Bonfires n’ Buildings

S’mores and campfire songs brought November’s TECHO weekend to a close with another muddy but successful build.

After a long day of digging holes and leveling pilotes, the TECHO executive team organized a bonfire where students brought guitars and sang along to popular songs such as Color Esperanza or I’m Yours. What started out as a gathering of 6 people sitting on benches around a cast iron fire pit ended up in a group of around 80 students singing till the fire was put out. Volunteers Mónica Turner, Alonso Campuzano, Othón Ruiz, Juan Pablo Hernández, Juan Blando, Sebastián Garza and Pato Guzmán indulged the audience with their musical talent.

This years’ event featured 240 students, teachers, and alumni who helped build 20 emergency shelters for people in extreme poverty. The construction project in Montebello, just outside of Monterrey, was completed under rainy and cold conditions with temperatures dropping to 6º C at night.

All the participants slept on the concrete floor of a nearby gym which was a 15-minute walk from the community. A total of 1.2 million pesos were fundraised for the build through boteadas and donations given to the volunteers.

A second construction will take place in May 2019 where René Martínez, head of TECHO, plans to bring even more voluntarios and possibly build 25 shelters.