Chicueyaco, Mexico Community Development Project

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GCN seeks volunteers to participate on our trips to Chicueyaco, Mexico. High in the Sierra Norte region about 185 kilometers north of the city of Puebla in Mexico is the village of Chicueyaco (pronounced Schick-way-yak-owe). The land is lush, humid and mountainous, where coffee, vanilla, macadamia and cinnamon trees grow.

The Nahua are an indigenous group descended from the Aztecs that have maintained their customs and their language. The primary occupation is agriculture, although some of the people work in the town of Cuetzalan. Some homes have electricity, but most people live simply with few modern amenities.

A health committee-led by women-in the village has organized to work on issues of common concerns to all. They raised funding to create a health center for primary care and prenatal/postnatal services for members of their community. The majority of village homes are spread throughout the hills. The health center serves also as a primary meeting place for people in the community.

In 2003 the committee invited GCN to assist them with the building of the health center, which is now a functioning facility. GCN participants will collaborate on the trip to see the completion of the work on the bathroom with running water and electricity for the main building.

Trips last 10 days and team is led by a bilingual, trained GCN team leader. A unique and integral component of your experience includes daily activities of cross-cultural learning.

Program costs include most on-site costs (lodging and food), travel to the site, a donation to the project, training materials, t-shirt, emergency medical and evacuation insurance for all trips outside the U.S., and a portion of our program costs. Airfare is additional. All trip-related expenses are tax deductible.