Archive for ‘House Building’

Changes Lead to Good

Araceli and her 7-year-old daughter are dressed up in Christmas clothes, coming from a school Christmas recital. Araceli’s 1st grader sang in front of the entire school this year, which she so much enjoys. Araceli smiles with joy as she recounts the performance and shows pride in her daughter.

Araceli grew up in Tijuana, spending almost her entire life in the neighborhood of Pedregal de Santa Julia. She is the third of six kids, who grew up at Hogar de los Niños orphanage. She recounts that her family was the orphanage, as she never knew anything else. Some of her siblings still live there all these years later. She talks about the orphanage with a heart full of gratitude. Hogar de los Niños filled a void for her, not just one of physical needs with food and clothes, but also the necessary intangibles of love, growing up with family, and role models. 

Rosa and Eduvigues, who worked in the orphanage, practically became her parents. Rosa taught her to read, write, and memorize math tables. Araceli recounts that she was never really a good student, but always tried hard and Rosa did see value in that. Araceli gets emotional when talking about Rosa, as she passed away a couple years ago. Rosa left a strong impression on her that she still carries with her to this day. Perhaps that’s where her strong work ethic came from. 

What Araceli lacked in study skills, she made up for with her love of physical activity, exercise, and spirit of determination. Putting all that together led her to open a neighborhood Zumba studio. Not bad for someone who didn’t finish middle school. She operated the Zumba studio for years, teaching many in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, she had to close that business due to the pandemic, but her entrepreneurial spirit kicked in again as she went back to school to be a masseuse. 

Araceli shares that she wants to open her own Zumba and spa business once her house is built. She already has it planned out, where the house will be on one side of her property and the other will be dedicated to studio and spa. She hopes rent payments for housing and business space will finally be a thing of the past. 

When talking about her daughter, Araceli’s face starts to brighten up. She says she wants to impart humility, a good work ethic, and persistence onto her young daughter. All qualities that have served her well throughout her life. Araceli also shares of a deep desire to break the cycle of family trauma, specifically of absent biological parents. She starts to get emotional again when explaining her motivation to be an active and present parent in her daughter’s life. Wanting her daughter to have access to family in all its fullness. 

Taking a moment to reflect on her life, Araceli says that she’s learned to recognize when things change, it is always for the better. Even when it doesn’t seem like it at the time, change brings opportunity. Whether its leaving Hogar de los Niños, starting a new business, becoming a mother, or dealing with a pandemic. She shares that each stage in life should be used as a step that leads to bigger and better things. Moving on before dependence and complacency have a chance to creep into the picture. Better days are always ahead for Araceli. 

In hearing how Araceli describes change in her life, I can’t help but think of her on the waiting list for a Doxa house. How a house will be another big change in her life and how it will fulfill a need that will help catapult her and her daughter to better things. 

An East Tijuana Home Base

Since the early 1990s, Doxa has been active on the West side of Tijuana. We’ve had the privilege of building over 2200 houses, thereby providing shelter to over 11,000 people. Over the last several years, needs have been changing and Doxa has started to also build houses in East Tijuana. 

Doxa absolutely wouldn’t have been able to build so many houses in West Tijuana without a great home base. A place where volunteer groups can come, stay, and prepare for their building days. A place that is well-known throughout the local community and trusted so that families can come and apply for houses. A place to store house building materials and tools that is safe and secure. Apart from the right place, it also takes the right relationships. The people that activate those places and make them come alive. People who are deeply embedded into the local community, know the families, know the needs, and can be present year-round. 

For West Tijuana, Doxa’s home base has always been Hogar de los Niños. We’ve had the privilege of growing alongside that orphanage for decades and used house building as a launching point for even more partnership.

When thinking about the vision of an East Tijuana home base, we strive to embrace Doxa’s values at all levels of implementation. This means collaboration with local organizations to the maximum extent possible. There’s no need to recreate the wheel, if we can partner with another organization who is already active. Working together, we can often have a larger impact than working alone and complement each other’s strengths. This also means being deeply committed to people, communities, and places. Making targeted and high-impact investments in relationships and spaces that will further strengthen the local community and help Doxa to achieve its mission. Cultivating and being committed to long-term partnerships sets the stage for future collaboration. This is exactly how house building led to the creation of Doxa’s education program.

