Penticton Youth - MX 2012

On this trip, participants will have an opportunity to travel to Vicente Guerrero, Baja California, Mexico. Vicente Guerrero is a rural agricultural town located about four and a half hours south of the U.S. Border and only a few kilometers from the Pacific Ocean. In this community are many impoverished migrant workers, mostly from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca (pronounced Wha-ha-ka). The work for these people is very sporadic, and therefore provides limited financial stability for their families. As a result, they lack access to clean water, a stable food supply, and adequate housing (most homes are constructed of tin, cardboard, and tarpaulins). In this community, our main project is building homes for families in need. When they show up to the work site on the first day there will be a concrete pad already poured and this will provide the foundation for what they are about to build on. By the time the participants leave to go home, they will have completely finished and furnished a house, helped to change the future for a family that desperately needs it, and they will have developed many friendships that will last a lifetime.

Trip Details

Trip Date:
Mar 17, 2012 to Apr 30, 2012

Sorry, this trip already happened!

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    • Shoutbox

    In the box below, you can leave a message to encourage the Hero Holiday participants on this trip, and participants can message you back! (time and internet access permitting)

    Blogs about this trip

    Our Lives As Teenagers
    Tuesday, March 27, 2012 - 02:31

    Our Lives As Teenagers

    Any average 17 year old living in Penticton, British Columbia, is going to school, hanging out with friends, and going to the beach. However, here in Mexico, we met two teenagers living lives very different than our own, with responsibilities we can’t even imagine. They are inspiring women and they make us appreciate the opportunities that we take for granted at home.

    Katherine is married and raising a child at 17. When compared to someone in the same situation in Canada, it would be a negative thing, where as here it's a common occurrence. Katherine is extremely mature for her age and has been through things that you couldn’t even imagine. When the Live Different Academy students first met Katherine she was 6 months pregnant, but lost the baby shortly after. Her and her husband and 9-month old baby had no home of their own and were living with her mom and brother. When giving her the keys to her new home, she was overly thankful and made us a meal that their family struggled to afford. She beamed all week as we worked together on their house and as she said good-bye to us, she gave each of us a special hug.


    Sara is a 14 year old girl in the other family we built for. Her dad had surgery a few months ago and hasn’t been able to return to work. So, Sara had to drop out of school to work in the fields in order to help earn money to support her family. While we were talking to Sara she said the thing she wanted most was to go back to school. This really made us all think about the way we take education for granted back home. Sara’s family was living in a home made out of cardboard. We are so happy that we had the opportunity to give this deserving family a new home when they were struggling the most.



    These families thanked us for building them a home and said there is no way that they could ever repay us for what we have done. What they don’t realize is that we could never repay all that we have learned from them. They helped us realize how thankful we are for our homes, our families, the opportunity to go to school, and so much more.

    Glowing Faces
    Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 01:01

    Glowing Faces

    I was in Mexico last year for a Hero Holiday and when we pulled up to the house this year it seemed like I had never left. After we arrived we quickly unpacked and climbed into the bus to go meet the families we would be building for the next couple of days. The parents of the family we met are just teenagers like myself. The father, Jesus is nineteen years old and his wife Katherine is only seventeen; their boy’s name is Abdiel and he is 10 months old. I was assigned to help build their house and it really struck me to see how mature they were. I have never met others teenagers like both of them in my life.


    When we arrived at the worksite on the first day, Jesus told us that Katherine, himself, and their son Abdiel had been walking back and forth to the gas station trying to see our bus because they were so anxious to meet us. Their faces were glowing when we showed up and none of us could wait to get started. We said our hello’s and we got to work. Before lunch we were already building the walls. By the end of the day we had our walls up and we were ready to put the roof on.


    Today was our second day working on the house and we have the roof on and almost everything is painted. We are officially one day ahead of schedule according to last year - apparently we are making record time! After we finished building for the day we took our families to the beach and it was amazing. This whole time building I had forgotten that Jesus and Katherine are around my age. Seeing Jesus’ face light up when he saw the ocean and dash for the water put the biggest smile on my face. It hit me and I remembered that he is only two years older than me. He was having the time of his life and it was amazing to see our two families finally able to relax.


        

    Tonight we had taco’s for dinner and we got to go to the candy store. During dinner there was a guitar player performing and we started dancing. Everyone was laughing and smiling and having the time of their lives. However the dance party did not stop there. We were soon dancing and singing our hearts out on the bus to Adele. Tonight we have bonded considerably and I believe that tomorrow will be that much more spectacular because of it.


    - Jeremy

    To Mexico With Love
    Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - 12:35

    To Mexico With Love

    One of the participants from Penticton's trip wrote a blog post. Check it out here.

    Saturday, March 17th: 

    • Load bus and depart Penticton!
    • Drive drive drive!

     

    Sunday, March 18th:

    • Drive some more!
    • Arrive in San Diego around supper time.
    • Relax, SHOWER, and spend the night at a Best Western Hotel.

