Tag Archives: Mazatlan

Fourth House Update

We have broken ground on the home for Juan Manuel, folks! Zata, the construction worker, began work with his assistant on Monday. On Tuesday Don Rodolfo visited the site and Zata reported that tears of joy welled in his eyes! You all are giving the most marvelous Christmas present to Juan Manuel and his father! Bless you now and forever! Below are photos of the first three days of work:

Let us hope that things can continue to go well. Zata and his helper have found the dirt to be very hard to dig, thanks to the lack of rain we’ve had this year. I pray they both stay healthy and continue with the excitement for the project that they are currently showing.

In my last post I shared with you Zata’s bid for labor. We now also have two different bids for materials. We are still in negotiations with the providers. One has everything and is our best choice, and they’ve promised to discount their bid for us. The second was a bit cheaper, but that is because they don’t have all the materials we need. Thus, I have created an updated budget, below. I am trusting the materials budget will go down once we hear back from the supplier.

 

To date we have collected nearly 70,000 pesos. As with any construction project, I am sure we will have some overruns, so it will be very good if we can have a bit of cushion money-wise. And, as I mentioned, theft of supplies and equipment is a major potential problem of which Zata is very aware.

I trust you are as happy as I am with this news. I know Juan Manuel and Rodolfo are glowing with joy. Please keep getting the word out to your friends and neighbors. You can share with them the original post with information on how to donate, or any of my progress updates. Together we can do this! And, hopefully, if all goes well, we will have workable plans and a system in place to build further simple yet safe homes for those in most dire need in our beloved Mazatlán. 

 

Third Update on the House

Bless you all for your big hearts and your willingness to help those in need! We now have 34 donors and 63,645 pesos to build a house (cinder block room) for Juan Manuel and his father! Our core team has grown, and we hope to break ground the middle of this week. Thank you and please keep getting the word out to your friends and neighbors!

This week we were able to make substantial progress, which very much relieved me prior to everyone stopping work for the holiday season.

The final design
Front view of the home
Construction detail
Earlier, now out of date, plan
  1. Two architects, Sergio Wong and Jesús Iván Moreno Jiménez, have donated their time to produce plans for us. Please join me in thanking them for this volunteer service! Their work is important, as we want a very basic one-room home that will be pleasant and secure to live in, and the plan we put together will hopefully become a prototype for future simple homes for other needy families. The final design is 258 square feet or 24 square meters and includes an indoor bathroom and kitchen—both a change from the original plans which had both outdoors, but something we feel is important. It will be built of cinder block rather than brick, as that is both cheaper and resistant to salitre, the salt staining that is so common here. The roof will be concrete, and the flooring simple outdoor tile. The home will have front and back doors, a window facing the street and a long, narrow window in the bathroom for light. Water will initially come from a hose but will be plumbed in hopes of city water one day. The one room is a “stub” or “pie de casa” which can easily be added onto in the future if good fortune strikes. 
  2. We have found a new albañil or construction worker, Zata (real name Edward), who is very experienced, seems quite capable, disciplined and committed to this charity project. Let us hope.
  3. I invited our compadre, Jorge Hernández, who has 30+ years of experience in building and maintaining homes, to a meeting with Yolanda, Zata, Greg and myself, with the architect attending by phone. To me this meeting was crucially important. 
    • Jorge pointed out a couple of things that will cost a few pesos now but will be crucial for Juan Manuel’s future, such as running 4-inch drainage pipe under the floor that can easily be connected to a sewage system once there is one in the community; slanting the floor slightly so rain water will run off (invasions are notorious for flooding); and adding in connections for possible future ceiling fans.
    • Greg’s input was invaluable in making sure that doorways would be wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair and that the bathroom would be ample enough to accommodate turning around in one. While Juan Manuel is currently on crutches, he may someday be in a chair due to his health challenges, and if this plan is a prototype for future projects, accessibility is a key issue.
    • Jorge has kindly agreed to volunteer as project supervisor during construction. I am very grateful Jorge, with his experience and expertise, has joined the team! He is recovering from a horrible bout of COVID, so we must be mindful of his energy.
Yolanda, Zata, Jorge
Zata, Jorge and Greg
Jorge and yours truly

Sadly, we are still waiting on updated materials lists from the architects so that we can get bids and update our budget. While they told us we’d have these by Friday, now they tell us it may not be till the new year.

We have received Zata’s bid on his labor, and I post that below. I am thrilled that he is ready to start work tomorrow, Monday 14 December. He will begin by excavating and then installing the septic tank. A key issue during construction will be preventing theft. Both Zata, Jorge and Maestra Zulema, from Colonia San Antonio, cautioned us about the high degree of theft of building materials. We have planned to order only a week’s worth of supplies at a time, and to store them at Juan Manuel’s current home, so that Zata can pick them up there on a daily basis. Hopefully that will minimize our exposure to theft.