In 2017, Doxa started to build houses in East Tijuana and has built around 70 houses so far. We’ve been able to hobble along without the benefit of an established East Tijuana home base. Groups have stayed at Unidos por Siempre and Rancho. House building materials have also been stored at both of those locations, and even at a neighbor’s house! Doxa’s supplies have been scattered everywhere. When it rains, we need to throw tarps over the lumber piles! It’s a real chore to keep everything organized and accounted for. 

What Doxa has lacked in an established facility, however, it has made up for with relationships. Maria Figueroa (pictured right) and Jaime Ortiz (pictured at top) are the two principal relationships that have been cultivated over the past few years. Maria is the founder and director of Unidos por Siempre. She heads up family selection and on-the-ground logistics for groups. Jaime is the manager at Rancho. He heads up Rancho facilities and interfaces directly with groups who stay there. Together, these two (and their respective coworkers) are integral to working in concert with groups during their time in Tijuana. 

With the relationships in place, it is now time for Doxa to work on a more established East Tijuana facility. Unidos por Siempre is a good place for small groups to stay, but we also need to be mindful that it is a working orphanage without much space. Rancho, on the other hand, is a very large place with over 20 acres of land and can accommodate groups of all sizes in their dorm-style rooms. Unidos por Siempre and Rancho are only about 3 minutes away from each other and are both focal points in the neighborhood. 

The most urgent need is now a shed in East Tijuana that can accommodate 14 houses of materials, tools, and storage. This will complete the vision of having an East Tijuana home base where groups can land and launch out of in service to the local community. Rancho has graciously offered to provide room so a storage shed can be built. Plans are already finished and its time fundraise to make this a reality. Our goal is to complete fundraising for this project as part of Doxa’s December matching campaign and build the shed in time for groups to use in 2023. While there will always be more projects to further enhance and improve an East Tijuana home base, the addition of a shed signifies that all the pieces are present and functioning. 

The team of Maria and Jaime, as well as their respective spaces at Unidos por Siempre and Rancho, provide Doxa with partners for the next 2200+ houses! We are so thankful to them for working with Doxa and ultimately bringing glory to God through their service!

From a House to a Home

Lucero and Alonso are in their mid-20s and met at work, in one of Tijuana’s many factories (called maquiladoras). They were previously renting a house, but in late 2020 the landlord did not renew their lease. As a stop-gap measure they moved in with Lucero’s parents and simultaneously announced that they were expecting a boy. While exciting, they were in need of a space of their own. 

Lucero spear-headed the effort of applying for a Doxa house. She found Maria at Unidos por Siempre on the East side of Tijuana. After going through the interview, submitting required documentation, and doing 250 hours of community service, she was put on the waiting list. 

In April 2022, a group from First Presbyterian Church Spokane came to Tijuana, and over the course of a week a house was built. This was one of three houses that they built while in Tijuana. Lucero and Alonso now live in Terrazas del Valle in East Tijuana with their son, Jasiel. 

Maria went back to visit with Lucero and Alonso at 2 months and 4 months after the house was built. Follow-up visits allow a continuation of a relationship with each family, to see how they are doing, to come alongside in other needed ways, and share in the joy of the new place to live. We’d also be lying if we didn’t add that we double-check to make sure the house is holding up well and performing as designed (haha!). 

As Maria arrived, Lucero emerged from her house, walked across the dirt patio, and around a big pile of sand and gravel to open the front gate. She welcomed Maria in with a smile, asking how she’s been. Maria slowly makes her way towards the house and when entering, Lucero offers her a chair and asks about the volunteer group. Lucero remembers them fondly and says she still keeps in touch with some of them. Alonso reaches for a picture of the group and points out the ones who made the biggest impression on him. Lucero shares how she worked alongside the group to build and, unexpectedly, saw the students working so hard each day. She felt humbled by the fact that these people came from so far to help her and her family. To help provide them with something that they could never repay, but just with their thanks and appreciation. 

