Casa de Luz, Mexico.

Casas de Luz focuses on community growth in the city of Tijuana - where the standard of living is incomparable to most United States areas. What began as a yearly project to build a home, is now a recurring event in which volunteers come together to build a stable living space for a family in need.

Since 2005, when CDL began their extensive efforts under the direction of Kathy Faller, over 90 homes have been built. 90 families have been touched with the blessings from the hundreds of volunteers that gave their time for a weekend.

In the areas that Casas de Luz focuses on, community centers have been built to aid in their development and reinforce positive habits for the next generation. Here, students can eat before class and return to study together. Religious services are also offered multiple times a week, allowing the centers to become a safe space for its members.

In addition, CDL ensures that there are weekly donations to these communities. This includes clothing and food; however, donated furniture is an important aspect fostering a feeling of living in a home.
During the build in March of 2022, the first build post pandemic, San Diego State University came to support the effort of a home build for family Bacasegua Sandoval. Their original home that they inhabited for years was built without any real infrastructure, simply supported by trash. The family lived here for years and inevitably began experiencing respiratory problems.

In the day and a half of this experience, Kathy and Kirstin (the leaders of CDL) delegated teams to work on different tasks such as hammering, painting, organizing, cleaning and within a few hours of the start of the home build - the bones of the Bacasegua Sandoval family’s home were up.

Probably the most humble part of this work, is that the family, including Martin and Amariana who are only 6 and 7, worked on their home as well. Members of their community helped bring supplies up to their home and paint, creating a supportive and healing space for everyone.
The weekend of this build happened to be rainy - so volunteers persevered through unideal conditions; however - remembering their intention made it very easy to triumph on.

The absolute peak of this weekend was the blessing of the home. Every volunteer went around to say a blessing to the family. After many tears of gratitude were shed on the grounds of their home, they were allowed to enter.

This last hour meant everything to the volunteers and the Bacasegua Sandoval family.