“IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE”
STEFAN SHARES HIS VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE IN MEXICO
MAY 18, 2023
Written by Stefan, All Hands and Hearts volunteer on Mexico Earthquake Relief Program
I haul the gravel onto the bench, panting. The Glaswegian catches my eye, shoots me a grin and beckons me closer. “Get a load of this, Ste,” he shouts over the roar of the cement mixer as he passes me the speaker.
It’s techno. Of course, it’s techno.
Moments like this are why this Mexico project will stay with me forever.
It’s been almost a month since I arrived, and I can confidently tell you:
All Hands and Hearts is all about the people.
MEXICO EARTHQUAKE RELIEF
We are here after two huge earthquakes struck the Southern region of Oaxaca in 2017. Compounded by Hurricane Agatha last May, over 475 people lost their lives. It destroyed livelihoods and homes and caused immeasurable damage. The needs of these intimate rural communities, marginalized and remote as they are, still are yet to be met by the authorities tasked with rebuilding infrastructure.
Since then, All Hands and Hearts (AHAH) has worked tirelessly to serve communities throughout the region, investing in their future – creating sustainable, disaster-resilient schools – to empower these communities. I’ve joined the 23rd school rebuild.
“All Hands and Hearts is a profound emotional, spiritual and social experience – you leave a richer human than before.”
WHAT BROUGHT ME HERE
Earlier this year, I volunteered with the charity Care4Calais, supporting refugees in Northern France seeking asylum in my native UK. Knowing my ambition to launch an NGO-based career, a kind-hearted Team Leader there introduced me to All Hands and Hearts. My curiosity snowballed as I scrolled through the volunteer opportunities, from typhoon relief in the Philippines to wildfire relief in California to immediate relief in Turkey responding to the earthquakes impacting the country and neighboring Syria.
As a traveler and a career-minded 25-year-old, I immediately applied for two months on the Mexico project, from the middle of March until the end of the program. I was accepted soon after and bought my flights within a few days.
Why Mexico?
Mexico is fun, exciting, chill, vibrant, passionate, cool, loving and much more, but I knew none of this before coming. It just felt like the place to be.
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE
As I write this, I have been volunteering with AHAH for almost a month, and I can tell you it’s all about the people.
Firstly, the staff and volunteers are all incredible, each with unique stories. We live together on base, which includes eating, sleeping, talking, working and not complaining about showering with buckets of water. Through these experiences, we get to know each other deeply.
The techno-loving Glaswegian I mentioned before is one of the twenty or so international volunteers – from Cyprus to Mexico, Moldova to England, they have all traveled far to come together here and volunteer.
Then you have the families and individuals who live in the surrounding villages dotted along the mountainside. This includes the wonderful students who will be studying in the very schools being built.
Finally, you have the masons. Skilled Mexican nationals from the surrounding area with construction expertise, employed by AHAH, who provide knowledge, training and support for the school rebuild.
It really is the people who make this experience.
Initially, I struggled to adapt to the intensity of being surrounded by so many vibrant personalities. I am usually very independent; I normally travel alone and always stay in private rooms, so it was a huge culture shock at first! However, once that wore off, I connected deeply with the funny, kind, passionate people here – people who would give you their last taco without expecting anything back.
“That energy diffuses throughout the program, underpinned by values of community, empathy, giving and warmth you start to feel yourself evolving as your mind expands to new ways of being.”
I’ve been to Moana-themed birthday parties, had young Miguelito follow me around and joked with Oscar, one of the masons, every time I see him. I’ve watched a Mexican chase around a firework known as a flaming bull, danced with Sombrero Man and laughed my days away.
WHAT COMMUNITY MEANS TO ME
At first, we used the word community to describe the families living around the base in the surrounding villages, but that is a disservice to the power of the word.
“Community implies togetherness and likeness; here in Mexico, we have created our own community, bringing together people from all walks of life. It’s a collective emotion, energy, atmosphere, goal and purpose.”
I feel a sense of community with the masons working on painting the same roof of the school building; at a birthday party for the four-year-old Esmaralda; when eating a meal together with volunteers from across the globe.
All Hands and Hearts won’t be in this part of Mexico forever, but the memories of this new community will remain. There’ll be traces of it after we handover the school to the students, teachers and families and as volunteers return to their normal lives, sharing their experiences and mindsets as they go.
That’s before discussing the weekends off, toilet humor, cards, fundraising, tacos, soups, tortillas, mountains, storms, sun and Spanish.
All Hands and Hearts is a profound emotional, spiritual and social experience – you leave a richer human than before.
Inspired to join us?