     

    Monday, March 19th:

    • Drive to Vicente Guerrero, Mexico (approx 4-5 hours).
    • Meet the Mexican families you will be building for.
    • Further orientation and debriefing.

     

    Tuesday, March 20th - Friday, March 23rd:

    • House Building Days. Yes, it is true: you CAN build a house in four days! When you first show up to the work site, there will be a concrete slab waiting for its four walls, roof, and your enthusiasm! Together with the family, you and your team will be a part of making a dream a reality.

     

    Saturday, March 24th:

    • Time to purchase gifts for the families' home. Groups in the past have pooled extra cash they have brought and purchased beds, cookware, groceries, stoves, furniture, etc. for the family. After items are purchased you will spend a couple of hours setting everything up in the house.
    • House Dedication. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to hand over the keys to a brand new home and give the hope of warmth, security, and a brighter future to a family? This gift and moment will be etched in your memory for many years to come.
    • Preparation for what is next - Hero Holiday is going to be one of the most intense and life-changing experiences you will ever have. Because we believe that this is just the beginning of something for you, we want to help you to prepare to return home and integrate this experience and the lessons learned. On the final day of our trip we will have a final debriefing that will help you to take this experience and help others understand how we can make a difference in our global community.

     

    Sunday, March 25th:

    • Attend a local church service.
    • Visit the cemetery.
    • Final debriefing and preparing for going home.

     

    Monday, March 26th:

    • Excursion Day. Enjoy some of the natural beauty that the Baja has to offer!

     

    Tuesday, March 27th:

    • Drive up to San Diego, CA.
    • Stay over night.

     

    Wednesday, March 28th:

    • Leave San Diego early to start driving back to Canada.
    • Road Trip!

     

    Thursday, March 29th:

    • Drive and arrive back in Penticton around mid-afternoon / early evening.
    • Give Les and Clark big bear hugs of appreciation and throw them in Skaha Lake before arriving back at First Baptist Church.
    The project details are not available at this time, check back soon!

    All of our Hero Holiday staff are experienced professionals in each area they facilitate. We have professional drivers, builders, youth workers, administrators, cooks, mechanics and interpreters. We maintain excellent community relations and work diligently alongside of community leaders and government officials in each country that we work in. We take our responsibilities and your expectations very seriously. Safety is always our number one priority. All of our key staff are first aid certified and we always have immediate access available to quality medical attention (if needed) in all countries that we work in.

    Before a Hero Holiday begins, all parents are given contact numbers and emails for Hero Holiday ground staff. We are available at any time for parental concerns or emergencies. Our staff also works hard to keep family and friends back home updated on a daily basis with stories and pictures of what is happening with each particular group.

    Understanding of Charitable Donations

    • It is important to understand that Live Different Hero Holiday is a charitable program of Absolute Leadership Development Inc. This means that "participants/travelers" are functioning as volunteers of Absolute Leadership Development, to with assist our charitable humanitarian work. Hero Holiday Participants are not the beneficiaries of this charitable program; they are volunteers, approved by our Board of Directors, that carry out the humanitarian work.
    • Due to the expense and logistics of coordinating a volunteer humanitarian development project, an important qualification is for each volunteer to meet their trip's minimum individual fundraising goal. To meet this minimum goal, volunteer's can solicit tax receiptable donations on behalf of Live Different, for the specifc project they are volunteering on. According to charity law, a donation is a voluntary transfer of property without valuable consideration to the donor; donors cannot choose the beneficiaries of their donations, and a charity must have full discretion in deciding how to allocate its funds. It is the volunteer's obligation to inform donors that all donations are given to the project/charity, and are not being given as a direct monetary benefit to the volunteer.
    • This means that ALL donations are absolutely, 100% non-refundable. In event of any form of cancellation whatsoever or overpayment, funds will instead be allocated towards other charitable programs.
    • A Donation/Payment Form must accompany all monies submitted to Live Different.
    • Do NOT put the volunteer's name in the memo on a donation cheque.
    • Alternately, if a person does not want to give a donation to the charitable project, but make a non-tax receiptable payment on the volunteer's behalf that will have the benefit of falling under our refund policy, they can indicate this on the Donation/Payment Form.

    Refund Policy

    • This Refund Policy only applies to monies that have been explicitly marked as a "payment" on the Donation/Payment Form.
    • Up to 50% of trip payments (not donations) may be refunded until Jan 14, 2012.
    • After Jan 14, 2012, no refunds will be given except for extreme circumstances such as death or severe illness/injury resulting in the individual being unable to participate. In such cases, up to 80% of trip payments (not donations) may be refunded. Requests for refund must be made in writing and be accompanied by a death certificate or a doctor's note.
    • Donations are 100% non-refundable.
    • All requests for refund must be forwarded to Absolute Leadership Development Inc. in writing.
    • Payments cannot be forwarded towards a future Live Different Hero Holiday or transferred to another volunteer.
    • In the event of failing to meet application requirements (i.e. not obtaining a valid passport, not meeting minimum fundraising goals, etc), Absolute Leadership Development Inc. (Live Different) reserves the right to cancel participation with no refund of payment.