Everyone expects to come back from three months in Mexico with a tan and maybe a few extra pounds, but imagine the joy of coming home to Canada knowing that you've left your vacation spot a better place.
For Sunshine Coast Rotarians Wilma and Gerry Webb, that's just what happened this past winter. While on a three-month sojourn to Rincon de Guayabitos, the Elphinstone couple had an opportunity to pitch in with local Rotarians, several visiting Rotarians, other vacationers and Mexican citizens to build a kindergarten in the town.
It was an amazing experience for the Webbs. The project took about seven weeks and literally transformed the lives of 22 children.
The old kindergarten was a corrugated hut about 2.5 metres square with a curtained off area around a squalid toilet for bathroom facilities. But all that changed with the help of some friendly gringos and many hard-working Mexican families.
When the Webbs got to their Mexican home away from home, they immediately connected with the local Rotary club. They were soon filled in on the needs of the local community. One woman in particular, Viky Robelo, was most impressive because of her passion for education, starting with the little ones.
The land had already been purchased, but as is the case in many Mexican real estate issues, squatters had built on the property. Once the red tape to evict the usurpers was taken care of, the building began in earnest.
For three hours, everyone worked together in the hot Mexican sun to clear a plot of land roughly the same size as the Rotary Friendship waterfront park in Sechelt.
"Probably 25 people, Mexicans and visitors, were working together. The best thing was that the parents and big sisters and brothers of the kindergarten kids were out there raking and pulling weeds. I just thought that was fabulous. Mexican people love their families, and the older kids were so happy to help the little ones. Ten or 11 year olds would cart away wheelbarrows so full of weeds they couldn't even see over them. 'More, more,' they would say, as we filled the wheelbarrows," Wilma remembered.
She was grateful for the Mexican women's knowledge of the area: "Three times women stopped me and picked up scorpions. I never saw them; they were the same colour as the dirt," she recalled.
She chuckled at the memory of some Quebec tourists who took pity on the folks (including Wilma's husband Gerry) digging the foundation.
"Why are you killing yourselves? We can have a Cat here for $50 to do this hard work," the Quebecois asked. "We have many hands," the Canadians insisted. And while the Mexican people were most willing to continue digging, Wilma laughed that the only Canadian on the end of a shovel wasn't too sad to see the mechanized digger. When it came time to dig the septic field, the Cat was a huge blessing.
Proper stonemasons constructed the walls, professionals installed the ceiling posts, and the volunteers did most of the rest of the building.
Another gesture that warmed Wilma's heart was the donation of all the school's windows by a Rotarian from Puerto Vallarta. Rincon is 40 minutes north of that metropolis.
On the opening day of the new school, some of the kids were dressed in red uniforms. They marched around the school carrying the Mexican flag and singing the national anthem - a wonderful sight, the Webbs said. Many government officials attended the ceremony, and the grateful parents of the kindergarteners provided lunch for everyone.
One of the highlights of the new school is a proper outhouse with a separate section for the girls and the boys with a sink in the middle.
While the Webbs were in Mexico, another kindergarten in a village a short distance away was totally renovated. Next up is an adult continuing education school.
The school is open on Saturdays to accommodate working adults. The teachers donate their time to help the many dropouts in the area further their education. According to the Seattle PI newspaper, the rate is 84 per cent of students leaving after Grade 6.
"The school is in horrible disrepair. It needs to be redone. The people want a computer room. There will be a daycare so that the high number of single mothers in the area can come back and finish school and get decent jobs," Wilma said.
The Webbs are already planning their trip back next winter to where the need is great, the people grateful and the weather gorgeous. If you'd like to help with this project, contact the Webbs at [email protected] for more information.
