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In the early 1980 children as young as 3 were working in the garbage dump. In the picture above, a child plays with a toy found while scavenging through the rub age.

Today, children younger then 11 are no longer permitted to work in the dump, which allows them to come to school.

Building Schools and Young Lives

Since the early 1980's Responsibility has had a huge impact on the children living in and around the garbage dumps of Tijuana, Mexico. 

To date over 3,500 students have participated in Responsibility's education programs. And over the years we have helped build 45 homes for the destitute.

History of Reponsibility from 1980 to 2005 (Acrobat pdf)

Here's a brief synopsis what we have done so far:

1985  1986  1988  1989  1990-91  1992  1994  1995  1997  1999  2000's

Early 1980's

David Lynch, a Long Island Special Education teacher, joins a volunteer group that goes over the summers to Mexico to help teach children living in cardboard hovels.

June 1985

David Lynch, and a group of volunteers build the first schoolhouse and medical center next to the Tijuana municipal garbage dump.

June 1986

We build a home for a blind couple who lost their house in a fire.

Year 1988

Dionisio and Tomas, two students from the dump, attend secondary school and graduate. They are the first dump dwellers to accomplish that feat.

Year 1989

Tomas and Dionisio, visit Mayfield Senior School, an all girls private high school, in Pasadena. They speak in front of several classes and tell the girls that they don't consider themselves poor.

Felipe, a former student, gets a job as an English teacher and starts teaching in downtown Tijuana.

Years 1990, 1991

Bill O'Reilly of Inside Edition airs a segment on "The Glass Children." After this the elementary school gets built.

Mother Teresa visits the dump and describes the inhabitants as "the world's most destitute."

Responsibility, Inc. is formed as a non-profit organization.

Year 1992

Home Depot donates the materials for us to build another medical clinic.

Year 1994

Responsibility donates our school to the Mexican Department of Education. They in turn open a registered elementary school for the dump children.

We convert our medical clinic into a kindergarten.

Year 1995

Alice and Skip McElvery, along with friends from Georgia, build our new kindergarten.

Year 1997

The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel air a segment on Responsibility.

At Responsibility's annual awards dinner, Frank & Lori Petrosky, from Pennsylvania, donate a new 15-passenger van to the school.

Year 1999

David Lynch meets Susan Sarandon in New York, and thanks her for her generous support. 

Professor Felipe's daughter Vanessa, who attended our school for two years, places third in a state scholastic competition, representing the first grade of her school.

2000's

Today we operate the preschool/kindergarten, run a summer camp, play Santa to 1,000 children, and have 450 guests for Thanksgiving Dinner. 

One medical/dental clinic is now run by the community with some assistance from Responsibility. Several hundred patients visit this clinic a month. The other two clinics have been turned into classrooms.