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SAN JUAN - Violence across the border in Mexico has forced students from Villanova University to re-think their spring break plans.
Fifteen students from the Philadelphia university are part of Proyecto Azteca. They were suppose to head to Reynosa to help repair homes. Instead they are in San Juan using their vacation time to paint, plaster and prepare homes for low income disabled and elderly people in the Valley.
Student Cristina Hernandez says the trip to Reynosa was going to be sentimental for her because her Mother is from the border town. Cristina says "I was excited to come down and see where my Mom grew up and how it was."
Cristina wants to be a lawyer when she graduates from college. She says she identifies with people in the colonias because she grew up on the poor side of Chicago. She said, "it was hard growing up because its frustrating to see what we don't have and how we are held back because of our socio-economic background."
Carolyn Parks is pre-med student at Villanova. She says helping the people of the Valley is teaching her things she would never find in a text book.
The students will be in the Valley until Saturday working to fix up Ruben Chavarria home. Chavarria, an Air Force veteran, has been living in his house full of cracks since 1985. He is very grateful to the students and doesn't have enough words to express how much their work means to him.
The students will work 600 hours this week. Proyecto Azteca requires families to work 550 sweat equity hours towards building their homes.
[This message has been edited by scottimus (edited 3/3/2010 12:48p).]