Alonso shares his appreciation for the solid concrete floor, sturdy walls, and roof. He’s quick to share about future projects they have planned. A living room and kitchen addition, bathroom addition (in progress), interior drywall, and small cement patio out front for Jasiel to play. They are already thinking forward to when Jasiel will need more of his own space. Alonso gets up from his seat and shows Maria behind the house, the walls of the kitchen and bathroom are already going up and the bedroom is already partially drywalled. 

Jasiel, meanwhile, is just starting to walk around the house. He uses a little plastic cart to push around and bumps into just about everything. He smiles as the dog occasionally swings by to give him some attention. The dog is a more recent addition, came one day and decided to stay. So, a dog house was also made in the same style as their house. 

As Maria wraps up her visit, Lucero and Alonso light up with gratitude. Humbled to receive such a gift and now a desire to be good stewards of this new opportunity. They are excited for all the future milestones that they will have here, a place they are proud to call home. 

Matching Campaign Recap

Last year Doxa held its first matching campaign, where donations made throughout the month of December were matched by the board of directors. We were blown away by the generosity of everyone! 

As part of that effort, we released a new video each week detailing an aspect of Doxa’s mission and impact on the ground. They included interviews with families, staff, and partners throughout Tijuana. If you missed any of those videos, we’d encourage you to take a quick look. Here they are: 

Doxa is more than just house building, video released 11/30/21.

Impacts of House Building, video released 12/8/21.

Doxa Education, video released 12/14/21.

Doxa Community, video released 12/20/21.

Doxa Partnerships, video released 12/27/21.

As the end of this year approaches, keep your eyes and ears open for when we kick-off our 2nd annual December matching campaign. All funds raised are essential to keeping Doxa’s presence active on the ground in Tijuana year-around.

House Building, Education, and Community Report

Doxa’s house building, education, and community operations have been heavily impacted this year (no surprise there). The solutions of the past were not going to work as easily in a 2020 world. In order to continue Doxa’s mission, creative solutions were used. House building realized by employing local construction teams, education largely online (but some still in person), and community reimagined. 

For the first time in over a month, the local house building teams were back on the job sites. They completed two new houses over the weekend. Bittersweet, as they were the first houses built without Rosa. Still, it is good to get back to work and work at something that Rosa believed in with her whole heart. The families worked alongside Doxa’s local building teams and together the houses were completed. New green and blue structures dot the hillside in Rojo Gomez, and the Jaral Cejudo Family and the Gomez Ambriz Family now have a house to sleep in. Next up for these families is moving in and turning their house into a home. 

The education scholarship program has largely moved online, equipping all middle and high school students to learn with laptops and Internet access. A handful of the younger ones, 2nd and 3rd grade still come to Doxa and get more personalized assistance. Over the summer, we outfitted Doxa with all the necessary COVID-19 equipment and procedures in order to have smaller study groups utilize classroom space. Doxa continues to work with Hogar de los Niños and Unidos por Siempre on their education needs. Providing a dedicated tutor who comes to work with the kids on a daily basis has proved to work well in those settings. The classroom at Unidos por Siempre now functions as an in-home school for those kids. 

Admittedly, finding ways to continue the community part of Doxa’s mission has been the most challenging. Aside from providing families with some food packages, holding a parent meeting on COVID-19, and some virtual communications with families, it’s been difficult to cultivate the kind of community that Doxa is typically accustomed to. We just haven’t been able to find a way to adapt the authentic in-person, face-to-face connection that draws people to Doxa’s summer camp, parenting classes, community events, fall carnival, clubs, and activities in a COVID-19 world. While those program offerings remain on pause, God has presented an enormous opportunity in the meantime: to assemble stakeholders and form a local task force to detail out the programmatic plan of the Pedregal Community Center. Parents, neighborhood leaders, Doxa staff, and subject experts are part of this effort. Just as the design for the community center was driven by local stakeholders, so is the programmatic approach. As things continue to develop, we look forward to sharing them with you all! 

