Mariapolis El Diamante
México, Acatzingo
The El Diamante Citadel wants to show the world that it is possible to have a society renewed by mutual love where everything circulates as a result of communion.
Specific requests:
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basic knowledge of spanish
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full covid vaccine
Mode: face-to-face
Period: from July to December / from May to August
Minimum time: 2 months
Maximum time: 10 months
Context of the community in which he works
Mariapolis El Diamante (State of Puebla-Mexico) is located in a rural peri-urban area in the municipality of Acatzingo, 2 km from the town of the same name, which has 30,000 inhabitants. It is 40 km from the city of Puebla and 170 km from Mexico City. There are currently about 45 permanent residents, including young people, adults and families. It is a place frequented by 15,000 people each year. They come (from their closest environment in Central America) in search of integral formation (mind, hands, heart and spirit) from congresses, seminars, retreats, conferences and life groups that meet weekly. The Mariapolis is very visited mainly in July, August and September.
Its goals
The Cittadella El Diamante wants to show the world that it is possible to have a society renewed by mutual love where everything circulates as the result of communion. It was born with the goal of being a centre of human and spiritual formation, inspired by Chiara Lubich's charism of unity and universal brotherhood. It is at the service of the entire Mesoamerican region. It is a place where one can discover, experience, form oneself and commit oneself to the search for universal brotherhood: where diversity -cultural, generational, social, spiritual- is not a barrier but a richness for an authentic intercultural coexistence.
Main activities carried out
One of El Diamante's main activities is organising events and welcoming visitors to its hospitality centre. It also has a pastry shop, a screen-printing workshop and a carpentry shop. A boarding school with a nursery, primary and secondary school is also located nearby: for this reason, its context of intervention is divided into three areas of impact: the area related to its closest environment such as the municipality of Acatzingo and other neighbouring municipalities as well as various cities in the state of Puebla. The area represented by the Republic of Mexico as a whole. The larger area which is the entire territory of Central America.
Volunteers profile
Enthusiastic and proactive young people. Interested in working in the proposed areas of work. It is important that the volunteer is committed to integrating into the dynamics and way of life proposed by the Mariapolis.
Tasks to be done
The Citadel offers the following possibilities: you can choose the one that best suits your professional and human interests according to your availability of time and financial resources: Period of 2 to 6 months (between July and December): Designing the Mariapolis website; Working in the kitchen and dining room area; Drawing up guidelines for the kitchen and dining room; Plan, design and implement recreational and sports spaces in the Mariapolis for both inhabitants and visitors; Carrying out a project for the transformation of the Mariapolis with its 13 hectares into an ecological place (installation of a water reservoir, composting, ecological toilets, waste and water management, etc); Work on making traditional sweets. Period of 6 to 10 months (between August and May): These are volunteering projects of a socio-cultural nature that have the same inspiration as the El Diamante citadel, but are located outside its structures. The volunteers live in the Mariapolis, but the activities take place outside of it in Santa Maria School, located at a 15-minute walk from the citadel. Educational activities with children and adolescents from primary and secondary schools. Juan Pablo II Kindergarten. Activities with children from 0 to 6 years old. Art for Art's sake. Atelier specialising in the restoration of sacred art and dedicated to the decoration of multiple spaces.