We were amidst an arid landscape with twirling dust storms that rolled in and blanketed over the houses. I spent the first day rushing around wrapping bags over my camera gear, attempting to shoot stills and video while helping to hammer in a few nails. It was madness, but it was a fun chaos.
I was working with Volunteer Build, to document their house build for a family just outside of Tijuana, Mexico. Volunteer Build helps provide housing to poverty striken families in need. Our family the Sanchez’s lived in a small one bedroom makeshift house with no secure walls, kitchen or bathroom, and survive on an $108 salary a week. Over the course of three days we put up the frames, walls, plastered, sanded and painted a new home, in bright green which the father Cesar and the daughters helped us paint panels for. My brother Art and I painted a mural together combining native New Zealand flowers with Mexican designs onto one of the living room walls. At the end of the three days, with paint still drying on the walls, the family took the keys and stepped into their new home.
Towards the end of the week we visited El Hongo, a maximum security prison and delivered hygiene supplies like toothbrushes, shampoo and soap to a cell block of 43 men. We shook their hands and spoke to them (some I mumbled through in attempted Spanish) but others had been deported from the States, could speak english and showed me pictures of their families. Some cried. This made me appreciate the value of human touch; some of these men hadn’t seen a visitor in years, let alone talked to someone new. Regardless of their histories and circumstance, showing love to those who may not even deserve it feels important. A little bit of joy can go a long way and perhaps it can make a difference to their future selves.
On our final day we made 100 sandwiches and a giant cantina of juice, drove to the border at San Isidro to feed the homeless. Many of the men, women and children had arrived as part of the Migrant Caravan and were seeking asylum in the United States. To see the wall itself in plain sight, extra razor wire going up on the US side felt very real. I’ve never seen a physical border so significant, a line that holds so much power over people’s lives.
Mexico is a beautiful place and I’m glad my first experience there was one that really put life into perspective. This was an eye opening and reminded me that happiness can be found in friendships, family and small acts of kindness. I feel lucky to be able to use my camera as a tool to communicate and share other worlds, other realities. It’s a reminder that with a little you can do a lot.
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