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TIJUANA MINISTRY

July 13 – 20, 2013

Inquiry Orientation
‘Truly

I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these
brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Matthew 25:39-41


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Prayer

Lord Jesus,
Carpenter and Healer,
we ask that you look upon those multitudes in Tijuana
who have too little to eat,
have too little shelter
and struggle each day to find work and ways to care for their family.
We pray for the sick who have little resources to be healed.
We ask you to guide us and open our eyes and hearts to their plight.
Help us to hear their voices and learn from their faith and wisdom.
Show us how we can help.
In your name we pray. Amen.
‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and
sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:39-41


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Agenda
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Introductions
Our Purpose
Why Tijuana?
Program Overview & Detail
Build Sites for 2013
Requirements & Cost
Fundraising
Registration & Paperwork
Safety/Security
Help Us | Join Us
Q&A


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Introductions
Monica Rising,
St. Julie Parish Ministry Coordinator

408.307.4871

Bob Malone
Program Liason

408.640.0206

Joanna Thurmann
Communications and Publicity

408.568.2559

Bobby Dartez
Construction Manager

408-690-6672

Jesse Perez, Work Site Coordinator
Español

408.690.6672

Joan Mibach, St Simon Parish
Coordinator

650.279.0450


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Our Mission
We foster friendships and spiritual growth by reaching across
borders to bring God’s people together. By putting our faith
into action, we build lasting and vibrant communities in
collaboration with San Eugenio Parish in Tijuana. We provide
opportunities for education, immersion, and commitment to
promote human dignity.


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Why Tijuana?
 Tijuana, Mexico, Eastern suburbs
 One of poorest locales in North America
 400,000 people living in poverty
 Melting pot of nationalities
 Minimal government support for the poor.


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Why Tijuana?
 Because we can and because we are called
 Overwhelming need for help with few organizations who serve
Tijuana.
 Tijuana gives us an up close experience of the global issues
faced by the poor
 We do not get a global perspective for solving issues of justice
for the poor if we only address our local community needs.


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Program Overview
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Mother's Outreach Program
Children's Outreach Program
Building Program
Immersion & Education
Established at St Julie’s in 2005

Everyone is invited to volunteer– not limited to parishioners but
traditionally we have many participants from St Julie & St Simon
Parish and beyond


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Program Overview
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Stay on one team or rotate throughout the week
Evening reflections and sharing
Transformative experience - “Conversion through immersion”
Post trip: testimony and spreading the news

“When Jesus was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks,
broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and
they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked
each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us
on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24: 30-32


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Mother’s Outreach Program
 Building community among families. Often
families do not know each other very well
 Respect the value of community, working
together – empowerment
 Activities include:
 Group discussions on nutrition, financial
planning, health, family, faith
 Doing crafts, skill based activities


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Children’s Outreach Program
 Continuation of building community among
families
 Respect children’s desire to be included and learn
 Activities include:
 Coloring books, crafts, reading
 Sports and physical activities
 Catechism
 Lunches and snacks
 Gift at end of program on last day


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Building Program
 Families for build sites selected in
cooperation with St. Eugenio parish
 Some pre-build done in San Jose
 Yerba Buena High School students
help to construct walls
 Community invited to participate in
two pre-build days ~ May/June
 Completed sections transported across
border on trailers
 Assembly & construction finished in TJ
 Doors, windows, electrical, insulation,
sheet rock, roofing, plumbing, painting
 Some material donated here. Most
purchased in Tijuana


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Building Program
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2 experienced construction leads per site
12-18 total volunteers per site
No experience necessary
Safety is paramount


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Home Site | Cook Team
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Prepares breakfast & lunches
Works with local cook team to prepare dinner
Helps Mother’s & Children’s teams
Shopping, coordination, logistics


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Immersion & Education
 Mass with community
 Visits to Casa del Migrante – men’s
shelter for recently deported from US
 Visit to the Border Wall – La Frontera
 Evening visits with the community
 Evening Reflections and Sharing


