Thanks to the generous support of the MiraCosta College Community, these thirteen students painted and re-supplied an art and music room at a community center in the Tecolote neighborhood of Tijuana during their spring break.

This web page presents a pictorial story of the work of these students so that the many members of the college community who contributed to the success of this trip can see some of what their generosity has accomplished.

Special thanks to Carol Wilkinson and MiraCosta's outstanding service learning program. Without Carol's leadership, this trip could never have succeeded.

We will be stopping in at the community center again on April 8 and on a Saturday in May. If anyone wishes to make a further contribution to the art and music room at the community center, we will be delivering some other supplies on those dates. Please contact either Jim Sullivan or Carol Wilkinson.

Students gather after completing some last minute supply runs before departure. The irony of departing for their service learning trip from the parking lot of the evil empire was not lost on the students. Another view of the American side of the border from Mexico. The border patrol is always present on this part of the border where the fence meets the pacific ocean.           Relaxing moments included chatting over a spaghetti dinner and working up a sweat during one of the community center's aerobics sessions.       Art supplies donated by MiraCostans included boxes and boxes of paper, markers, crayons, and other goodies as well as two easels that the students from the Tecolote community can now use to create their own masterpieces.   The MiraCosta group takes a last look at its handy work.

Students went to Tijuana in vans provided by MiraCosta College After crossing the border, the group visited the border fence from the Mexican side near Playas de Tijuana. The community center in Tecolote serves adults and children. Our project was to work on an arts and music room for the children's after school program.   These two photos of the Tecolote neighborhood give some sense of the mix of dense urban, rural, and high tech multinational factory elements of the community and surrounding area. The industrial buildings on the hills ringing Tecolote are referred to as "maquiladoras," and they are at the heart of Tijuana's controversial economic dynamism and the juxtapositions of extreme poverty and first world affluence that characterize this city.   Students painted the walls of the room white and created a magnetic wall upon which the children at the center could post their art using magnets. Of course, the MiraCosta students also had some fun painting each other.   Tasks included assembly shelves and other supplies donated by MiraCostans and refinishing one of the existing shelf units from the original room.       The MiraCosta students designed their own mural to decorate the room and painted it themselves. To the left, a MiraCosta student plays on one of the musical instruments donated by the faculty. The center had no musical instruments before our visit, they now have two new guitars and a keyboard. If anyone wishes to make further donations, this is an area where the center could really use extra support.

 

Page Updated: March 26, 2006