Finally, none of the reimagined house building, education, or community work could’ve been realized without your support. We are so thankful for all of the groups and individuals who have donated this year. We literally wouldn’t still be here without you! The trust that you’ve placed in Doxa to still carry out its work in the midst of a pandemic is something we don’t take lightly. The current status of Doxa’s fall/winter fundraising goals are below: 

  • 14.3 out of 20 houses funded!
  • 65 out of 50 new scholarships funded! Goal exceeded, praise God!
  • $2500 out of $2500 raised for community food packages!

We’ve met or exceeded two out of three fall/winter fundraising goals and are closing in on the third! Thank you for the outpouring of generosity for the people of Tijuana!!

House Building with Local Teams

We are now three-quarters of the way done with 2020 and not a single nail has been hammered by an American volunteer group. That’s a statement most, if not all, of us never thought would be the case. Instead, local building teams have been hard at work cranking out houses (15 houses completed so far). This has led to a very interesting dynamic, a worksite with all Mexican builders. 

With the onset of COVID-19, it became clear that this year was going to look very different for house building operations. While Doxa was firmly committed to building for qualified families that had been on the waiting list, it would be accomplished with the hiring of local building teams and raising financial support from groups and individuals. This new model has showcased some of the best of everyone involved. Groups and individuals have shown enormous generosity in giving, families have worked hard on their own houses, and Doxa has been able to provide increased employment opportunities for builders in the local community. Seeing everyone shine in their roles has been a privilege. 

Many times groups that have experience building in Tijuana assume that locals would build the house much better and faster than they do. While there may be some truth to this, there’s still a learning curve. The local teams use cement mixers and power tools to speed up the process. It’s also not uncommon for them to pre-cut all of the lumber the day before. These steps dramatically speed up the assembly process on the worksite. Not to mention the experience that these teams gain week after week of working with each other and the 12-hour days they put in. 

Of course, there’s still the moments of “oh, I forgot the box of roofing nails back at the orphanage” or “I could have sworn that the window lengths were 46” instead of 46 ½,” guess we’ll have to recut some lumber.” Squaring up the walls and roof can also be a challenge. It doesn’t magically just come together for the local teams, either. Kids on the worksite still play in the paint while moms chase after them. It seems as though, even across cultures, we still have things in common. 

One thing that is different on the worksite is the feel and atmosphere. There’s less talking and more non-verbal communication. There’s an awareness of process and order of building that is unspoken. When things are explained, few words are used. Everyone is keenly aware of the overall goal of finishing the house and is constantly looking to see how the group is progressing. To describe it in a nutshell, it is a group mentality versus an individual mentality. It is approaching the task from the standpoint of what is needed, instead of what I want to do. Not surprisingly, the time with the most talking is lunch time. Conversations start and drag on through the food; until it’s time to get back to work! 

Through the end of this year, our goal is to keep the local teams building and houses coming. We are about half way to our goal of funding 20 more houses. Thank you so much to everyone who has already contributed, you’ve already made such an impact. If you’re interested and able to donate, please do so through our secure website

Update on Doxa’s COVID-19 Response

The deeper we get into 2020, our experience continues to look different than what we all had expected. Doxa has used this crisis-filled time for prayer, evaluation, and innovation. To revisit the ways by which we carry out our mission. Even though it may look a little different, Doxa continues to create impact through house building, education, and community.

For house building, this has meant creating and employing local building teams to construct homes. Many groups and individuals have financially supported the building of houses during this time. It has not only resulted in houses still being built, but also in increased employment opportunities for a community that is experiencing layoffs and reductions in working hours. This “new” way of building houses has opened up an opportunity that Doxa has never seen before. It may also be something that becomes a permanent fixture within Doxa, even after this season of crisis passes.

