RB Sunrise Rotary Builds a House in Mexico
 Empty slab at the beginning of the day
|
On Saturday morning, Nov 7. 2015, 10 RB Sunrise Rotarians, family members, friends and co-workers gathered at the office of Dream Design Builders at 6:00 am. Once everyone arrived, we all got into our vehicles and drove to the McDonald's Restaurant at the Otay Border Crossing. There we met with several people from Project Mercy who guided us across the border and led us to the building site. We arrived at the site around 8:00 am. Jay Riordan and construction worker volunteers from Dream Design Builders set up their equipment which included a generator, an air compressor, several saws and 2 nail guns.
Everyone quickly got to work. The volunteers split into two groups. One group painted plywood siding panels and wood trim pieces. The other group went to work laying out the location for the walls on the concrete slab which had already been poured. During the next three hours, lumber was measured, marked and cut and then nailed together to form the walls of the house. Once the framing was done, the painted plywood wall panels were nailed to frames. Holes for the windows and the door were also cut. After all the walls were put together, they were raised into place. Before the front wall was nailed into place two interior walls were also installed. By this time, it was nearly 11:30 am, so it was time for a break for lunch.
After lunch, the volunteers went to work putting up the trusses and other framing for the roof. While this was happening, other volunteers installed the windows. During the framing of the roof, the previously painted wood trim pieces were nailed on the seams between the plywood wall panels. On of the contruction worker volunteers was a tile setter. After the front window was installed, he got to work and placed decorative tiles around this front window. By 4 pm, the pressed wood roofing panels were nailed in place and the front door was set and the door hardware was installed.
The project coordinator from Project Mercy at this point decided that there was not enough time to install the tarpaper and shingles on the roof. Project Mercy volunteers planned to come back on Sunday to complete the roof and any other minor tasks.
After we gathered up equipment and cleaned up the construction debris, everyone gathered to present the keys to the house to the recipient family. The family consisted of 1 man, his wife and three children. He makes $36 a week working in an electronics factory and is also going to school.
 21 Volunteers and the recipient family in front of the nearly completed house
|
You can see in one of the album photos the shack that they were living in. The just built house will provide a secure, dry place for this family. In addition to the slab that was poured days before we arrived, Project Mercy had also built an outside toilet structure with water and a flush toilet. Because of the work of the RB Sunrise volunteers this family's life was greatly improved. When the El Nino rains come, they will be able to stay dry because their new house will have a roof that doesn't leak.
All of us came away from this experience with a greater appreciation of the impact that our involvement in Rotary has in changing lives of others in need.
To view the photo album, go to 2015 Project Mercy House