Coin Tree Founder Cites Lack of Local Donations, Security Issues in Delaying Tulum Women’s Shelter

Tulum, Quintana Roo — The founder of the nonprofit Coin Tree says a lack of local philanthropic support and broader security concerns in Mexico are hampering plans to build a shelter for vulnerable women in Tulum and complicating the organization’s other community projects.

Youngjun Han said his foundation has concrete plans for the protective space, but progress has been slow. “Our foundation currently plans to build a shelter for women,” Han stated. “However, due to the lack of a local donation culture and security problems in Mexico, we believe this project will require a lot of time and effort.”

Han also detailed additional operational challenges. A recent complication involves the impending end of the lease for the building housing a school supported by the foundation. “We have to move, but it hasn’t been easy to find a suitable place,” he said, highlighting the logistical and financial difficulties of relocating the educational project.

A significant concern for Han is the limited participation of Mexican donors in the initiatives his organization leads. Despite Coin Tree focusing its efforts on benefiting the Mexican community, particularly children, it lacks recurring financial contributions from within the country.

“What saddens us is that, even though our organization supports Mexican children, we do not have any recurring donors who are Mexican,” Han lamented.

The foundation has maintained a presence in Tulum for the past eight years, operating a free school and clinic for the local population during that time. According to Han, these services have been made possible solely through international funding. “It’s important to mention that all our funds come from Korea,” he clarified.

Faced with this situation, Han reiterated the need to foster a stronger culture of donation and social participation at the local level, which he said would allow for the continuity and growth of projects addressing urgent regional issues like women’s protection and access to basic services for children.