by Sue Fehrle
Many of us pride ourselves on having been part of the design and building process of our homes or renovations. My house in the Country Club was built from plans originally drawn up by my friend on an 8.5 x 5 inch sheet of paper.
If you have the time, expertise, and motivation to do a little bit of architectural planning or some manual labor, then why not join the Castaway Kids Construction Crew, led by David Keilholtz. This amazing group of volunteers has given new hope to impoverished families living just 10 minutes outside of San Carlos. Right now they are working on two homes in Santa Clara.
On House #1, they have built an addition which will function as a 10 x 10 ft bedroom and a bathroom. This almost doubles the size of the existing 10 x 15 ft space in which a family of 4 currently resides. They have also set up electricity and water to the house.
In House #2, Castaway Kids has provided the building materials, cement mixer, doors and windows for the family of 4 to construct a new room which will become the kitchen and bathroom – a big change from the previous doorless, windowless, one-room home with outhouse.
In the span of two months, the construction crew has personally touched the lives of 8 people. In fact, as I took the latest photos on December 31st, the family of the 2nd house had hung Christmas lights on the newly installed window of their addition. What a joy it was to see that not only do many hands make light work, but the many hands of Dave’s crew have literally made the lights work in this home.
If you are interested in helping, or if you would like to make a monetary or material donation (i.e. old toilet, extra paint or tiles, etc), please contact David Keilholtz at 226-0783. You can also keep an eye on the construction progress by visiting the Castaway Kids website castawaykidsmx.org or by following us on Facebook at Castawaykids Mexico.
