Felices Dias y Nuevo Año 2012!

Happy Holidays!

CASA HOY PROUDLY ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH IVHQ!

This fall Casa HOY welcomes its first IVHQ-Mexico volunteers since beginning its partnership with the international volunteer agency IVHQ, which operates in 18 different countries, helping thousands of volunteers connect with local organizations and programs.

For more info, please read on….

Casa HOY—based in sunny, quiet Cuernavaca—has teamed up with IVHQ, an international volunteer agency, expanding on HOY's 10-year journey of offering give-and-get travel to individuals and groups.

Casa HOY is IVHQ’s exclusive partner in Mexico and will continue to organize and carry out community service trips for people who are looking for a different type of travel experience.

Through IVHQ, participants will have the opportunity to work with the great network of NGOs and activists that Casa HOY has built up in Cuernavaca and Morelos State. Volunteers can focus on one of four categories:

* Teaching: primarily focused on teaching English, although volunteers can also expect to help with other school subjects. Having the ability to speak English provides Mexicans with an advantage in finding work and building a future career.

* Environment: an opportunity to jump into the thick of Cuernavaca’s diverse environmental scene. Volunteers have direct contact with local projects to raise public awareness and get practical results

* Computer Training: a Cuernavaca-based computer lab on wheels. Every weekday afternoon the lab sets up in selected disadvantaged neighborhoods to provide via an easy-to-follow lesson plan computer related opportunities that otherwise do not exist.

* Childcare: individual and group interaction with children from low-income homes and communities. Volunteers aid local staff in improving the educational, emotional and sanitary conditions in which the children live.

Please come join us in Cuernavaca and spread the word to family and friends.

CUERNAVACA: HEADQUARTERS FOR CITIZEN ACTION

Bad news may come pouring out of Mexico, but Casa HOY is here to tell you the inspirational part—the part that is not covered in much of the foreign or even domestic press.

This past Wednesday, April 6, transforming their grief and frustration, ordinary Mexican citizens used their voice to protest the violence across the country provoked by a “war” imposed on the people by its own government. “Ya basta” and “No mas sangre” were the demands of the day.

Inspired by personal loss, Mexican poet and journalist Javier Sicilia called on his compatriots to demonstrate publicly their inconformity with Mexico’s and the U.S.’s “war” on drugs as the two countries overlook the causes of the problem and the devastating effects on the citizenry of an erroneous policy that caters to high-level interests. Too many innocents have perished, trapped between the crossfire of political criminals and organized criminals.

20,000 marched in Cuernavaca alone. In other cities across the country, including the nation’s capital, thousands more joined the coordinated protest.

Mexicans are taking the route of pacific protest to pressure the powers that be to represent their people and hear their demands.

In the words of the anthropologist Margaret Mead, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

PARTICIPATORY EXPERIENCES 2011 (UPDATED!)

Abril 15-17: Construccion de casa (Guanajuato)

Unete a un grupo de viajeros-voluntarios de Casa HOY, y pasa un dia y medio de actividades culturales en la ciudad de Guanajuato, y el fin de semana, participa en la construccion de una casa para una familia de bajos recursos, dirigida por una organizacion internacional, en la ciudad de Leon. Perfecta combinacion de turismo alternativo y accion social!

Dia 1: Miercoles: Salida DF-Guanajuato
Dia 2: Jueves: dia completo en Guanajuato
Dia 3: Viernes: construccion de casa
Dia 4: Sabado: construccion de casa
Dia 5: Domingo construccion / fin de actividades

Acompañante-guia de Casa HOY con grupo durante toda la experiencia
Logistica de trabajo voluntario
Actividades culturales guiadas

Gran experiencia individual, con amigos o colegas de la misma empresa!

Interesados comunicarse a la brevedad!!! a:
casahoymexico@gmail.com

May 28 - June 4: Women and gender issues (Morelos)

Stay at Casa HOY and get to know the work of Mexican women activists and their everyday struggles in society, visiting local NGOs, urban community projects, and other groups fighting in different fields. We'll also meet with a group of indigenous women and their families in a rural setting.

A great week of social activism, responsible tourism, and cultural immersion!

For fees, and more details please write to hoycommunity@gmail.com
Casa HOY team.

June 25 -July 2: Urban planning (Mexico City)

Come observe and experience the efforts of Mexico City's local government in transforming the most populated metropolis in the world into an environmentally-friendly and sustainable city of 20+ million!

-Stay at an eco-friendly hostel
...-Specific talks with experts
-Visits to public parks, green buildings, urban street art, community gardens, and more.
-We will ride the Metro, Metrobus, light rail, electric buses, taxi bikes, and city rental bicycles!

Sample itinerary:
Day 1: Arrival-welcome dinner
Day 2: Orientation / Bike ride Condesa and Roma neighborhoods
Day 3: Subway system / visit to Plaza de las Tres Culturas
Day 4: Green projects / visit to Latin America's tallest green building and Parque Bicentenario (ex-Refineria) / visit to project of urban green roofs
Day 5: Urban culture & sustainability / inner freeway system, street art, and Museum of Anthropology
Day 6: Metro bus system / Visit to UNAM campus
Day 7: City infrastructure: water, energy, air
Day 8: Recap / departure

A great experience for students, professionals, activists, and urban adventurers!

For costs and to fill out a registration form, please
write an e-mail to hoycommunity@gmail.com

Julio 15 Aniversario HOY 10 años! (DF-Cuernavaca)

July 20 to 5 August: Summer camp (Cuernavaca)

Come to Cuernavaca (the City of Eternal Spring) this coming July, and spend one, two or three weeks at a summer camp for low-income children and youth, teaching English, arts and crafts, playing sports, and more!

Dates: July 20 to August 5, 2011
Hours of volunteering: Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Requirements: basic Spanish or a willingness to learn, be outgoing, some experience teaching, able to handle groups, creative, self-motivated, like interaction with children and youth

Casa HOY provides lodging and volunteer arrangements for a summer-special fee!

The fee includes:
> Pick up and drop-off at Cuernavaca’s Casino de la Selva bus station
> Orientation on volunteering, Mexican culture and safety tips
> Hostel-type shared lodging and bathroom
> Breakfast and snacks
> Local transportation related to volunteer work
> Access to a Casa HOY staff person during working hours
> 1 guided cultural/recreational activity per week
> Goodbye lunch with Casa HOY family!

NOT included:
> Airfare to and from Mexico City

> Bus fare Mexico City-Cuernavaca

> Other meals than those specified

> Other local transportation not related to volunteer work

> Personal expenses

For fees and to receive a registration form, please contact

Casa HOY at hoycommunity@gmail.com

Agosto 7-13: Experiencia Participativa en Nueva York

VIAJE PARTICIPATIVO A NUEVA YORK!!
Una semana de cooperacion internacional, inmersion cultural, accion social, turismo y mas!
Detalles y costos pronto.
Apuntate al evento!
o manda un e-mail con tus datos a: casahoymexico@gmail.com

September 10-November 12: Afterschool program (Cuernavaca)

Details TBA

September 23-25: House building (Queretaro)

Details TBA

November: Ravine cleanup in San Anton (Cuernavaca)

Details TBA

November: Project at eco-village (Tepoztlan)

Details TBA

November 22-27: Thanksgiving week of service (Morelos or Oaxaca)

Details TBA

December: Alternative medicine (Morelos)

Details TBA

December: Sea turtles project (Pacific coast)

Details TBA

* For exact dates, places, and fees per person please write to hoycommunity@gmail.com

Travel and Change the World!