Hope on the Border
How a Ragtag Band of Warriors and a Bronze Statue Redefined Charitable Giving on Both Sides of the US-Mexico Border
Hope on the Border is an inspiring, action-oriented social science survey focused on the work of one philanthropic organization.
Gil Gillenwater’s celebratory social science survey Hope on the Border spotlights the compassionate and impactful work of the American charitable organization Rancho Feliz.
In 1987, Gillenwater and his brother Troy decided to break away from their usual Thanksgiving routine to bring food donations to Nogales, Mexico. In traveling from their home base in Arizona, the brothers “took a wrong turn” and found themselves in the Mexican town of Agua Prieta. With knowledgeable clarity, the book explains how migrants trying to enter the United States tend to congregate in border-adjacent areas like Agua Prieta and often remain displaced in these zones indefinitely. Shocked by Agua Prieta’s substandard, dehumanizing conditions, Gil and Troy resolved to help the community.
The “serendipity” of the brothers’ holiday detour led to the eventual founding of the border-based charity Rancho Feliz. Developed with the initial goal of providing food and medicine to Agua Prieta’s “shantytowns,” Rancho Feliz continues to foster a communal sense of purpose through interactive engagement. Since its establishment, Rancho Feliz’s programs have teamed residents and volunteers to build housing, orphanages, and childcare facilities while maintaining a cleaner and more welcoming environment. Scholarships are also available to promote economic and educational advancement.
Blending a focused narrative about the organization with color photographs and edgy graphics, this retrospective book includes a social science element. It details Mexico’s battle against entrenched poverty, corruption, and violent drug cartels and states that Mexico’s proximity to the comparative wealth of the United States, or “El Norte,” creates a continuous lure for migrants seeking their own version of the American Dream. Without delving into the Trump administrations’ deportation agendas, the book features separate yet concordant quotes from Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican-affiliated Elon Musk that address the conflicting realities of open borders, “unvetted” migration, and national sovereignty.
Gillenwater’s studies of Tibetan Buddhism and his reflections on karmic purpose are also explored, with the book showing how those beliefs, along with an attitude of American wherewithal, merge in Rancho Feliz’s unique hybrid philosophy of initiative and interconnection. It suggests that by working to change its endemic problems, Mexico can gain more stability and economic leverage. It also envisions how, following legislative action, flexible and legal migration might replace exploitative labor practices and result in a reciprocity of resources between the United States and Mexico.
Compiled to showcase Rancho Feliz and encourage donor and volunteer engagement, the book has a certain amount of repetitive content because of its central marketing efforts. But its narrative regarding the border region is intense and compelling, heightened by accounts of ruthless human smugglers and grueling, even fatal migrant odysseys across harsh desert landscapes. A fascinating, in-depth description of a bronze statue is also included: Known as “The Border Virgin,” this work of art combines multicultural religious and spiritual elements, including references to La Virgen de Guadalupe and Aztec, Buddhist, and pagan symbolism. At the statue’s base is an image of Jesús Malverde—a Mexican folk hero and unofficial “narco-saint” of the drug trade—flanked by purifying lotus blossoms.
An inspiring, action-oriented social science survey focused on the work of one philanthropic organization, Hope on the Border celebrates the empowering successes of Rancho Feliz and calls for pragmatic empathy and strategic alliances in reevaluating immigration policies.
Reviewed by
Meg Nola
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
