BorderLinks- Example of a Five Day Trip

ITINERARY OF A TYPICAL 5 DAY TRIP

MONDAY

8:00	Breakfast followed by group introductions, program orientation, and some quick exercises to get us thinking about the border. (Learning happens best in the context of a "learning community." Our program promotes the formation of a community that will nurture a sense of trust, inquiry and commitment in participants.)
10:00	Guadalupe Castillo, a professor of history and long time community activist will give us an overview of history, culture, and immigration in the borderlands.
1:00	Depart for Nogales
2:00	An agent of the US Border Patrol or from Customs and Border Enforcement will meet with us to talk about the work and mission of that agency, and to discuss immigration issues and national policy. (Our role is to create occasion for dialogue...to help participants ask questions and make connections.
3:30	Cross the border into Nogales, Sonora. Tour both new and old industrial parks, and Colonia Kennedy, the economically richest neighborhood in Nogales.
6:00	Dinner with recently returned and deported migrants at the Sol de Justicia Presbyterian Church. After dinner stories will be shared, and dialogue encouraged.
8:30	Overnight at the Casa de la Misericordia, BorderLinks community center in Nogales.

TUESDAY

8:00	Trip leader will facilitate a group reflection to share feelings and images from the past day's experiences.
10:00	Meet with the manager of a maquiladora (border factory) that manufactures electronic components. He will answer questions about economic development on the border and take us on a tour of the plant. (Participants should have significant opportunities to hear the voice of those holding power.)
12:00	Lunch with Joanna, from ALFO, a maquila worker organizing project concentrating on Mexican federal labor law and worker's rights.
3:00	Join Francisco Trujillo, the director of BorderLinks on the Mexican side, who will meet with us to talk about the economic crisis in Mexico. He has 15 years experience working in the maquiladoras, 6 years at the chamber of commerce, and is a lifelong resident of Nogales.
5:00	We will go up to meet the families in Colonia Las Torres, a squatters' settlement on the edge of Nogales, who will host us for two nights. Have dinner with our host families. (We strive for fair education that exposes participants to a wide spectrum of viewpoints, but our bias is towards learning from those suffering poverty and oppression.)

WEDNESDAY

8:00	Second group reflection session to discuss our experiences. (Education must help us think critically about our world and our role in it. Programs always include time for reflection and discussion.)
9:30	We will split up into small groups to conduct a "market basket survey" of food prices and cost of living in the city.
12:00	Maricruz will prepare lunch for us in Colonia Flores Magon and tell us about her work as a community organizer.
3:00	Meet with Alberto Morackis in front of his latest artwork in front of the border wall - Paseo de la Humanidad, Parade of Humanity. Alberto talks about the culture of Nogales, immigration, and how all this comes together in their public mural project.
5:00	Return to Colonia Las Torres for a community dinner/celebration, and another night of homestays.

THURSDAY

9:30	Say good bye to our host families and depart Nogales for Altar, Sonora one of the primary converging spots for migrants heading north to cross into the US about 60 miles south of the border.

12:00	Stop for lunch and free time at Magdalena de Kino, a colonial town at the heart of Father Kino's mission chain.
2:00	Reflection to discuss time in Nogales and transition to the 'following the migrant trail' part of the trip in the central plaza of Magdalena.
5:00	Arrive in Altar, Sonora at the CCAMYN, a migrant center run by the Catholic Church. Meet with volunteers who talk about how the community has responded to the up to 1,000 - 1,500 immigrants arriving in Altar on a daily basis.
6:00	Tour Altar with volunteers - possible visits include: casa de huespedes (guest house), police, van drivers, and mass in the cathedral in the central plaza.
7:30	Dinner with volunteers and migrants at the CCAMYN.

FRIDAY

8:00	Investigation exercise in Altar's central plaza. Divide up into smaller groups and talk to people who are planning to cross into the US. Find out why they are coming, where they are going, what dangers they may encounter on the way, and what the consequences are.
9:00	Debrief exercise and reflection.
10:00	Depart Altar following the migrant route - a 60 mile dirt road that leads to the border at Sasabe.
11:30	Stop and talk to Grupo Beta, Mexico's border police, who have set up a tent along the road to give orientation to potential migrants about the dangers of crossing the desert.
12:30	Lunch in Sasabe, Sonora; after lunch go and see crossing points on the border.
2:00	Talk with the Reverend John Fife at Southside Presbyterian Church about the role of the church and people of faith in the borderlands. He will talk about the No More Deaths movement.
6:00	BorderLinks staff will facilitate a number of exercises designed to help us begin to analyze our experiences. (The process of reflecting on experience often begins on the affective level and moves towards social analysis.)
8:00	Final group reflection: What does this all mean for us? What do we do next? (Participants are encouraged to become advocates based on their experience.)
8:30	Program evaluation.

Call us at 520-628-8263 or email program@borderlinks.org
BorderLinks is a bi-national education and service organization.
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