I have written in previous blogs about the great disparity of wealth between the rich and poor in Mexico. Many of the families that send their kids to the American School Foundation where I work are immensely wealthy. Mexico City is filled with luxury cars, beautiful buildings, and expensive restaurants. It is also filled with many poor people, readily seen begging on the streets. The first time you see an old woman lying on the pavement with her knotted hands held out in solicitation, it’s quite a shock. You want to stop and shout, “Hey, shouldn’t someone come help this poor woman?” But after a while, it becomes normal to you, part of the landscape. And later, when you see a woman begging on the pavement with two babies in her lap, you start to say, “Hey, shouldn’t you stop having babies if you can’t feed them?” (No help from the Catholic Church on this one.) That reaction to a poor mother probably sounds harsh, but the reality is that if you gave money to every person who asked for it on the street you would never arrive home with any money in your pocket. It’s not my fault these people are poor. Poverty is part of the system here. It’s part of the culture. It is rooted in a long history of oppression and exploitation that began with the Spanish conquest of the Americas over 500 years ago. It is bigger than what any one person can fix.At ASF, like many schools in the U.S., there are graduation service requirements. Consequently, there are many programs at the school in which students can participate. Many of them deal with helping the poor of Mexico. Though the “volunteerism” is mandatory, the students seem to genuinely embrace it. One such ASF service program offers students the chance to participate in local Habitat for Humanity projects. Despite the slight religious component of this charity, I have always appreciated the practical and effective work of the organization. I mean, they build houses for poor people who would otherwise not be able to own one. That’s just flat out awesome. The coordinating teachers for the Habitat service club last year were awesome too, my good friends Pete and Cyndi. They are two really special people and I was very sad to see them leave the school at the end of the year.
Last fall, I decided to join them one Saturday on a Habitat trip. The construction site near Texcoco, located in the state of Mexico. Though it lies just outside of the Federal District, is still part of the ever expanding “Greater Mexico City Metropolitan Area,” which has spilled across the borders of the DF and into surrounding states. This area is also the site of a HUGE garbage dump. Many of the poor there actually make there living sifting through the garbage. It is the site where the government wanted to build a new international airport for Mexico City. The current airport, Benito Juarez International, is the biggest and busiest airport in Latin America. Still, it is not big enough. A couple of years ago, the fedearal government proposed they build a new super large airport out near Texcoco. This would have brought related development and many jobs, but remarkably the local poor protested. I’m not sure what their complaints were, but I heard they rode into the center of the Mexico City on horseback, waving their machetes in protest. That’s a little more threatening than a protest I saw here on my first visit to the DF a few years ago—a bunch of farmers protested by lining up by the hundreds in the nude, or with their pants pulled down, so that they were all mooning the passing traffic. At any rate, the new airport plan was scrapped and instead a new, not so big terminal was built at the existing airport. And the area around Texcoco? It still has an enormous garbage dump surrounded by terribly poor people. Go figure.
The day I went on the Habitat trip, we put a roof on a house for an old man. The night before I told Pete and Cyndi I had built houses in my youth and possessed various construction skills. I asked if I should bring a hammer or a tape measurer. Ha! It was a silly question, as I forgot to remember that most everything built in Mexico is built with cement. That’s right, a big flat cement roof hanging right over your head. They simply put a corrugated piece of metal on the roof and fill it with about eight inches of cement. Consequently, there was no need for measuring, cutting or hammering. There was, however, a real need for carrying lots and lots and lots of buckets of cement across a yard and up a ramp onto a roof. So that is what we spent a good part of the day doing.
The kids threw themselves into the work with wild abandon, giving many of the locals a much needed break. (Part of Habitat for Humanity’s deal with the owners is that they must participate in the construction of their houses.) At first some of the men were reluctant to allow the girls to get involved so directly in such difficult and dirty work, but our girls would not be denied! The houses being built are very small and very simple, but when you look at the shanty shacks in the surrounding area that previously passed as housing, you know that what you are doing is a real life changer for these people. And it’s aslo a life changer for the kids too, some of which I think are seeing their fellow Mexicans with new eyes. Seeing random poor people begging in a city full of wealth is one thing, but seeing masses of people living in a landscape of economic devastation is something else for sure. And they don’t just look at these people from afar like they do in the DF. They get to really meet them and talk with them face to face, working, laughing, having lunch, side by side. I can only hope that these students—some of them surely to become major movers and shakers in Mexico’s future—will keep their ASF Habitat experiences in their hearts.
I really enjoyed the day on the Habitat project, so when Pete and Cyndi asked me to cover for them on another trip, I readily agreed. It was not a day without its problems. There was some miscommunication about connecting with our Habitat representative. She changed the details of our meeting, and then was late connecting at the new rendezvous. We eventually made our way to the same construction site near Texcoco, but this time there was not much work to be done. Essentially, we helped some women move some gravel and rocks around to prepare for the pouring of some porches. We also dug a couple of holes, though I cannot say I remember for what purpose. I suppose it was all work that needed to be done, but it did not feel much like building a house. When I shared my experiences with Pete and Cyndi they were not surprised. It appears the local Mexican coordinators of Habitat for Humanity do not have their acts entirely together. It’s a real shame because the kids are truly eager to work. If they could plan things a little better, I am sure these ASF kids could build a lot of houses. But, alas, this is Mexico.
I was asked if I wanted to be the coordinator for ASF Habitat for Humanity next year. I have not committed to do so as of this moment, but as I reflect upon my experiences writing this blog, I think I will take them up on the offer. I cannot personally solve all the problems of poverty in Mexico, but I can do my part.
Photo note: ASF rich brats busting their asses to help their less fortunate compatriots.
You can also view related pictures of extreme poverty and the Habitat Housing related to this blog at:
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