Charity Anywhere

A friend from work, Ben Siebach, recently took a trip to Tijuana, Mexico with his family to build houses for needy families. The trip was coordinated by Charity Anywhere (www.charityanywhere.org), based in Twin Falls, ID. They focus on building housing for poor residents of Tijuana, Mexico and dental and medical missions to Haiti, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Mexico. I thought Ben's trip was particularly interesting given its appropriateness for kids (he brought kids ages 10, 12, and 14). It's also relatively cheap compared to other expedition-type experiences available through other charities. Here's a brief overview from Ben.

Itinerary

• Wednesday – drive from Alpine, UT to San Diego CA (7 families; ~40 people)
• Thursday – cross the border, establish base camp at clinic, travel to two worksites, bought lunch at a street taco stand and building materials at a hardware store. Spent the rest of the day building an outhouse and digging a pit for the outhouse. (Took tools with us.) The outhouse was a refinement to the house built in June for an elderly lady. Played some soccer with neighborhood kids. Gave them the soccer ball. Dinner that night at the LDS coordinator’s house.
• Friday – Sheetrock, tape and mud a kitchen built on Family #2’s house. Other families installed cabinets, painted, stucco’ed, roofed, investigated plumbing options, etc. Lunch paid for with our funds but prepared by the family being served. Dinner that night at the LDS coordinator’s house.
• Saturday – Painted interior rooms of family #3’s house. Other families continued at family #2’s house. Lunch provided by the family. Dinner at a street taco stand. Bonfire on a Tijuana beach.
• Sunday – cross the border and drive home (11 or so hours, after you cross the border).

Cost and Accommodations

• Each of the seven volunteer families donated $600. This money paid for auto insurance, two lunches and two dinners and for building supplies. Each family additionally paid for our own fuel, snacks, breakfast, and other miscellaneous expenses. Some building supplies were donated by individuals and companies here in the US. We hauled a trailer down with those materials.
• We stayed in a Catholic Free Clinic. The upper floor of the building is unused and consists of a chapel, a large multi-purpose room with kitchen, and several typical hospital rooms with private bathrooms. Accommodating and clean. Cold-water showers. Each family took one room and camped there. Sleeping bags / mats / cots, etc.

Pros

• An extremely rewarding experience. My family had seen extensive poverty and suffering, but we had never taken the opportunity to serve. My kids (14,12,10) were able to make real and significant contributions to relieve suffering. They now identify with some less-fortunate individuals in a loving and caring way.
• No one got sick.
• A quote from a 10-year old. “Dad, I want to do this every year for vacation.”

Cons

• A large group to coordinate – not quite enough work for all the helping hands. With some better preparation, more could be accomplished. Volunteer leaders and volunteer workers don’t always mean efficiency.