Letter: Paul Eich is working wonders in Mexico

• Eich

Beth rickers/Daily Globe Paul “Jak” Eich is shown at his nephew’s home in Milford, Iowa, where he is recuperating from hip replacement surgery. The broken hip derailed his plans to raise money to help poor people in Mexico.

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The article in the May 31 Daily Globe by Beth Rickers, about the man who is raising money to help the poor in Mexico, was both excellent and accurate. The man, Paul Eich, deserves your support.

Often times you donate to various charities and wonder how much of your money is actually used to help the intended. Paul Eich is my uncle, but I still felt the need to travel to Mexico myself to see the products of his efforts. I did so three years ago, and was pleasantly surprised.

Paul is by no means a wealthy man. His assets are limited. Of the $1,400 monthly retirement he receives, about half is spent on his own living expenses, and he uses the balance to help the poor people in his neighborhood. A lot of his efforts promote self-help among the recipients, like the curio cart he built for a grandmother that allows her to sell goods on the street to help support her five abandoned grandkids. He even restocks it for her occasionally. He provides a space in his front yard for another street vendor and cares for her children while she is working.

The schools and homes he has built are not elaborate at all — mainly one- or two-room structures — but are like the Taj Mahal compared to what these people previously had. He delivers food and gifts at holiday time to people that have nothing and expects nothing in return but a smile.

If you are looking for a program to support where every dollar you donate is used as you would intend it to be used, Paul Eich is worthy of your support. Checks can be sent payable to Paul Eich at First Merchants and Farmers Bank, Box 729, Pipestone 56164, Attention Katie Einck. You are sure to bring a grateful smile to a hungry young face in Mexico.

Tags: opinion, letters