In 2022, you helped St. Bonaventure Indian Mission and School emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic stronger than ever. Your extraordinary support during these challenging times enabled the Mission to continue operating AND meet the growing demand for our vital Outreach Services. On behalf of the Navajo people we serve, THANK YOU for your support, friendship, and prayers throughout 2022 and always. You make everything we do possible. Thank you! Here is our Impact Report.

WATER DELIVERY Impact Report

The Need: Approximately one-third of Navajo households still do not have access to running water. 200+ Families currently on our water delivery route. On average we deliver:

• 14,000 GALLONS DAILY
• 70,000 GALLONS WEEKLY
• 280,000 GALLONS MONTHLY
• 3.36 Million GALLONS ANNUALLY

This does not include the hundreds of gallons clients and community members haul M-F during business hours. Water by Rail: $400,000 projected total cost to bring in water by train while the primary well at St. Bonaventure main office is shut down and refurbished.

Refurbished old Baca/Prewitt Well to increase access to clean water to more than 1,500 residents.

• Total cost $190,000+ Cost to construct new pump house, purchase 10,000 gallon water tank, and labor.
• $100,000+ Invested in cistern tanks and accessories
• $65,000+ In maintenance costs, well costs, or any fuel charges for water trucks.
• 40+ 1,200 gallon water cisterns installed
• 45 Solar pump systems installed to carry water from cisterns into homes.

Food Insecurity

The Need: Navajo households are among the most food insecure in the country. There are currently fewer than 15 grocery stores on the entire Navajo Nation.

• 3,500 Food boxes distributed from our Native Hope Food Pantry.
• 65 Food deliveries every month to families facing hunger during this pandemic.
• 450+ Backpacks with food for SBIS students facing hunger on weekends.
• 120 Children received breakfast and lunch daily at St. Bonaventure Indian School.

COVID RELIEF

The Need: The Navajo Nation was among the hardest-hit areas during the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak, with infection and death rates higher than anywhere else in the country at one point. Many communities continue to report the uncontrolled spread of new variants.

How Your Help Impacts Lives VIa the Impact Report

Joann and her family experienced a devastating loss this winter when a home fire destroyed everything they owned, leaving them homeless. With four young children to care for, she was desperate to find shelter from the bitter cold and piercing desert winds. That’s when Joann turned to the Mission for help. Thanks to the generosity of donors like you, the Mission provided Joann’s family with temporary housing at the St. Bonaventure Mobile Home Community. This gave them a safe and warm place to stay while they began the process of finding a new home. Your continued support is critical to helping families like Joann’s in times of crisis. Thank you once again for making a real difference in the lives of the people of the Eastern Navajo Reservation.

• 1,500+ Community members vaccinated at vaccine site set up at St. Bonaventure Mission office.
• Distributed more than 500 boxes of sanitation products, 500+ including masks, hand sanitizer, wipes, disinfectant
• $35,000+ In cleaning supplies purchased Expanded water and meal delivery
  and distributed
• 50 families services to 50 more families

Housing

The Need: The Navajo people face some of the worst housing conditions in the entire country. More than 60 percent reported having
incomplete bathrooms and kitchens. More than half reported living in dilapidated structures or homes requiring serious repairs.
50+ Families Provided low-income housing for 50+ families at the St. Bonaventure Mobile Home Park. $140,000+ in home repair projects, roofing, new siding, additions, etc.

Utility Assistance

The Need: Nearly one-third of all households on the Navajo Nation still have no electricity. Of the households who do have electricity, only about a quarter use it to heat their homes. Most homes within the Navajo Nation are still heated by wood or pellet stoves.

• 40 Woodstoves purchased
• 45 Truckloads of firewood purchased
• $10,000 Provided in heating assistance

MISCELLANEOUS ASSISTANCE

• 1,200 Christmas gifts purchased for impoverished Navajo children
• $100,000+ Invested in Community Development, Medical, Rent, Funeral

EDUCATION

The Need: The Navajo achievement gap is at a critical point. While other minority groups continue to see gains in core subject areas like reading, math and science, Navajo scores have remained stagnant.

Graduation and college enrollment rates also lag behind.

• 120 Tuition-free Students St. Bonaventure Indian School offers tuition-free education to more than 120 preschool through eight grade students, more than 90 percent of whom live at, near or below the poverty level.
• $110,000+ In scholarships offered to St. Bonaventure Indian School alumni continuing their high school or college education at private institutions in New Mexico.
• $120,000 Purchased new propane-fueled school buses to provide needy children with free transportation to and from school. Many of these children would have no means of getting to school without our buses.
• $45,000Purchased a new camera/alarm system for the school.

EMPLOYMENT

The Need: The unemployment rate on the Eastern Navajo Reservation is well above 50 percent. St. Bonaventure Indian Mission and School is the largest employer in Thoreau, NM, providing jobs to more than 65 employees, most of whom are Navajo.

65+ Jobs