By Colin Kitzman
This year I helped to form Kids for Casita Linda along with Madeline Garcia Nieto and Tristan Jackson. The three of us have participated in family workdays to paint houses for Casita Linda. Now that we are in secundaria (middle school), we wanted to take a more active role in helping Casita Linda and to find a way to involve more kids and teens directly in the organization.
What is Casita Linda you may ask? Casita Linda, which means “pretty little house,” is a non-profit organization founded in 2001. The organization focuses on building homes for families who are among the poorest of the poor in communities in and around San Miguel de Allende. For many of the families who receive a Casita Linda house, it is the first time they have had a home with a secure roof and cement floor. For me, it is hard to imagine what it would be like to live with cardboard walls, but for many families that is what their homes were like before Casita Linda.
This year, my friends and I wanted to help Casita Linda in more ways than just painting houses. So, we formed Kids for Casita Linda, the youth division of Casita Linda. For Maddie, whose mom was the executive director of Casita Linda for many years, the organization was always part of her life. “I have always been very involved in the Casita Linda community and ever since I was a kid, I would go with my mom to paint houses for Casita Linda. I was delighted when I was given the opportunity to help start this youth organization and am looking forward to directly helping Casita Linda communities.” Tristan has a similar long relationship with the organization. “I’ve been involved in Casita Linda for many years painting houses and going to events. I wanted to help create Kids for Casita Linda to do more for these communities in need.” As for me, I wanted to be part of Kids for Casita Linda because of the draw that I have always had to community service. My mom has made service part of our lives in both the United States and Mexico since as long as I can remember. When I was presented with the opportunity to help lead and build this new branch of Casita Linda, I took up the offer right away.
The first project that we did for Kids for Casita Linda was in December. We collected household goods and clothes for five separate families who were moving into Casita Linda homes. It was wonderful to see families move into their new houses and to make them feel like home for the children. Our project for 2022 is called Sweetdreams. This project is focused around providing mattresses, bedding, and towels for the six new houses that Casita Linda is building in Presita de Santa Rosa. We are trying to reach out to individuals and businesses that have mattresses, sheets, pillows, towels, and blankets to donate. If you have donations or ideas please contact us at kids_for@casitalinda.org and to find out more about the organization visit www.casitalinda.org.
