Our Story
In 1988, BorderLinks began providing educational seminars at the U.S./Mexico border. These first trips focused on educating church groups across the United States on the conflicts taking place in war-torn Central American countries at the time and on the difficulties encountered by Central Americans fleeing persecution across the U.S./Mexico border.
By the early 1990s, our mission had broadened as we developed deeper relationships in Mexican border communities and directed our attention to helping participants understand the implications of the global economy for residents of communities at risk along the U.S./Mexico border. By experiencing first-hand life in communities like Nogales, Sonora, our participants have been able to wrestle with the complexity of life on the border. In meeting with workers and newly arrived migrants, government and immigration enforcement officials on both sides of the border, and business people in the maquiladora sector, participants are challenged to reexamine their own assumptions and beliefs.
In 1998, BorderLinks reached its long-term goal of becoming a bi-national organization. With the help of dedicated churches, schools, individuals and other organizations pitching in to raise funds, BorderLinks purchased the Casa de la Misericordia (now known as the Hogar de Esperanza y Paz, The Home of Hope and Peace)—a large community center in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. Acquiring the Casa and gaining official recognition as a nonprofit organization by both the U.S. and Mexico governments meant that BorderLinks' mission dramatically expanded once again.
Today, the Hogar de Esperanza y Paz (HEPAC) is an independent Mexican non-profit. As sister organizations, BorderLinks and HEPAC work together on delegations and on building bridges of understanding in communities in the United States and Mexico. HEPAC's programs concentrate on service, education and action, and are developed to respond directly to the community's needs. HEPAC's Children's Food Security Program provides 100 of the neediest children in the surrounding neighborhood of HEPAC with a healthy and nutritious meal every day of the school year, and also serves as a way to strengthen the children's involvement in community formation programs such as week-long educational kids camps, classes amd sports. HEPAC also hosts government-sponsored classes for the unemployed, wherein participants learn computer and English skills, receive financial support for their participation, and earn a certificate from the National Institute of Work.HEPAC also partners with local border organizations in Mexico to provide much-needed services.
BorderLinks continues to offer educational immersion opportunities for self-organized group as well as delegation opportunities for individuals. Many of our delegations travel to Mexico, while others stay on the U.S. side of the border to explore the Arizona context more deeply. Our Beyond the Border programs are designed to extend our understanding of immigration issues beyond the Arizona/Mexico border by traveling to Chiapas, the Copper Canyon, and Alamos in Mexico, and Chicago and Santa Barbara in the United States. BorderLinks’ more in-depth, long-term educational programs, such as DukeEngage, include academic immersion programs designed for college students.
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