Arriola s group does not own any of the houses. Even though parents do not pay a fee, they may contribute with voluntary donations or with their work. When Mita-Rogas serve as care centers, the parents hire one or two mothers to look after the children and prepare meals. We may get coupons for milk from local authorities, but we cannot ask for the milk in advance. We have to wait until it's all consumed before making a new order.
Most parents are very poor, but they contribute whatever they can.
When she began the Mita-roga project, Arriola had no state support and still she has none, although her work has been recognized and praised by the Ministry of Education. At present, she is trying to obtain the benefits from a government scheme that distributes free milk for children in schools, and also get help for some of the Mita-rogas from an international NGO called Plan International. If anything happens, nobody is responsible. Arriola feels the Mita-rogas have had an important impact on the community. Parents have even helped to organize proper schools once they realized the benefits.