TECHO ChangedTECHO Life”: From Building a Home to Building a Community

Nash is a community leader who lives in the La Conchita community in Mexico City. She first learned about TECHO 2021, some time after she had arrived at the settlement due to financial difficulties and the vagaries of fate. Her encounter with TECHO at an unforgettable moment: the construction of her emergency shelter. Until then, she had been living in a structure made of flimsy, fragile materials, in a situation of great vulnerability.

For her, building with TECHO a turning point in her life. It meant not only a home to live in, but also finding a sense of identity among the group of TECHO volunteers who worked there. Since then, Nash has been a TECHO volunteer, and this experience has been the driving force that helped her define her purpose in life.

“I liked it so much that I decided to volunteer, and over time I’ve learned a lot. TECHO really changed my life because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. Knowing that I could count on other people ended up motivating me to move forward and want to do more things.”

Life in the settlement remains challenging. She says there is a lot of work to be done in the community, and that this requires everyone to work together. That is why Nash is now leading community projects to improve the living conditions of the families who live in her neighborhood.

“I dream of a united community—one where people can work together on projects that support children and families who want the tools to sell their products.”

We don't choose the circumstances into which we are born. Hearing stories like Nash's brings us closer to reality and allows us to share a dream—the dream that no one will ever have to live in a mud-floored home.