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2013 Build Site
Home for Mireya Juarez Angeles / Jose Angel Medina (+ 3 daughters, Karla(
10 yr), Nidia( 8yr) and Tania (3 years).
Mireya cannot walk and doesn’t see well following surgery to remove a brain tumor mid 2012.
Although she is in remission, her left side is very weak and partially paralyzed. Her daughters take care of
her while the father Jose Angel works in a local factory 6 days a week. An aunt helps a little with meals
and house-cleaning. Mireya’s greatest wish is to provide safety and security for her children. The current
house is made of garage doors with a very bad roof that leaks in all the rooms.
They have ownership of the land. Their lot is 29’ x 50’ on flat, firm ground, with a septic tank, illegal
electricity and no drainage. We will build our standard 16’x32’ foot house on a 24’x32 slab, plus it will
have a small piece of slab from the front door going around to the cement patio on the side of the house
(for washer, etc) and a ramp at the front door for easy wheelchair access. Handicap accommodations for
the bathroom will also be needed. This home is near Terraces I location next to the open area.


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2013 Build Site
Roof for Marta Patricia Ibanez / Jorge Castro Quntanilla Terraces (+6 kids)
The family has been on their plot for 8 years, but they do not own the land. In fact, their property stands on
a government access road to a future development/housing complex that the government will be building.
Therefore, it is possible that as soon as that development starts, their house will be demolished. So we
cannot build a full house for them at the current location. The floor in this house is new (paid for by the
government), but their roof is in very bad shape and leaking. There are no public services (plumbing or
electricity). Although there is a vacant plot nearby which they could purchase, they do fear that they may
not be able to make the monthly payments (they earn 1,200 pesos per month), so they will not purchase it.
So for now, we have agreed that we are building them a roof which is like a carport structure over the
existing home. The roof structure will be 24’x22’ plus 9 beams. There are many homes in TJ that need
this type of shelter so we are looking forward to this project to see how we can accommodate more roofs
when we are in Tijuana.


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Prospective 2013 Build Site
Home for EITHER of these two families. This
project has not been decided yet.
Guadalupe Salivar (Lupita): this is a family of 6
living in two small rooms in bad shape. However, they
do not own their land. Lupita’s husband makes 800
pesos/month. Ideally, they wish to buy the plot of land
nearby and have us build on it. Total price of the land
(8 x 20 meters) is ~ 130,000 pesos ($10,000). They
do not have the down payment. San Eugenio Parish
is considering a way to help them with the down
payment. They also need to determine whether the
family can make the mortgage payments long term.
If this is not a possibility to replace the house on new
property, then we may provide a roof structure since
the current roof consists of tarps.


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Prospective 2013 Build Site
The second alternative project is a House at 9129 Durazno Oeste owned by a
woman (Adelaida Saldana Estrada) taking care of two adults with mental
disabilities (her son and her sister).
We have also stopped by this property during our 2012 scouting trip but back then we could not enter the home
due to security reasons. However, we saw their house this year and it is a good flat piece of land with easy
access. One existing structure toward the left-front of the property is made of brick and could be left standing,
while other structures on the property are in bad shape with leaks and we would tear them down to build our
standard 16’ x 32’ home toward the back of the lot. We would also need to remove the front cement ‘overhang’
for safety and to move the electrical wire that runs through the bathroom. The family have lived and owned the
land for 15 yrs. They came from Guadalajara to Tijuana for work. The Owner is Adelaida Saldana Estrada (~ 60
yrs old). She works in a factory earning approximately 700 pesos per week. Her son is Gabriel Saldana Estrada
(~ 24 yrs old), who works as a cleaner, earning approximately 500 pesos/week. The Sister is Maria de la Paz
Saldana (approx.. late 30s) and she is unable to work.


