Our family is going on the BASICS Community Service Trip to Tijuana one last year!
This will be the 5th trip for Luke and Margaret and the third trip for James.
We pay our own fees for food and lodging ($400/person) and we are required to raise $500/person to help pay for construction and day camp costs (the programs we run for the families in Tijuana.) We need your help to make our fundraising goals!
Our family primarily works in the day camps for children and teens. Luke and James run the outdoor program for children while Margaret is co-director of the camp for teens. And, everyone helps with help with painting! What keeps us coming back year after year?!! It's the relationships we've built with the people we travel with from CA as well as the friendships we've made in Tijuana with the children, youth and families who live there. We love going back each year to see our friends -- many of them started as participants in the day camps and now they team with us to lead the camps. It is such a fun and rewarding week!
Children's Program
The children’s program in centered on providing children in the area with safe, fun activities, as well as some educational content and catechism. We also provided the children with a snack each day, and some donated toys at the end of the week. Over 200 children attended last year's week long camp. Donations will go toward 200 brown bag lunches for 200 local Tijuana children. This item includes 200 PB&J sandwiches (some variants) 200 Capri Suns, 200 chocolate chip cookies, and 200 apples. We provide lunches for the local children 4 days of the week.
Teen's Program
This program is provided for local teens who spend much of their day tending to their younger siblings as their parents work. We provide activities and teach craft ideas that the families can sell at the local outdoor markets. Donations will go toward arts and crafts for 200 local youths of Tijuana.
Mother's Program The mother’s program is aimed at building relationships and community. Many of the families in this Tijuana community are from diverse places, and may not know each other well. The mother’s program was developed to help build a sense of community among the mothers. In addition to craft projects, the mother’s program also provided some lessons on hygiene, nutrition, finance, and relationships. Donations will go toward care packages for local mothers in Tijuana. In the past these have included food items, hygienic products like toothbrushes, shampoo, crafting tools, and household items.
Construction While we are working in the day camps, another half of our group works together to build 5 houses in one of the poorest areas of Tijuana. For 15 years, we've built over 40 homes in the Tijuana neighborhood of Terrazas. This year, the Tijuana construction projects include 5 house structures for families in desperate need.
While participants pay for their travel and lodging, we are fundraising $500/person for construction material costs. To give you an idea of how much we need to fundraise to build a home:
- $25 can go toward half a Window
- $50 - A 3ft x2ft Slider Window - Need 3 windows
- $100 - An Exterior Door with Hardware & Keys - Need 2 Doors
- $200 - A 8ft x 8ft Exterior Wall - Studs, Wood siding, Paint - Need 12 walls
- $500 - Electricity - Wiring, Panel, Lights, Outlets
- $1000 - 32ft x 16ft Concrete Slab Foundation
- $2,500 - Roof with 17 prefabricated wood trusses
- $6,500 - Entire New Home for a Family in Desparate Need
Thank you in advanced for your generous support for our program! Your donation will make a difference!
- Video
- Other videos on our Tijuana Ministry Youtube Channel
