Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club heading to Mexico

The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club on Belmont Avenue in Charlotte is hard at work on a project that has all the makings of a great reality TV series.

Come July, 10 kids from the club are headed to the impoverished Mexican village of Blanca Flor, where they intend to peddle lamps door-to-door.

The catch: Few people in the village speak English and even fewer have electricity.

Project CEO Shaquetta Gathers, 15, is not easily discouraged, however. She said her team is made up of adventurers who have accepted the fact that nothing about their upcoming mission trip will be easy.

“I’m excited,” said Gathers. “We’re going to be meeting a lot of kids who don’t have all the luxuries we have in this country, but they’re happy. Maybe they get more out of life than we do. Maybe they’ll teach us things before it’s over.”

The group is part of a pilot program coordinated by the Charlotte-based nonprofit World Mission GO. Two other teen groups of 10 each are participating independently, one in Cherryville and one at Providence Road Church of Christ in Charlotte.

Organizers say the initiative is equal parts business training, evangelism and community service.

Teens from the Belmont neighborhood have created their own company and are “manufacturing” 250 solar lamps out of mostly recycled materials. Those lamps will be given out for free in Blanca Flor, as the teens try their hand at evangelism with the families they meet.

Donors here in Charlotte are being sought to help cover costs of the lights, which are $150 each.

Blanca Flor is described by World Mission GO leaders as a village of about 2,000 people on the Mexican-Belize border, where the people are largely impoverished and speak Mayan, rather than Spanish. Few have electricity, which is why the solar lamps are considered a viable product for their households. Rechargers are included for the lamps.

World Mission GO , a nondenominational Christian charity, will provide interpreters to help the Charlotte teens during their house-to-house visits. The nonprofit has run a series of missions in Blanca Flor in recent years, which will help open doors for the Charlotte teens.

The trip will be Kaya Outing’s first plane ride and first time out of the United States. The 16-year-old West Charlotte High student admits being nervous. In fact, none of the 10 teens from the Boys & Girls Club have been to Mexico. They’ll sleep nights in a hostel and participate in communal meals with local residents.

“I’m totally scared of heights, so I’m really afraid of flying,” Outing said. “I don’t even like roller coasters, but we’re going to be helping other kids who are less fortunate. We’re bringing them light, so they can do their homework at night. For that, I can overcome my fears.”

This story was originally published May 10, 2015 at 4:22 PM with the headline "Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club heading to Mexico."