Homebuilding in Mexico 2021 - by Anna Cunningham
Project Mexico started 2020 just like everyone else, carrying on as normal, planning for the year to come. In that planning stage, we interviewed and accepted 17 families to receive houses from our summer Homebuilding program. But as the entire world shut down, we saw our US/Mexico border limit traffic as well. No volunteers were able to come that summer, and no homes were built. We had high hopes for the summer of 2021, but as the first week of June rolls around, the border limits have not been lifted, and the summer program is still suspended.
As Work Trip Coordinator, my primary goal and responsibility are to provide homes to families in our local community. Project Mexico has always relied on volunteer labor to build the homes and volunteer participation fees to buy the homebuilding materials and fund the orphanage. As 2020 ended and we trudged into 2021 the border remains closed.
After months of border regulations I realized that if these families were going to get homes this year, it would have to be done in a different way.
Because volunteers are still not permitted to travel to Mexico, we found ourselves with a labor deficit. This season we will implement a new building plan that involves the local community. As the need increased everywhere, our ability to help disappeared. This inspired the creation of our Community Build Initiative.
I have been meeting with each family asking them if they can gather people to do the labor if we provide the materials. The response to this idea was received very positively and the families immediately began to look for help.
I am working with the families and our material providers to organize dates and building plans but the missing piece of the puzzle is sponsorship of the materials. Because we are not receiving participation fees from visiting volunteers, we do not have the budget to fund these homes.
This is why we are calling on our community to participate remotely and sponsor the homes of our selected families.
This is new. Brand new. In our over 30 year history, we have never used this model, but current circumstances forced us to adjust our plans so that we can continue fulfilling our mission and provide homes to the families who we promised houses to almost 2 years ago.
Each time we encounter adversity we have the opportunity to succumb to it, and let it defeat us, or we can rise above, adapt, and handle it with grace. Homebuilding in 2021 will not, and cannot, look like it has looked in the past. This does not change the fact that we have committed ourselves to provide shelter to those in need.
We are doing what we can with what we have and ask for your support in our new initiative so that we can continue providing homes for those in need.
