TEAM brings together Mexican and British volunteers, who work side by side for 3 weeks in the summer. Before that, the student volunteers from Britain are involved, together with the project leader, in the preparation of the project. They work together to raise the necessary funds, study some basic Spanish, get to know each other and form a balanced team that will work well together.

Once in Mexico, the volunteers receive training from the Mexican Department for Family Development in the building techniques etc. that they will need on arrival to the village.
The project itself runs for 3 weeks. The dates for the 2002 Project are 11th – 31st July. During that time volunteers work in the “Sierra de Queretaro”, a very poor rural area in the mountains 2 hours from the city of Queretaro, northwest of Mexico City.

Our work in the village involves:

• Improving the living conditions of the villagers: building stoves, washing facilities etc.
• Visiting people in their homes, assessing their needs.
  Helping the women with the development of crafts as a source of family income.
• Organising activities for the children of the village, such as crafts, sports etc.

The villages have no running water, no sewage facilities, no electricity and low standards of hygiene. The villagers are indigenous and live off the land. They are extremely poor and often have learning difficulties due to high levels of malnutrition, low or non-existent standards of cultural education and poor vocabulary.

TEAM is open to students aged 16+. The project is a marvellous opportunity to develop personally, to learn about another culture and its values, to share your time and skills with other people, and above all, to do something useful for others! You should be able to work in a team, and to have a sense of humour to