Orange County Branch Newsletter

October 2014

ASCE OC YMF

ASCE OC YMF Participates in Corazon Home Build in Tijuana Mexico


By: Danny Mejia

On August 9th 2014, several OC YMF board members and students from local universities volunteered for a home building event in Tijuana Mexico hosted by the Corazon organization. With the help of volunteers, Corazon instills a sense of both hope and community through their “Build a House in a Day” program. When we arrived at the site early in the morning, we met with the family that would be receiving the home and introduced ourselves. The construction leader then inspected the site and gave us all our first tasks of the day. Some of us began building the frames that would make up the walls and ceiling of the home. Other volunteers worked on painting dry wall boards and measuring and cutting roofing materials. In the afternoon, the family distributed a delicious lunch to all of the volunteers which consisted of beans, rice, and pork rinds in a spicy sauce.

After several more hours the home was complete. The entire build took us about eight and a half hours. Although we were all exhausted, the look on the faces of the family when we handed them the keys made us feel great inside. We had just built an entire home for a family who desperately needed it. We made a real impact on their lives that will last for decades. Those of us who spoke Spanish also talked to the children of the family and explained to them the importance of a good education and assured them that they could be anything they wanted to be when they grew up. Community outreach is very important to us, this event was definitely one of the best events of the year. We look forward to doing it again in the future!

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