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.

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.

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.

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.

Cultural Exploration

With ISL Baja Mexico, you’ll get many opportunities to experience the culture of those you serve as volunteers. The cultural experience starts with your arrival into Mexico, which begins in Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, Arizona. Here 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. A City Tour 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 1900’s, helps you to get to know your community. Learn how to make the signature-style pottery of northern Mexico, instructed by local artisans, and spend an evening on the Malecon, a popular gathering place by the ocean, where there is always something happening, including concerts, festivals and community events, as well as restaurants and shopping. CEDO, is a center for the study of deserts and oceans, and 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. The Pinacate Biosphere Reserve, a 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. 

Recreation

When it comes time to get out and explore, you’ll see why Mexico is said to be one of the most breathtaking places on earth. Dependent on the location of the clinic you may have opportunities to enjoy horseback riding, a great way to see the desert meeting the Sea of Cortes. 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. Take a ride in the inflatable Banan Boats, the shape of a banana, hence the name banana boat, as they are 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. 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. Shopping for local crafts is a great way to experience the culture of Puerto Peñasco and to bring back gifts for friends and family. For those interested in one of Mexico’s most famous drinks, you can see how tequila is made up close in a tequila factory presentation. Sunset dinner cruises allow you to experience the Sea of Cortez at sunset – a fantastic way to end the day. 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. 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.

Recreational opportunities may have an extra cost so check with your ISL Representative when scheduling your activities to make sure that you prepare well for those expenses.

Country Coordinator

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.

Saúl Veladiz started to work for ISL in 2014.

He was born in Nezahualcóyotl, near Mexico City in the State of Mexico. Part of his childhood was in Mexico City, where he was raised in a very large family. Afterwards, he studied in the US. His family is very big as he has seven children with his wife Linda. Saúl studied business in college, with 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. 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 who then 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. 

As ISL Country 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 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.