Many residents of San Diego’s sister city, Tijuana, live in poverty, without access to adequate food, shelter, medical care, or educational opportunities. We are committed to helping our neighbors across the border.Since April 2016, we have partnered with Project Mercy, by sending volunteer teams to change the lives of poor families by building homes and bringing stability and safety. IRT sends teams of 25 volunteers to the community to build a 16 x 20 single-story home in just one day.
Over the years, we have sent 886 volunteers and built 37 homes in the informal settlement communities of Corazon, Fuentes del Valle, and San Nicholas on the outskirts of Tijuana. These settlements are populated mostly by migrants, most from central Mexico, searching for better opportunities. The cost of living and low wages often leaves these families with insufficient funds to build houses. As a result, the communities have become a sea of rudimentary shelters built from scrap materials. These structures leave families exposed to the elements and vulnerable to disease.
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WATCH: One family's life change in one day.
WATCH: a time lapse video of how we build a house in just one day: