Some older parents adopt orphans, and some adopt orphanages.

Say you're a middle-aged couple ... late forties, early fifties ... and after raising six great kids to successful adulthood you're looking for something else to do in the way of contributing to the betterment of the planet.

Adoption may have entered your mind, but perhaps first you'd like to learn more about what life is like for some of the world's orphans.

How about taking on 30-odd kids in a soon-to-be abandoned orphanage in Mexico?

That's what Pam and Alan Skuse of Queensland, Australia did six years ago, and today they're still slugging away at keeping Mission Mexico going as a livable option for the orphaned, the abused and the abandoned children of Tapachula, Mexico, a city of 200,000+ in the far south of the country less than thirty minutes from Guatemala.

They're fifty-three and fifty-six respectively now, and spending every night sleeping in the foyer of the former government building that houses Mission Mexico. It's crowded, has no running water and very primitive conditions for the Skuses, and for the children between the ages of 2 and 16 who live there.

The couple's introduction to the institution they now provide the life blood for was intended to be a six-month volunteering stay. When the organization running the place decided to shut down during their volunteer stint, a move that would have had the children thrown into the streets with no place to go, Pam and Alan stepped up and stepped into the role of keeping a roof over the kids' heads.

The Mission Statement reads, "To provide refuge and hope to orphaned, abandoned, abused and disadvantaged children by giving them a home, family, love, education and opportunities for advancement in all areas of their lives."

After six years in the same rundown facility, Mission Mexico has a chance to buy a piece of land in the town. They are hoping to do that and renovate an existing building on the site to become the new refuge. They need $150,000 AUD ($123,000 US) to pull this off.

They are now partnered with an Australian non-profit called the Global Development Fund and are currently about a third of the way to raising the amount they'll need to accomplish the goals they've set.

An interesting angle to their fundraising involves donations from a singer named Tanya Gordon who is contributing through sales of her music ... an innovative connection to make for drumming up support.

Volunteers with " ... a genuine love for children and enthusiasm to work", and willing to pay their own way to Mission Mexico, are welcomed for long or short terms.

There's a video on the orphanage here.

Thanks Ang