Mexico

About Mexico

Two thousand miles of border separates Mexico and the United States. The base of operations for ISL Baja Mexico is located in Puerto Peñasco. This desert coastal paradise, like much of Mexico, has a health care system that is overwhelmed and desperately in need. At ISL, we don’t believe that borders should keep us from helping those in need any more than fences should keep us from being good neighbors, and with so many people in need around the world, we sometimes  forget about those who are right next door.

A Brief Overview of Baja Mexico

The Baja region of Mexico is the geographic area that borders the Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortez.  Our ISL Baja program is located on the northeastern coast of the Sea of Cortez in the small city of Puerto Peñasco, also known as “Rocky Point” because of the prominent geographical feature at the entrance to the natural harbor. Puerto Peñasco is approximately 50 miles directly south of the Arizona border crossing of Sonoyta.

Border towns face many sociological challenges: more population than the local infrastructure can support, an ever-changing population as people move through, high unemployment, and healthcare challenges and diseases that are unintentionally brought into the city. Although Mexico has a socialized health care system, it can be very challenging to work with, as it is divided among four areas of separate governance and control and does not provide adequate coverage for the population.

Where We Serve in Baja Mexico

Puerto Peñasco is the only population center within 55 miles in the Northern Desert of Mexico. ISL service learning volunteers serve an urban population of over 50,000 people, focusing on specific areas to which we can return for sustainable service.

The Need in Baja Mexico

In urban areas we work very closely with the Ministry of Health to conduct house-to-house surveys, screenings, and clinic days throughout the city of Puerto Peñasco. We also provide service and support to local agencies, both private and governmental, which serve the poor, the orphaned, the developmentally challenged and the abused.

Our Partnerships

As with any great work, it takes great relationships to get the job done well. That’s why ISL Baja Mexico is excited to partner with nonprofits, NGOs, and governmental and religious institutions to better serve the underserved in Mexico.  ISL Baja works with all levels of governmental health care in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico:  city, state, federal, and low-income healthcare, which is comparable to Medicaid in the United States.

Hospital General
General Hospital: a Phase 2 facility.

Centro de Salud
Health Department: a Phase 1 facility.

DIF UVR
Basic Rehabilitation and Family Development Unit

Cereso Puerto Peñasco
Puerto Peñasco Prison

Centro de Rehabilitación Nueva Esperanza
Men’s and Women’s Rehabilitation Centers

Centro Comunitario Piedras Vivas
Living Stones Community Center

Centro Comunitario Palabras de Esperanza
Words of Hope Community Center

Secundaria Profesor Gilberto Pacheco Castillo #27
Jr. High School

Primaria Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta
Elementary School

What to Expect as a Volunteer

You’ll arrive at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, where you’ll meet an ISL driver and cross the border at the town of Sonoyta. After a four-hour drive, which includes a brief stop at the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and a few other small breaks along the way, you’ll arrive in Puerto Peñasco. With a full Mexican dinner awaiting you, you’ll get to know the ISL Baja Mexico staff and receive an orientation to the work you’ll be doing in Puerto Peñasco.  The next day will be spent in training seminars and touring the city.

Health programs spend the majority of the days to come on various aspects of ISL’s community health service work mixed with seminars on border health issues, medical/dental Spanish, community health surveys, and a Medicinal Plants of the Desert seminar.

Health clinics are conducted with a variety of medical professionals and a full pharmacy.  Because of our active partnership with the Ministry of Health, we are also often invited to join their staff in providing immunizations.  ISL Baja Mexico received an award in 2015 from the Ministry of Health for our work in this area, as we enabled the underserved communities we work in to double their immunization rates.

Cultural Exploration

With ISL Baja Mexico, you’ll get many opportunities to experience the culture of those you serve as volunteers. Here are some of the many possibilities:

City Tour
Get an up-close view of Puerto Peñasco, a city that started out as a small fishing village and turned into a Mexican boom town during the American Prohibition Era in the early 1900s.

Local Handcrafts
Learn how to make the signature-style pottery of northern Mexico, instructed by local artisans.

An Evening on the Malecon 
A popular gathering place by the ocean, there is always something happening here, including concerts, festivals and community events, as well as restaurants and shopping.

Presentations at CEDO
CEDO,  a center for the study of deserts and oceans, studies climate and the impact humans have on the fragile ecosystems and wildlife surrounding the Sea of Cortez. Take advantage of seeing CEDO up close and touring its only facility in the world.

Pinacate Biosphere Reserve

This UNESCO World Heritage Site, also known as “El Pinacate”, is one of the most important landmarks in northern Mexico. Its unique desert landscape includes moon-like craters over a mile wide, lava tubes, black pumice soil, cinder cones and sleeping volcanoes.  ($5 entrance fee)

Recreation

Horseback riding
What better way to see the desert meeting the Sea of Cortes then through Horseback riding
Cost: $40/hour

Beach time and shell hunting
For those on a budget, you can spend all day relaxing on the beach while hunting for shells, swimming in the breaking waves and soaking up the sun. The best thing is that it’s a free, authentic Baja experience

Banan Boat
These inflatable boats, the shape of a banana, hence the name banana boat, are hauled across the water by a panga boat which is attached to the banana boat by a cord. The goal is to try and hold on to the banana boat as it hauls you and your crew across the water. Banana boat rides are suitable for all ages.
Cost: $6 per person

Jet Skis
Jet Skis are one of the most fun, thrilling activities in Puerto Peñasco you can try! You’ll be having fun and flying along the stunning Sea of Cortez coastline.
Cost: $50 half an hour / $100 for an hour

Craft shopping
Shopping for local crafts is a great way to experience the culture of Puerto Peñasco and to bring back gifts for friends and family.
Cost: Free to look!

