The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is seeking motivated volunteers for the 2008 Mexico Summer Project that will run from June 26 to August 9, 2008. The Mexico Summer Project will provide a safe place where youth from the Americas, Europe and Mexico can work together with the Totonaca and Nahua indigenous people on community projects, share from their diverse cultures and experiences, and learn ways to address the political, social, ecological, and economic challenges of the present and the future. The Mexico Summer Project is run in collaboration with Servicio,Desarollo, y Paz, A.C. (SEDEPAC), a prominent Mexican non-governmental organization. In 1939, AFSC and Quakers in Mexico launched the program, which now in its 69th year, continues to provide positive life-changing experiences for diverse youth and local communities.

The Program

In 2008 participants will live together in indigenous communities in the mountainous northeastern region of Puebla, Mexico, commonly called the Sierra Norte de Puebla. In developing and implementing the 2008 Mexico Summer Project, SEDEPAC and AFSC will work closely with Unidad Indígena Totonaca Nahuatl (UNITONA) an indigenous development organization in the area.

After a week of orientation, including a 3-day home stay with a local host family (community immersion), participants are divided into five groups. Each group of about 10 to 14 spends the next seven weeks living as a family in an indigenous village where they engage with the local community in cultural and recreational exchanges, assigned work projects for sustainable development, and workshops on various topics important to the local community and the group members.

Qualifications

This is an intensive, challenging experience for mature individuals who are open-minded and eager to learn about the challenges of building sustainable communities in the midst of economic and ecological crisis. Participants must be 18-26 years old and able to communicate well in Spanish, the language of the project at all times. AFSC requires that participants undergo a pre-project physical exam. They must commit for the full seven weeks, June 26- August 9, 2008, and should be willing and prepared to live with a small group of peers in a remote, rural area of Mexico. AFSC seeks applicants who are interested in service, advocacy, and social justice—both in Latin America and their own communities.

Costs

Participants are responsible for a $1,350 project fee, which covers food, lodging, and transportation related to the project. Participants are also responsible for the cost of their travel to and from Mexico City. A non-refundable registration fee of $250 is due upon acceptance and the remainder in June 2008. Scholarships are available to applicants with demonstrated financial need, through the Dewitt Wallace Youth Travel Enrichment Fund of the New York Community Trust. Applicants should be sure to fill out a scholarship request form with the application if they would like to be considered for a scholarship.

Applications

Application forms are available online at www.afsc.org/mexicosummer.htm. Please call or send an email to request that the forms be mailed to you. All applications must be submitted to AFSC byMarch 21, 2008. In April, up to 30 participants and five facilitators from the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico will be notified that they have been accepted. Applicants from other countries should contact SEDEPAC. Additional qualified applicants will be placed on a waiting list and contacted if space becomes available.