For education, we have equipped students for distance learning. Instead of investing in school uniforms, Doxa equipped those students to learn from home with laptops and Internet access. Tutors from Doxa’s after-school program also continued to check-in with students and families through WhatsApp or phone calls. Now that the 2019-2020 school year is finished, we have several weeks to catch our breath, strategize, and plan for what Tijuana schools will do next. One thing that we do believe is that there will be an increase in scholarship applicants for the 2020-2021 school year.

For community, we have had to stop all activities and the dance group practices. While we hope to continue those soon, we recognize that safety and health take precedence. For Doxa’s annual summer camp, which routinely draws over 100 children and adults, we have had to delay and augment its implementation. We are planning for a shortened camp, limiting numbers of kids, instigating increased health and sanitizing procedures, and conducting mainly outdoor activities. One of the major needs that summer camp will address is school review. Many students did not absorb or retain the same amount of school lessons as they normally would have.

Back in March, as shelter in place orders were starting to occur around the world, Doxa undertook a spring fundraising campaign. Those goals were to fund 22 houses, raise $7500 for Hogar de los Niños orphanage, and raise $15000 for Unidos por Siempre orphanage. We have been completely blown away as you have helped to exceed these goals. Thank you so much for your generosity! 22 houses have been funded, over $8000 raised for Hogar de los Niños, and over $15000 raised for Unidos por Siempre. A grand total of $164,705 for Tijuana! We can’t thank you all enough for this outpouring of support!

As we transition into summer, the effects of COVID-19 have lasted longer than we originally anticipated. We had thought groups were going to be able to travel again to Tijuana and build houses, school planning would be back to normal, and summer camp would be the joyous laughter-filled time that everyone looks forward to. In the wake of prolonged COVID-19 impacts, this has left even more families without the prospect of a new house. The cost of access to education increases with laptops and Internet requirements. While we are still planning on summer camp, it definitely will look different.

In order to respond to these continued needs, Doxa’s goals for this summer and fall are to fund the building of 20 houses, 50 education scholarships, and $2500 for a modified summer camp. There has already been awesome progress on these new goals!

If you would like to support, donations can be made through Doxa’s secure website and we also have an Amazon List setup for school supplies.

We are so thankful for your prayers and support during this time. It has been breathtaking to see the larger community moved into action, on both sides of the border.

How is a family selected to receive a house?

All families that end up receiving a house from Doxa must go through an application process. This process has been the product of many years of experience and, to some extent, trial and error. Since 1990, it has been Doxa’s privilege to be part of building over 2000 houses all over Tijuana. This magnitude of work, however, has also necessitated an application process that ensures only qualified families receive a house.

Rosa and Maria work on the western and eastern sides of Tijuana, respectively, to process family applications. All families follow the same process:

  1. The family makes initial contact with Rosa or Maria and fills out an application form with basic information (names, contact info, employment, financial info, family history, location of land for the house).
  2. The family submits various documents: IDs of all adults who will live in the house, birth certificates for the kids, proof of land ownership, employment/school records, and other documents as required. Doxa has learned the importance of requiring land ownership. If the recipient family does not own the plot of land, then they can soon lose their new home to a formerly absent landowner.
  3. Rosa or Maria interviews the family, reviews all of their information, and begins to understand why they are applying for a house. Sometimes a site visit of the family’s current living situation is needed, other times not. Rosa or Maria typically make a determination as to whether the family is approved. If a family falls into a gray area and they are not sure if a family should be approved, then we discuss that family among everyone to make a final determination together. Most families that apply for a house successfully end up receiving one.
  4. If approved, the family moves on to complete 120 hours of volunteer service. This is usually to a partner orphanage, but could also be to other local organizations. Rosa and Maria try to find a natural fit for any skills that the family has. For example, if the husband in the family knows how to weld, then maybe there’s some metalwork that needs to get completed. Likewise, if the wife in the family is an excellent cook, then perhaps she’ll dedicate some time to cooking for the orphanage. It’s all dependent upon the current needs of the community and the skills of the family.
  5. Rosa or Maria conduct a site visit of the family’s land. They counsel the family about what work, if any, needs to be done to the land to adequately prepare it for a Doxa house. Some families have nothing to do while others have to move entire hillsides or take down their current living structure to make room.
  6. The family goes on the wait list. We typically get to families within a year, but there are some cases where they wait longer. During this time is also when the family is responsible for preparing their land.
  7. Sand, gravel, and water (if no running water available) are delivered to the family’s land a couple days before the volunteer group is scheduled to begin.