Tequila factory presentation
For those interested in one of Mexico’s most famous drinks, you can see how tequila is made up close.
Cost: Free

Sunset dinner cruises
Experience the Sea of Cortez at sunset – a fantastic way to end the day.
Cost: $25-40 (public boat $25; private charters $30-40).

Estuary exploring/swimming
An estuary is a partially enclosed bay where freshwater flows into the ocean. If you feel like swimming but don’t want to brave the crowded beachfront, swimming in the estuary might be your idea of a perfect, laid-back day.
Cost: Free

Fishing trips
Puerto Peñasco began as a fishing village many years ago and is still famous for its world-class fishing. Take a guided ocean trip in search of the perfect catch and come back with a few fish stories to share.
Cost: $50 half a day

Lodging

Whether you lodge in a hacienda on the beach of the Sea of Cortez in Puerto Penasco, Mexico; a walled convent in the heart of Alajuela, Costa Rica; or an apartment situated above the bustling metropolis of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, ISL’s volunteer lodgings are unique and carefully chosen based on very important criteria.

Accommodations are safe, clean and within a reasonable driving distance to service sites and recreation opportunities. Volunteers are provided their own bed, easy access to restrooms and showers and meeting spaces for training and fellowship. Many ISL accommodations are unique and may include retreat houses, guest houses or home stays–all of which provide a distinctive cultural experience. ISL Country Coordinators will provide a description of your specific lodging in the Final Trip Document posted to your My ISL Portal prior to your departure.

Villa Granada
ISL’s primary lodging in Mexico, Villa Granada, is not open to the general public–only to organizations serving the community. Villa Granada has a 24hr.  surveillance security system.  It is located in downtown Puerto Peñasco,  5-minutes from the Malecon (Water Front).  An ISL staff person stays onsite with volunteers 24/7.

Country Coordinator Spotlight: Saul Veladiz, Mexico

International Service Learning (ISL) is very proud of their Country Coordinators and we would like for you to get to know them, before you visit their beautiful country. All of our Country Coordinators are hardworking, passionate individuals who enjoy serving their communities and working with ISL volunteers, and they all have their own very unique stories.

Where is he from? Where has he lived?

Saúl was born in Nezahualcóyotl, near Mexico City in the State of Mexico.

What does he love most about his country?

He loves that the people are very friendly in his country. They are very approachable, and they are all always willing to open their door and make someone feel welcome. Especially during the last few years, he has really appreciated this.

What is his family like?

His family is very big; he has seven children with his wife Linda.

Where did he grow up? What was his childhood like?

Part of his childhood was in Mexico City, and he was raised in a very large family. Afterwards, he studied in the US.

What was the most impactful moment for him during his education?

Saúl studied business in college. The most impactful moment for him was when he went back to school later as an adult. He had stopped studying when he was young because he started a family and needed to work, but after some time passed, he decided to go back to school to finish his education, and he was able to put it into practice in the jobs that he had.

What has he worked in besides being a Country Coordinator?

In the past he was a business administrator for a bread distributing business. He had his own business and distributed bread for Oro wheat where he used some aspects of what he had learned in school about business. In the present besides being a Country Coordinator for ISL, he is a General Manager of a Missions facility where they receive Missionaries from United States and Mexico, they partner with local churches to serve the community. Saul also has a small convenience store where he still practices his business administrator faculties that he learned long ago. In his free time he serves in his local church through prison ministries and various activities depending on the need of his local church. 

At what point did he realize what his calling was?

Regarding his education and the job that Saúl had, his vocation was business, but now his calling is serving the community. In 2004, a big change was made in his life, and he started serving the community in various ways, such as helping in various places in the community, in community centers, and in churches, helping with whatever the community needed. That also helped him manage his time and resources to help the community. One of the ways in which he does this now has been by doing medical clinics through a church. Also, he started to visit families to see how they were doing economically and spiritually to be able to help them in whatever the family needed. Even though he went to school for business, his vocation now is to serve the community in various ways, and one of those was when ISL found him.

What was his path to becoming an ISL Country Coordinator?

In Mexico, Marta Stanley was working with ISL with her husband, Eric. Eric and Saúl did many things together in the community, so ISL told Saúl through Marta that they wanted him to work for ISL as a translator in the clinics. Little by little he became more involved, and he liked what they were doing, how they went to the communities and the homes so that the volunteers could get to know a community and a culture in Mexico that they would not get to know otherwise. That is how Saúl started with ISL.

How long has he been working with ISL?

He started to work with ISL in 2014.

A brief summary of what he does as a Counntry Coordinator:

In Mexico, Saul keeps and looks for relationships in the community with governmental or private organizations to do service learning in the community of Mexico. They have governmental relationships with the Ministry of health, the general hospital, and with an organization that helps restructure families in need. Also, they are involved with the community centers in the city, both governmental and private, with churches, and with rehabilitation centers. The country coordinators work together with these organizations in every way possible to bring service to the community and to give the volunteers the opportunity to have more practical training, to get to know the health system in Mexico, and to understand the culture. They organize, plan, and accomplish in order to bear fruit for the communities and for the volunteers. That is how they bring everything together so that they have a very fruitful program for the community and for the volunteers.

What inspires him most about what he does?

What most inspires Saúl is seeing the youth of the volunteers who are willing to open their hearts and minds to something different. He says that it helps character growth to go a little bit out of one’s comfort zone and get to know various cultures. It really inspires him when he sees that a young person does something so brave. Since we live in a difficult world, it gives him hope when he sees that the students go out to serve.