“To participate in Enlace Rural is one of the best experiences a person can have in his life, full of learning and harmony. We wake up and we walk, sometimes more than an hour to get to a house. We learn a bit how to do their daily work, shell corn, dig a furrow, plant, dig holes to plant trees, cut weeds, make tortillas, cook. We teach in elementary and middle schools. In the afternoons we have recreational activities for children and adults. Every day is exhausting, but infinitely rewarding. The bond that is created with the people in the community is great, and even greater is the desire to continue working together to improve conditions in the community.”

Antonio Vázquez Pérez, general director of Enlace Rural

Enlace Rural is a social initiative and a community service option for ITAM students that was created in 2009 by Agustín García, an ITAM alumnus, as a way of creating a link between Mexican rural life and university students.

Enlace Rural’s goal is to create awareness among students about the reality of our country and to promote their participation in the comprehensive development of the communities. Each semester, 10 brigades work in the communities of Plomosas, Benito Juárez and  Magdalena in the state of Hidalgo. In addition, a 10-day stay known as the “Contact Phase” is conducted in the communities in summer. During that time, students do the daily chores, live with the community members and work on three micro-projects: TFE, CAMINANDO, and FAP.

An education support workshop, TFE (Taller de Fomento a la Educación), is in charge of comprehensive development for children. Its main goal is to offer activities so that children can learn to coexist in their environment, acquire values and find their place in time and space. At the same time, regularization classes, primarily Spanish and math, are offered at the elementary level.

Support for productive activities is offered by FAP (Fomento a las Actividades Productivas), which promotes development in each community. Efforts are divided into these areas: lawfulness and well-being, communication, sales and production. Through this micro-project, a brand of tea, “ConscienTé,” was created; the goal is to operate like a tea cooperative for the rural communities of Hidalgo. People in those communities manage the cooperative with assessment by ITAM students.

Caminando (“Walking”) is the micro-project that provides classes for adults who want to finish primary, middle or high school. It also counsels teenagers looking for a high school or university. The name of the project is derived from an observation by writer Eduardo Galeano: “Utopia is on the horizon. I walk two steps; it retreats two steps and the horizon shifts ten steps beyond that. So, then, what is utopia good for? For that – it is good for walking.”

Enlace now has more than 80 volunteers; they are ITAM undergraduates that are recruited and chosen each semester. Recently, and after a lot of work, Enlace Rural became a nonprofit organization, which will help move the project forward since in a few months it will be able to take donations.