If any of you know someone who could donate cinder block, that would be an enormous help. Also needed soon will be rebar, concrete and, of course, the septic tank.

What else can I tell you? As you know, the home will be built in Colonia San Antonio, an invasión or squatter community here in town. The lot was gifted to Juan Manuel and his father. It is in the section of the colony run by Maestra Zulema, who we know well from the Chicken Breakfast. She assures us that Juan Manuel and his father have all their paperwork in order to build. However, building in any squatter community involves risk. No one owns title to the land on which they build until, at some later date they hope, the municipality awards it to them. Such is common practice for people living at poverty levels here in Mazatlán and throughout Latin America, but I want everyone who donates to understand the situation. Juan Manuel and Don Rodolfo have been paying electricity and water, which provides them legal protection for their lot, but they do not legally own it outright despite having paperwork that says they do. The colony has hundreds if not thousands of squatter homes, so there is strength in numbers.

There are several options for donating money or materials to help with this project:

  • Click the “Donate” link in the right-hand column on this VidaMaz.com website, and pay via PayPal.
  • Go to any OXXO and donate to BanCoppel account 4169-1603-7041-0699 (photo below) in the name of Yolanda Medina.


 

  • Canadians who prefer to email money can send it to Jeanette Leraand: jleraand@gmail.com
  • Contact Yolanda via WhatsApp at 669 431 4529 to arrange a time to meet and give her your donation.
  • Contact me at dianne@vidamaz.com and I’ll pick up your donation.

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! Blessed Hannukah and Kwanzaa! May 2021 bring us much more health, sanity and joy, as well as a new and much-needed home for Juan Manuel and Don Rodolfo. No doubt you all have good karma for your help with this project!

Progress on a House

Bless you, everyone! 32 donors have chipped in 62,510 pesos plus donated ten sacks of cement, a cart of gravel, and two doors for our house for Juan Manuel! We also have a couple who have volunteered to help with finishing up the house once it’s built. Our sincere hope is to have it ready for Juan Manuel and his father by Christmas.

As I told you in my previous update, I noticed that the plans they originally submitted to us were for a very basic room and nothing more: no windows, doors or roof, no bathroom or kitchen sink or plumbing. Obviously they will not have sewage, but they can run basic electrical and also get water from a hose. The builder then drew the above basic plan.

That initial builder has gone AWOL, but it has actually been a blessing as we have an architect who has volunteered his time to design a cinder block room, updating the basic outlines above, rather than a room using the more expensive brick. Going forward we will be able to use this architectural design for other basic rooms/homes for other families as we see extreme need.

In the meantime, the pair have had to move to a new rental home, because the owner of the house I photographed them in has returned to Mazatlán. They are most anxious to move into a new room of their home and save on rent, so they can purchase diapers for Juan Manuel as well as much-needed medicines.

Bless you for your help! Please send good energy that the architect produces good plans quickly, and the new builder does his job well and speedily. We will of course pay the builder only as work is completed, and we will buy supplies directly to protect the money you have generously shared. Fingers crossed I will be able to show you photos of groundbreaking soon!

Additional money received will go towards making this very simple home the best it can be. Once building gets close to finished we may ask you for donations of basic appliances, mattress, lighting, roofing, etc. that you might have extra and are willing to part with. So, please let your friends and neighbors know about this project and hopefully we will have a wonderful Christmas present for Juan Manuel and Don Rodrigo soon!

Blessed holiday season, Dianne

Update on “A Home for Juan Manuel”

Juan Manuel Tovar Valdez

You rock! Bless you all! Thanks to your generosity we have met the budget we received from Juan Manuel and his father for a new home! But we are not done yet; please read through and do what you can. 

We have had 22 parties donate to the “Build a Home for Juan Manuel” project thus far. One person donated the 10 bags of cement and the cart of gravel, and another couple offered to help install flooring and light fixtures and help paint. You are generous! We have spoken to the albañil and are hoping he will start construction soonest. We plan to pay him directly with your kind gifts.

However, as is typical, the budget we received did not include a roof, windows, doors, flooring, toilet or sink, plumbing, paint, etc. So, we would like to raise some additional money to actually complete the house for these very deserving and wonderful men. I’d also really like to be able to build them a second room, so they’re not smooshed all day and night into one 2m x 3m room, even though they say they are ok with it.

If you could help us out by sharing the original article to your social networks with your personalized request for assistance, I believe we will be able to do this. Also, please let your friends and neighbors know so this can be a community effort. I have added an easy way for people in Canada to join in; see the payment options in the original post. If you have used but servicable windows, doors, sink, toilet, etc., we would welcome your donation! 

If you or someone you know has access to construction materials, that’s great. 

Thank you! Blessed holidays to all!

Perfect Antidote to the Pandemic!

