During my stay in San Miguel de Allende this summer, I will serving on a host committee for a Broadway fundraiser for Casita Linda, a Mexican non-profit organization founded in 2001. Casita Linda (pretty little house) builds adobe brick houses for the poorest of the poor in San Miguel de Allende and the surrounding areas in the state of Guanajuato. Their work is similar to Habitat for Humanity. Many poor families live in structures made of rocks, sticks, rags and plastic tarps, etc. that provide little or no protection from the elements (scroll down to see a photo).
Yesterday, I attended a dedication ceremony for an adobe house the group has built for Raquel, a single mother of three children. The new casita is in Ejido Tirado, just a five-minute drive on the outskirts of San Miguel de Allende. I have created a slide show with photos of the casita, the new owner Raquel, the workers and the volunteers from Casita Linda. Scroll down to view the slideshow.
Casita Linda builds around one casita per month and has been able to employ four local Mexican men full-time to construct the houses. However with the recent slowdown in the economy worldwide and the drop in tourism to Mexico, donations have decreased significantly. They need grants and donations of $8,000 per month to meet their budget.
Broadway Loves Casita Linda, a musical and dance review starring Broadway musical stage personalities, will take place on August 19th and 20th at a local theater in San Miguel de Allende. The funds raised by this show will help pay salaries of the Mexican construction workers and for other costs involved in building adobe houses for families living in extreme poverty. I will be posting updates and news about the show and Casita Linda's work during the coming weeks.
You can learn more about the work of Casita Linda, read stories of the families and see more photos at: www.casitalinda.org
Hasta luego,
Professor Kulik
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