Alma is a leader in the José María Maldonado settlement, also known as Jomama, in Mexico. Discovering TECHO changed TECHO life, allowing her to fulfill dreams she never imagined would come true—such as having a safe home and traveling to another country for the first time in her life.
Living in a makeshift home—and not having clean water coming out of the tap—prevented her from concentrating on her work, since she lived in a very small space with her daughter, built with fragile materials. In addition, her community faced challenges such as a lack of organization and essential services. These circumstances made it impossible for Alma to focus on her aspirations and future goals.
When Alma came into contact with TECHO, she was able to secure a much safer home; this happened when the organization carried out the construction project together with more than 30 families from the community in 2014. This unlikely encounter not only provided Alma, her daughter, and the other families with a much better home, but it also planted the seed for community members to begin organizing and starting local businesses, such as selling tamales and tacos.
“Back then, it wasn’t just a little house to me because I didn’t really have anything, (…) it was like my safe place, the place where you can have some privacy.”
Motivated by her growing connection with the organization, she decided to become actively involved not only in the construction of her home but also in community development. This commitment to the families in her neighborhood led Alma to reach out to TECHO —10 years after her home was built—to continue collaborating on projects that improve the Jomama community.
As a result, Alma now has a space where she can work and continue to grow, and she also had the opportunity to travel to Argentina—something she had never imagined. On this trip with TECHO went to help build in a low-income settlement in Buenos Aires, and she says, “Giving back what you (the volunteers) are giving me right now and passing it on to someone like me feels wonderful.”
“It never even crossed my mind that I’d end up in another country, (…) I couldn’t believe I was going to spend 15 days in Argentina—can you imagine? I’d never traveled before, let alone on a plane; it was a dream come true.”
As a member of TECHO, Alma no longer had to worry about the rain, bugs, the cold, and so many other headaches that came with living in substandard housing. And if it hadn’t been for this unlikely encounter with TECHO, Alma might not have found the motivation to take the initiative and help her community thrive.
Today, Alma not only has her “mansion”—built in 2014—but she has also transformed her home into a “colorful castle,” a place where she can work and continue to grow.