Building homes and hope in Juárez
It all began in 1998 with Jane Peacock in Santa Fe. Her mother lived in El Paso at the time and asked Peacock and her siblings to join her in building a house for a needy family in Juárez; it would be her way of celebrating her 75th birthday.
Peacock and some 12 other family members joined in for what was a memorable experience. Peacock is a registered dietitian and was immediately attuned to the needs in that border area. She worked in public health for 26 years as WIC director, Family Health Bureau chief, deputy director and finally director of public health for New Mexico.
Upon returning from that 1998 trip, she spoke with a close friend from her Health Department work, Lydia Pendley, and suggested that their church, St. Bede’s Episcopal Church, consider doing a “build.” As Peacock said, “I think that we are meant to help our neighbors when they need our help. These people are in dire need of help and live in deplorable conditions.”
Pendley agreed and, after that first St. Bede’s build, simply decided to do more. Thus the home they built on the west edge of Juárez in early March of this year was St. Bede’s 25th. They were joined in this mission by volunteers from Trinity on the Hill in Los Alamos, who built a second home.
This work is essential to those Mexican families who are living in deplorable conditions but equally important to the volunteers who participate. This year Peacock, now living in Las Cruces, brought Pete and Terry Frank with her. It was their first build, and they have indicated that they would like to go again. Why was this important to them and what were they able to learn? It was a way to “illustrate the humanity of the Mexican people to those Americans who don’t see or feel it,” Pete Frank said. “It is to be our brother’s keeper,” added Terry Frank.
Dennis and Trudy O’Toole from Santa Fe also were on their first build and both indicated it’s not their last. “It’s important to counter the negative stereotypes many of us have of Mexi-
cans with positive accounts we personally have of them,” Dennis O’Toole said. “It is widening my understanding of Mexican society and of poverty, human kindness and the impact of reaching out to our neighbors south of the border.”
Mike “Pecos Baldy” Wirtz was on his 13th build. A retired forester and forestry consultant, he was a leader in building the Dale Ball trails in Santa Fe. “Each one is more rewarding and heart wrenching,” he said. “You see the joy and the love on their faces when the keys [to the new home] are given to them.”
Wirtz brought his son in 2007, his granddaughter in 2014 and his 11-yearold grandson, Dashiell, on this build. “I think that everyone deserves a place to live, and I want to do everything I can do to help,” Dashiell said. Speaking of the impact on him, he added, “I think it will help me to be more open-minded and I might help people more.”
Susan Odiseos, the former president of Feeding Santa Fe, was on her second build. When I asked if she had any special construction skills, she said, “No. Just high energy. It’s a great way for each of us to make a difference, giving hope to those in need.”
Toby Rosenblatt was on his 12th build. How did he get started? “Jane made me do it,” he answers.
A lawyer from Los Alamos and part of the Trinity on the Hill team, Lynn Finnegan first participated in 2005 and has helped build 17 houses. Each of her daughters, starting at age 13, has done four builds. “I continue to come because I believe hands-on ministry is essential to build relationships among cultures. We need to stop dehumanizing immigrants, Mexicans and the ‘other’ in general. We need to stop shouting at each other and talk to those who are fearful.”
Another Los Alamos volunteer, Derek Selvage, 19, has been on seven builds.
The program may now be changing thanks to Jane, Lydia and Gerry Fairbrother from Santa Fe, who was on her third build. “This is a food desert,” Peacock says. When you combine the starchy diets, the lack of access to supermarkets where you might find fruits and vegetables at reasonable prices and the lack of water for vegetable gardens, it is obvious what she means.
Their idea is to try to provide nutritional education, particularly in regard to the raging problem of diabetes, perhaps in conjunction with Missions Ministries, the Colorado-based nonprofit with which they have teamed up for these house building projects. Making dietary changes won’t be easy; Fairbrother’s research has indicated that the average family in that area only has $40 to $45 per week to spend for a family of five.
There are two other Santa Fe programs that are deeply involved in the Mexican border. La Casa de Amor para Niños, founded and managed by Jim and Pat Noble, Eunice Herrera and Margie and Orlando Roybal, has been in existence in Palomas for almost 20 years, and not only provides a home environment for young women but also has raised scholarship funds for more than 200 local kids. Carlos and Hector Garcia are the leaders of Amigo Fiel, which provides a range of services in Juárez for both children and the elderly. They also manage the Mexican part of Operation Christmas Child and deliver some 700,000 gift packages to children all over Mexico during the Christmas season.
What these very special volunteers all characterize is persistence and continuity, caring and humanity.
These are true ambassadors to our neighboring country of Mexico. Santa Fe resident Morgan Smith has been traveling to the Mexican border at least monthly for the last seven years to document conditions there and help with a variety of humanitarian programs. He can be reached at Morgan-smith@com cast.net.