FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 17, 2019
San Diego Habitat for Humanity
Ellen Immergut | Director of Communications
619-906-4485
ellen.immergut@sandiegohabitat.org
MEDIA RELEASE
Volunteer Group to Build a Home for a Family in Chiapas, Mexico
Habitat for Humanity’s Global Village Program changes lives
CHIAPAS, MEXICO – Eleven Habitat for Humanity volunteers packed up their work boots and headed to Chiapas, Mexico this week to build a home for a family in desperate need of shelter. It’s part of Habitat for Humanity International’s Global Village program, which offers opportunities to build alongside families in global locations in an effort to build strength, stability, and self-reliance through shelter. Trips are offered in Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. The trip to Chiapas was organized by San Diego Habitat for Humanity, the local affiliate of the worldwide organization.
The volunteers, made up of members of the San Diego community and San Diego Habitat for Humanity staff, and who raised money to fund their trip, will spend one week building a home, literally brick by brick. They will work in partnership with a family in the Chiapas region of Mexico, located at the most southeastern tip of the county, bordered by Guatemala. The homebuilding volunteers will also have the opportunity to immerse themselves in Mexican culture, get to know the locals, learn about the region’s rich history, visit landmarks, and taste the delicious local food.
Chiapas is a state rich in cultural diversity and serves as a transition zone, where the indigenous world connects with the mestizo Mexico. Chiapas has its own history that distinguishes itself from other regions. Part of that history is its peculiar isolation and the fragmentation of human settlements. Chiapas has a high degree of marginalization, mainly indigenous municipalities on the outskirts of cities where the income equality is very noticeable.
Since 1989, Habitat for Humanity Mexico has fought poverty through providing adequate housing, supporting and empowering more than 57,000 families in organized communities. Despite the progress that has been made in providing housing in recent years, more than 53 million people in Mexico do not have the financial means to buy or build adequate housing -that’s 45 percent of the population. Sixty million people, or 51 percent of the country, earn incomes below the welfare line, which are insufficient to acquire the goods and service they require to meet the most basic needs. Habitat for Humanity Mexico works hard on behalf of these people, supporting low-income families in building their homes, promoting community development, influencing public policy, attracting financial resources for housing, and educating governments, donors, and volunteers on the need in their country.
No matter where you are in the world – a safe, stable home is the foundation for the strength, stability, and independence hardworking families need to build better futures. The volunteers representing San Diego Habitat this week are proud to be a part of the solution for a family who needs a hand up.
“I had the pleasure of participating in the last Global Village trip to Chiapas, and it was life-changing.” said Lori Holt Pfeiler, President/CEO at San Diego Habitat for Humanity. “It’s really hard work – we moved and built with 1,000 concrete bricks – but it was well worth the sore muscles as we watched the lives of an amazing family change forever right in front of our eyes.”
If you are interested in information about San Diego Habitat’s next Global Village trip, please, email joanna.shively@sandiegohabitat.org or visit www.sandiegohabitat.org. If you would like to find a trip in another region of the globe, please visit www.habitat.org/volunteer/travel-and-build/global-village.
About San Diego Habitat for Humanity
People in our community partner with San Diego Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners build their homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. With our help, Habitat homeowners achieve the strength, stability, and independence they need to build a better life for themselves and their families.
Habitat for Humanity exists through volunteer labor and contributions of money, land and materials, including purchases and donations to the ReStore, Habitat’s discount home improvement retail center. For more information, visit www.sandiegohabitat.org or call 619-283-HOME (4663).
