The Altius Foundation’s Web page

Mexico, January 24, 2006.  After more that 40 years of guiding various projects for social development worldwide, the Legion of Christ and the Regnum Christi Movement have created an organization that unites and consolidates its projects of Christian charity in a single force.  The purpose of this organization is to make the work more efficient and professional so as to help more people.

Thus, in the summer of 2004, the Altius Foundation was born: an international Catholic organization founded by the Legion of Christ and specifically dedicated to bettering the living standards of those most in need.  Through projects devoted to education, health, and development, Altius daily contributes towards strengthening the poor families and communities of Latin America.

As of this school year, Altius is overseeing the network of Mano Amiga schools, which serve thousands of boys and girls from poor families; various health centers and a program of telemedicine for indigenous communities in Mexico; and two centers for community development.  At the same time, it organizes innumerable activities at the service of the poorest communities.  Likewise, Altius works with other charitable organizations around the world, with which it shares common ideals and helps to supervise projects.

Altius has offices in Monterrey, Mexico City, Santiago (Chile), Sao Paulo (Brazil) and Barcelona (Spain.)  As well, it works in the United States through its partnership Catholic World Mission, based in New York and Connecticut.  Presently, projects run by Altius are serving over 400,000 people.

“The Mano Amiga project is real; here are the results.”  says Ana García.  Her father did everything to provide for his family.  He worked as a shoe-shiner and a farmer and even worked in a car factory.  Now, Ana has a Bachelor’s degree and a Masters.  She worked in the third-largest company in Canada for 5 years. 

She studied in the Cualcán Mano Amiga School in Lerma (Mexico).  In her words, it was a school where “besides all of the infrastructure, the teachers gave you excellent classes, academically speaking, but also in terms of values.  This was even more beneficial for you as a student and a human person.  There were computer, English, and physical education classes.”

Carlos Otero, executive director of Altius, explained that the achievements of Altius are not measured in the number of walls raised or new computers bought or sporting facilities erected. 

“These things are only the means we use,” he said.  “Our true results are measured in terms of the expectations of the people we work with, in the new horizons that are opened up to them, in the transformation that is brought to their lives and eventually to their families and to the community itself.”

“That is why at Altius we are different, and that is why at Altius we live a charity that transforms,” he concluded.

If you want to know more about Altius’s projects and the people who have benefited from them and are now allowing others to benefit from them, click here or send a message to info@altius.org.

As well, click here to see the June 2005 edition of the Altius Foundation’s monthly newsletter.

To subscribe to the Altius Foundation’s monthly newsletter, send an email to boletin@altius.org with “subscription to the monthly newsletter” as the subject line.