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2013 Build Site

Expansion of San Francisco Real Chapel
There are approximately 1,400 families in this area of San Francisco Real Chapel, and approx. 100-120
families worship regularly at this chapel each Sunday. There is insufficient room for them inside, so they
often have to crowd outside in the heat, rain or cold. There are ~ 116 children preparing for first
communion, and a strong youth group of about 15. On Wednesday, they have a charismatic assembly, Holy
Hour on Thursday, mass on Saturday, and RCIA on Sunday. During the week, the chapel is used for youth
group, liturgy and music practice and special community events. This building was here for 5 years.
Previously, they had 1 small building which served as a chapel and is now used for catechism. They have
an additional structure containing 6 small classrooms for faith formation classes.
The existing chapel is 35’ wide by 50’ long. We will be adding 34 ft to the 50 ft length, going to the east. So
final chapel dimensions will be 35’ wide by 84’ long. Prior to our arrival a slab can be laid. We also
discussed the potential for building an additional 12’x24’ structure which will be used for kitchen


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Prospective 2013 Build Site

Shade structure in Terraces II. This is a potential project and has yet to be
finalized.
We have been using Terraces II as our home site area for the past 9 years. We run the Mothers’ and
Children’s Programs here in July when it is very hot outside. There is currently no shade structure
here, so we usually bring our own shade pop-ups which are heavy and cumbersome to bring down,
put up and take down. Chris, Jesse and the build leads want to explore building a more permanent
shade system/structure, which would consist of cemented beams and wires surrounding the outside
patio area. Tarps or shade covering could then be attached to this structure in the spring/summer-time
but removed in fall/winter due to wind and rain conditions. We need to assure the community agrees
with the build concept for this project, hence it has not yet been finalized.


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Requirements
 Age
 Youth must be 14+ years old (or entering high school) and
approved by the organizing team
 Youth 13 and younger must be accompanied by adult
 All participants should be in good health
 Cost
 $300 total Travel Fees, includes food, lodging, transport
 Goal: Fundraise additional $500 from personal sources
 Must participate in group fundraising events
 Limited scholarships may be available on a needs basis
 US passport or green card valid for 6 months after return
 Age 18 and older  Fingerprinting (background check) by
Diocese of San Jose
 Age 13 and older  Complete a 90-minute online course
‘Shield the Vulnerable’ from Diocese of San Jose


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Fees & Fundraising
Personal Fundraising
 $300 travel fees
 Letter-writing campaign
 Company matching
 Goal: $500 additional

Group Fundraising
 Carwash
 Parish-wide garage sale
 Taco sales
 Donut & coffee sale
 Movie nights
 Other


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Individual Fundraising - Suggestions
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Ask everyone, friends, family, neighbors, teachers, co-workers
Facebook/Twitter/MySpace
Direct them to website for donation info
Find donors for garage sale
Match dollar-for-dollar donations
Ask employer if they have donation / grant programs
Ask your favorite place of business
Just ask, ask, ask


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Registration & Paperwork
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www.TijuanaMinistry.org > Apply (top-right corner)
Submit Online Application
Pay Travel Fees
Get Passport - Everyone needs a current US passport which
expires October 2013 or later
 Visa not required if US Citizen
 Some resident aliens must apply for visas ASAP
Fill-out Medical Information & Release forms
Fingerprinting (LiveScan) from Diocese of San Jose for age 18+
Online Course (90-min) from Diocese of San Jose for age 13+
Driver's insurance (drivers only)
Code of Conduct (minors only)
Orientation Mtgs and Fundraisers


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Safety / Security
 We do not leave the compound except for scheduled
events and programs
 We stay in groups when outside the compound
 We use the buddy system
 The compound is enclosed and gated; 24-hr security provided.
Cars also stay within the secure compound.
 Communication via radios and cell phones between sites,
compound
 Site has a local parish leader
 No 1-on-1 with teens | “Shield the Vulnerable” class
 Men and Women sleep separately in 2-story building
 The surrounding area is relatively safe. No other groups who go
to TJ have experienced any incidents of crime or violence


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Help Wanted
 builders
 teachers
 drivers
 cooks
 Spanish-speakers
 helpers with the children’s & mother's programs
 organizers
 fundraisers
 financial support
 donations of building supplies & tools
 help at pre-build days
 anyone will a willing heart and willing hands
 prayers


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Come as a family | Become a family


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Find Out More

www.TijuanaMinistry.org
[email protected]


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Q&A
Thank you for your interest
in the program