Notes from the Ground: Sept. 23rd. Tijuana

the view, originally uploaded by James Matthew.

An excerpt from my notebook-

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Sept. 23.o8

We ended up working on 4 different houses scattered across the hillside today – putting tarpaper and chicken wire up – cramped working conditions, and very rough living…

Last winter a mudslide left a few feet of mud and debris in some of the houses, one house up the hill has no floor (and probably that is the norm here), just a tar paper covering. The house next door to it has a tarp ‘roof’ that leaks whenever it rains. The other house has tarantulas coming through holes in the walls – they have young children…

It is very hard to look people in the eyes as they try to communicate their needs (after trying to translate in your head) and give them an answer that is worthy…

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Our team worked on the side of a hill that appeared like something out of the Middle East – It was rocky, sandy, and windblown. Some of our team had to lug bags of cement, wood, and tools up the hill in the hot TJ sun. The view was an amazing reminder that the living conditions here are not unique…at one point, I had to walk down the hill with a local lady to talk with Carley about trying to get her tarp roof replaced with something a little more stable (her house is the one on ’stilts’ shown below, and is highest up on the hillside). It was difficult to face this lady and tell her there wasn’t much I could do. Carley’s response was graceful but practical – we’ve already committed ourselves to help certain families on this hill, and we only have so much to go around, but we do come back, and we will do what we can.- This is definitely a hard lesson to learn…

-james

hillside, originally uploaded by James Matthew.