"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?" - Martin Luther King Jr.
House Build #1 (for the working poor of Baja Mexico through BajaBound.org):
My friends and I find it important to 'pay it forward' in the world to make a difference, 1st hand. So we raised funds to help the working poor of Baja Mexico, who are basically our neighbors, 2 hrs. south of the San Diego border. This 3 day house build benefited the Sanchez family of 3.
I had so much fun filming the process that I created a mini doc for us who built, but also to raise awareness and raise funds for future builds.
House Build #2 (in memory of my dad): for the Cortez family of four
While we were on our 2nd house build, we saw the Sanchez family from our 1st house build. It was great to see them so happy, and also knowing that they will be protected from all the elements... especially during 2015's winter El Niño season. "A family, growing roots!"
People all over the world are in need of our help. This is our way of making a difference in other people's lives. We are one, and we need to be here for each other.
I loved capturing it all on film, edited it for us and to raise pubic awareness.
Every time we go down there and visit, we check on all of our families and their neighbors. We visit Campo Esperanza, bring donations to cover their needs, mingle with everyone, meet new beautiful souls, learn more about each other and ourselves, have fun and just be, as life is meant to be beautiful!
House Build #3: for the Campo family of four
"It's in the shelter of each other that the people live." - Irish Proverb
On May 22rd, 2016, we finished our 3rd house in Maneadero, Baja California, Mexico. This one was for the Campo family of 3 (Emmanuel, 37 (yellow T-Shirt) and his wife Zenaida, 21 (on his right, in a red hoody), along with their 4 year old daughter Denisse (in pink) and their 4 month old baby Emmanuel Jr. ( in the middle), who all, until now, lived in this little trailer you can see in the pic on the left.
We were especially happy to help this family, because their daughter Denisse can not walk or run normally like other girls her age. This is not just because of the terrain, the rocks, or the dirt floor. She was born with a displaced hip. Her left hip is incomplete, and for a while now she has battled osteoporosis, because her bones do not get enough movement. She has now had three operations, and needs more.
Emmanuel Sr. was working for a few months at Campo Esperanza, according to Laura Baetz, the Baja Bound Organization Coordinator (bajabound.org). And, in her words, the story begins like this:
“He arrived asking for help and to see if he could apply for a house for his family. He applied last year and was placed on the waiting list. As he came to know the mission of Campo Esperanza, he continued coming to help, in a way that was very humble and helpful, asking for nothing for himself. We were very surprised at how talented and what a hard worker he is, and as our friendship with him deepened, we began to realize how deep his need was. His family was living in the home of his mother-in-law because it has a floor (rather than dirt) and so his daughter could walk better there despite her displaced hip. His job was selling knives to tacos stands. He did not earn enough to feed his family, buy his daughter’s medication, and build a house, so we offered to let him live at Campo Esperanza and work there. They were there for a few months, but with the desire to return to their property and build their house. He is now taking a great deal of time to work on his property and his little house, but they need a little help to move forward.And we were so happy to go down there and give this precious family a little extra help, by building a house alongside with them, so they can grow roots and prosper in a world where we are ‘one.’”
