From within the walls of Northwood all the way to Mexico, the influence of Northwood’s Mexico Outreach Buddy Club transcends borders, fostering a connection with communities thousands of miles away.
The goal that MORB set its sights on is to provide meaningful opportunities to underprivileged communities in Mexico. In order to share educational resources with individuals in Ensenada, Mexico, the club has partnered with communities such as the Oasis Rehabilitation Center, a government-funded organization supporting at-risk children.
“When I visited the Oasis over the summer, I saw a bunch of kids similar in age to me or even younger who were struggling to find a sense of belonging,” founder and president senior Winnie Wei said. “ I felt really grateful for a lot of opportunities that I have and I thought that I could do something for them and share educational resources with them.”
Originally starting as a nonprofit organization in fall 2022, MORB officially became a club at Northwood during the spring semester of last year. The organization holds weekly virtual english classes for kids at the rehabilitation center every Saturday, where volunteers use Spanish to teach the students basic English vocabulary and grammar, and recordings of lectures are uploaded online.
“This club is a good opportunity for members to practice their Spanish while getting volunteer hours,” secretary junior Marina Hanna said. “It’s a really unique experience and it’s really fun to see the kids smile during the lessons and laugh at our jokes.”
However, the club’s activities aren’t just limited to virtual lessons. They also have a pen pal project that matches student volunteers at Northwood with kids in Ensenada, where they exchange monthly letters to maintain and foster more personal connections with the students.
They’ve also found success with their past microloan project, raising funds and providing vocational training for single mothers at Mountain Community Church. With this newfound financial support as a starting point, individuals were able to start small businesses.
“A lot of our members share the same passion in using our skill sets and abilities to help the communities, which brings us together,” Wei said. “At the same time, we enjoy the connections that we can establish with the kids in the English classes and with the mothers. They aren’t just classes, they’re also ways to build friendships, and we’ve become part of the communities we teach.”
The club meets every Friday in 1422 during lunch. For more information, visit @mexico_outreach_buddy on Instagram or take a look at their website at mexicooutreachbuddy.com.