Juan Manuel Tovar Valdez

Today I met one of the kindest, happiest and most inspirational people I’ve met in eons. I’ve also figured out how to make this Christmas merry. My hope is that you will choose to join with Yolanda Medina (from the Chicken Breakfast and DIF) and me to help Juan Manuel Tovar Valdez and his father, Rodolfo in a project we are calling, “A Home for Juan Manuel.”

Juan Manuel is a 34-year old young man who smiles from ear to ear. Diabetic since birth (he was diagnosed at two years of age), his health took a huge turn for the worse three years ago. Training as a graphic designer, his heart broke when he began to lose his sight. Renal failure then took one of his legs. Now legally blind in both eyes and walking on one leg with crutches, there is a joyful glint in Juan Manuel’s eyes and his words are all upbeat. “The sun feels so good on my face! It’s really nice to be outside in the fresh air,” he told me as he stood, masked and on crutches, this afternoon in front of the home the father and son rent in Pradera Dorada. 

DIF Certificate of Disability

Cute, colorful government-built concrete townhomes from the outside, there isn’t much inside: a sitting room, bedroom where both men sleep, and a kitchen/bath. Their main furniture is a plastic patio table and two chairs. Rodolfo, 63 years of age, normally sells funeral services door to door. COVID-19 has put a stop to that, and he finds it increasingly difficult to buy the diapers and medicines that Juan Manuel needs, in addition to food and rent. Juan Manuel’s mother died from breast cancer 21 years ago. Their younger son, married with two children, lives nearby and contributes money to his brother and father every Saturday. But it’s not enough. They pay 1200 pesos/month rent, and receive 1300 pesos/month disability plus 500 pesos/month from DIF. “We have been gifted a vacant lot in Colonia San Antonio. There, if we build a simple room to live in, we won’t have to pay rent. The savings will help so much!” Rodolfo tells me. Click on any photo to enlarge it or view a slideshow.

Rodolfo has been working for months to pay the electric and water bills on the new lot, so that as soon as he can get the funds together, the pair can build a 6-meter by 3-meter (194 square feet) room to live in. “But, Don Rodolfo, here now you have a home with a bedroom, living room and kitchen. Why do you want to build a much smaller home?” “Because we can’t keep paying rent. I can’t do that and pay the bills. Now that we have been gifted a lot on which to build, that’s the wiser choice for us going forward.”

CFE Payments
Water Payments
The new lot

Meeting Juan Manuel today brought me so much joy! How can I be frustrated with being shut inside when this young man—with his whole life ahead of him—had the professional skills he worked so hard for robbed from him, his eyesight and his leg taken, and he’s still happy? “I love to draw. I can draw in every medium except paint; I never mastered that. And I love baseball. I played center field. Now I’m a passionate fan, listening on the radio.” 

 

My personal hope is that you all will be so generous that Juan Manuel and Don Rodolfo will be able to build a home bigger than 18 square meters. Fortunately building a simple home here is very reasonably priced. I hope you’ll find it in your heart to help. Reality is that the father and son will be over the moon happy with their new room. “We already have electricity, and I’ve been paying our share of water to Maestra Zulema in Colonia San Antonio. In our room we can have a small kitchen as well as a bath. We can live and sleep in the same room,” Rodolfo explained to me. 

Yolanda has worked to obtain a list of the materials and labor needed to build the one-room home. If you are able and see fit, won’t you donate to help these men out?

“A Home for Juan Manuel” Budget

1500 Bricks ($2800 millar)

$4200

15 Kilos of annealed wire ($40/kg)

$525

Bags of mortar ($150/each)

$3000

10 Bags of cement ($195/each)

$1950

1 Cart of sand

$1900

1 Cart of gravel (6 meters)

$2000

10 Pieces concrete reinforcement mesh ($170)

$1700

30 x 3/8 rods ($130/each

$3900

Rent of concrete formwork

$2000 (pending confirmation) 

Concrete mixer

(Pending confirmation once the walls are up)

Materials Subtotal

$21,175

 

 

Labor

$18,000

 

 

Grand total

$39,175 pesos (approx. $2000 USD or $2500 Canadian)

Together we can do this, folks! We can make 2021 brighter for Juan Manuel and Rodolfo, and for ourselves! Giving and helping out do the heart and soul good! To donate, you have several options:

  • Click the “Donate” link in the right-hand column on this VidaMaz.com website, and pay via PayPal.
  • Go to any OXXO and donate to BanCoppel account 4169-1603-7041-0699 (photo below) in the name of Yolanda Medina.

  • Canadians who prefer to email money can send it to Jeanette Leraand: jleraand@gmail.com
  • Contact Yolanda via WhatsApp at 669 431 4529 to arrange a time to meet and give her your donation.
  • Contact me at dianne@vidamaz.com and I’ll pick up your donation.