On Saturday January 28th, 2023 a group of volunteers from International Relief Teams (IRT) built a new home for the Beltran Angulo family. The build was led by John Zawis, Paul Trimble and other “regulars” along with the volunteers from IRT.
Both Claudia Verónica and Francisco were born in Sinaloa. They met while working in the fields of Sinoloa and struggled together for many years trying to support themselves, and then their family. They migrated to Tijuana three years ago in search of work and opportunities to improve their lives. Fernando works as a bricklayer and earns 2500 pesos a week ($130US) per week, when he can find the work.
In their own words:
“Like many in the neighborhood, we lack running water, electricity and a sewer system. Public transportation is very far away, and we have to walk 15 to 20 minutes just to catch a bus. We have to buy our drinking water from a passing tanker truck, and it is very expensive since it is used daily. Since we don’t have electricity, we keep items that have to be refrigerated in a cooler that we have to keep full of ice.”
“Having a better house would be of great help to us because when the rains or it is windy, we are very uncomfortable. It would be much better for the children and their health to be in a decent house. Thank you for your support. We will always be grateful for this help and the house that you build for us.”
