that are now or at one point serving in the ministry are asked to get their drivers license and are taught to drive. Once again we are just coming to that point where we have an abundance of teens that are now looking to the future so we don't have a specific program if you will, we are in the process and are taking them one teen at a time depending on where they are at in their life. At this point most of the teens are still in high school and don't have access to ministry vehicles nor do they have their own so they are not driving. -- Juana Perez
Jerry and Susy McNally founded Living Hope International in 1999. Originally from Minnesota, they had lived in Oaxaca, Mexico for seven years, planting churches and developing leadership in remote, indigenous villages before moving to Puebla, Mexico in 1994. There, an encounter with a boy living on the streets changed the course of their ministry as they felt God challenging their hearts and their faith. This led them to begin Esperanza Viva Youth Home, a ministry dedicated to rescuing and restoring abandoned children.*
I have been visiting kids at EV for several years and have witnessed the incredible commitment and love that the staff at EV have for the 100+ children in their care. Like Juana said, for the first time, EV has entered a phase where there are quite a few teens and young adults -- unchartered territory with its own unique set of challenges and new needs -- such as learning how to drive a car.
According to Puebla's Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes website (Department of Communication and Transportation), one has to be 16 years old, pass a visual exam and written test in order to obtain a driver's license. No actual Driver's Ed class is required. I have posted screenshots in English and Spanish of the specific requirements.
Thank you, Esperanza Viva, for taking into consideration where each one of your charges is at in life and for teaching them to drive when the time is right. -- Ruth Hartmann
*Quoted directly from the Esperanza Viva website.
