Sorry this has taken me a few days but here I am in Tijuana!!
Before I start I feel like I should give you all some information about Esperanza and the program I am here working with...
"We believe that the families and individuals with whom we work, have the ability to do many things as a community. While our main focus is on the formation of true community, home construction, and inclusion of volunteers, we also support a variety of other programs"
- Esperanza Brochure
The main focus of Esperanza is building strong communities. When Esperanza starts in a community the first thing they do is arrange a community center, and get all of the people in that community who want a house (even if far in the future) together to start planning, saving money, and working together. Each community has a leader (generally a woman) who reports directly to Esperanza and has been voted the head of that community by other community members.
Community members pay into a "community account" when there is enough money, they start the first house. Each family must help build other Esperanza homes in the community before there house can be built, they also must help on their own house. Each family is required often to make or at least take care of (blocks must stay wet so they dry properly, blocks that dry too fast are very weak). Each family must also pay a certain amount into the community account (like a down payment). When all of this has done they are ready to begin having their house built. This is where having volunteers here is very important.
I'm not sure how many families are ready to start building. Today we went to a house in La Marita (the colonia Esperanza has been working with longest) to bring one of the (two) cement mixers back to the posada (where Esperanza operates from). The house that we visited is all ready to start working in the third week of February when the first group arrives. There had been another group scheduled before then but they didn't get enough people. If anyone has an interest in a trip down here then or any other time individuals can often form a group of "strays" or join another group!
Tomorrow Eduardo (the "foreman" for lack of a better term) and I along with Rigo (Rico?) one of the workers will be going to another colonia in the morning (8:15!) to meet a new family and see if they qualify to have Esperanza's help (I will get the exact qualifications and get back to you on those) and see what their situation is, and also to see where the house would go etc. Then in the afternoon Eduardo and I are going to speak to his college (he is going for his B.A. in Business Administration) about volunteering and what Esperanza is all about. I'm looking forward to that, I'm hoping many of the students speak English!!!!
I have some things to do to get ready for tomorrow, I'll try to post again then! Feel free to leave me comments I'd love to hear from you ALL!
-Rena
This is a picture on the bridge that you walk across to go from San Diego in to Tijuana. You can see the car line and Tijuana in the background.
I will add more pictures tomorrow when I have better internet connection!
