SOLANA BEACH -- While the economy has many families struggling in the United States, the suffering is greatly magnified south of the border, said Solana Beach resident Kathy Faller, who started a local program to help those in need.

Every week Faller heads down to an impoverished neighborhood in Tijuana with boxes of food, clothing and toiletries. Since last November, the donations have been provided by 21 North County families who have "adopted" 14 families in Mexico -- an effort that Faller calls "Family A Familia."

"Yes, there's need here, but it pales in comparison to what's happening in Mexico," Faller said last week. "Here, we have safety nets -- welfare, food stamps, churches that give. Down there, they have no help."

Faller said she created the program so it's "not just a family packing a box."

She said participants get involved in nutritional education, making sure that there are plenty of protein foods, fruits and vegetables in the packages they provide. She said lots of letters and pictures go back and forth, celebrating life's passages, birthdays and holidays.

"It's great for us to be able to feel to a connection to a family," said Sara Knapp of Solana Beach, whose family is part of the program. Knapp said her 8-year-old daughter, Carolyn, and 4-year-old son, Bryan, love helping decide what to send to "their family" down in Mexico -- especially its 13-year-old daughter, Karina.

"Bryan helped pick out the softest stuffed animal for Karina's 13th birthday," said Knapp. "And when she needed a notebook for her English studies, he found the 'prettiest one.'"

"Carolyn's at-home Spanish class has been helping translate letters and now they often ask how the family is doing," Knapp added. "It really gives people here an opportunity to feel a bond with our closest neighbors."

Faller said many connections have been made already through the program, including an American family with a quadriplegic child that is sponsoring a Mexican family whose child is also paralyzed. She said the "U.S. mom has been giving tips on how to help with the Mexican child."

Family A Familia is part of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Dieguito's Esperanza sin Fronteras program, which includes home building, a food program and education activities.

It's based on the nationwide Family-to-Family program, but Faller said she started her own offshoot when the parent group was not interested in going into another country.

Faller first began doing charity work in Mexico in December 2004.

"I decided to see if our church could send some donations down for Christmas," said Faller. "The response was so overwhelming … that we decided to raise the money to build a home.

"Now four years later we have built nine homes and I have enough donations to go weekly to Mexico," said Faller.

With recent reports of heightened violence in the Tijuana region, Faller said she is often asked if she is afraid to make her weekly trek.

"First of all, I'm an adventurer," she said. "I've seen the negative affect of crime and it makes me stubborn and want to do it that much more."

The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Dieguito is having a kid's carnival from 1 to 4 p.m. March 28 to raise money for the next home to be built in May. More information can be found at http://www.uufsd.org.

- Elena Cristiano Freelance Writer elenacristiano@cox.net (617) 780-6683