PALMDALE ROTARY GOES TO TECATE, MX

Posted by Tina Borzage

On Saturday, May 2, 2015 Sharon Freeman and I set off for a brand new adventure. We met the group of Rotarians and Corazon staff at the Haggen parking lot in Chula Vista at 6:00am. 9 vans with 10-15 passengers each and other trucks carrying the extra supplies drove down to Tecate,Mexico. We got there around 8:00am and we started work at about 8:30 am. By 12:30 the walls were already up and the roof was coming along nicely.

We stopped to eat a delicious homemade lunch prepared by the host family, chicken, beans, and cactus with homemade flour tortillas and orchata (rice drink) and tamarin drinks After eating we continued working. By 2:30 the roof was installed and they proceeded with the shingles. While that was going on all the painters were focused on painting the inside of the house and retouching the paint on the outside. By 4:30pm the house was completed. The size of the house is 18' X 12'. Rosa, her three children, her mom and dad will live in this house. There were four groups of volunteers and each group was responsible for building one home. Each group had about 45 to 50 people including about 5 people from Corazon. Four homes were built this day and three of them were sponsored by Rotary. Rosa (the recipient of the house) and her family were right along with us working really hard in building their home.

It was a very hot day and there was no shade so we had to make sure we drank a lot of water and put on lots of sunscreen.

It was very emotional at the end of the day when Rosa received the key of her own home. She was very grateful and said she felt very blessed and she thanked everybody who made it possible for her and her family to have a place they can call home. It was beautiful to be part of that experience.

Sharon and I thank all of you for the generous donation our club made toward the Corazon project. This is our international project and by far the best project we've had. We should all feel very proud.

Thank you friends and family. Every time you buy a ticket for one of our fundraisers, you are contributing to a good cause and making a difference in someone's life.