This process ensures qualified families receive houses and are good stewards of the home after the volunteer group leaves Tijuana. On return trips, we encourage groups to visit their old building sites, reconnect with the family, and see how they have turned the house into a home.

Update on Doxa’s COVID-19 Response

For the first time in Doxa’s 30-year history, there were no groups in Tijuana building houses this spring. The faithful Spring Break groups that have been a cornerstone in Tijuana house building were noticeably absent. Unfortunately, many other organizations that build houses around Tijuana and northern Baja California also canceled their house building plans. Instead, a handful of organizations (Doxa included) quickly pivoted to raising donations towards the building of houses by locals. Not only can this still be a way to ultimately accomplish the mission of building houses for qualified families, but it has the added benefit of increasing employment opportunities in the region where many may be facing layoffs. 

Doxa’s orphanage partners are also heavily impacted by the absence of groups. Normally, the spring house building season is when they host many volunteers and recognize the income that those groups bring. This income is what helps to sustain their operations year around. In response, Doxa has started a special fund for each orphanage so they can still be supported financially during this time. 

With school classes canceled, various distance learning strategies are being used. For older students, online classes have started and Doxa’s education program quickly shifted to providing laptops and home Internet access to families without those resources. Having kids study from home has been an adjustment for all our families, just as it probably has for yours. The after-school program is temporarily closed until we can safely reopen. We use a mix of WhatsApp and phone calls to check-in with families and attend to student progress.

With the disruption caused by COVID-19, Doxa has taken this as an opportunity to rethink, repurpose, and pivot into new strategies for still accomplishing its mission of house building, education, and community throughout Tijuana. These needs don’t cease just because of the current pandemic. While all of our lives in the short-run have been drastically altered by COVID-19, Doxa remains attentive and perceptive in the ways that COVID-19 may have impacts in the long-run. We hope to be able to use this window of opportunity as a way to ultimately better serve the families of Tijuana. 

Below is an update on fundraising efforts for house building and both orphanage funds. Thank you to everyone who has contributed towards these efforts, we’re making great progress! You can continue to be involved through active prayer, giving, and reaching out to someone you know in the Tijuana community.

Total fundraising in response to COVID-19

Tijuana’s Explosive Growth

The city of Tijuana has undergone explosive growth. With a population of 1.3 million just 10 years ago, it is now estimated to have over 2 million residents. People from all over Mexico and Central America are drawn to the city in hopes of more lucrative job opportunities, a slightly higher standard of living, and maybe a shot at crossing into the United States. Tijuana is also quite diverse with Chinese, Haitian, and American populations, among others.

Initially, people settled towards the Western part of Tijuana and the coastline. Available land in these areas has significantly increased in price (lots that used to go for $7,000 are now up to $50,000) and undeveloped space is getting harder to find. This has naturally pushed Tijuana’s growth toward the East side of the city.

The city is much newer on the East side than the West side. Neighborhoods on the West side can date back for 50 or more years. They have benefited from all of those years of development, even as slow as it may be. East side neighborhoods are much newer, about 20 years or less. They look and feel significantly behind in terms of development. Little to no street pavement or utilities, and household income levels are much lower. When comparing these areas of Tijuana, the East side appears 10-15 years behind the West side.

In East side communities, housing and infrastructure are typically the primary need. This makes the East side a natural next step for Doxa in its house building operations. We want to acknowledge and act on the changing needs throughout the city of Tijuana. This is always guided by input from Doxa’s local staff and partners.

It won’t be too many more years before the outskirts of Tijuana and Tecate grow together. Doxa’s expansion to also build houses on the Eastern side of Tijuana is a natural next step in response to the city’s changing needs.