Because through an experience of high-level engagement, Techo provided people in need with a dignified home through the use of Google Technology like never before. But beyond that, we gave them a better life.

In the world, there are thousands of abandoned places that don't even appear on Google. Communities that remain invisible. In Mexico, more than 47 million people don’t have a home, let alone an address. They lack basic services and are not recognized by the government.

In this context, Techo, an NGO that builds houses for the people who live in informal settlements, needed to help make these communities visible. And we did that by addressing the problem and by literally, giving them an address using Google technology.

Situation: In Mexico, more than 47 million people don’t have a home, let alone an address. They lack basic services and are not recognized by the government.

Brief: How to help make these communities visible?

Objectives: To give marginalized people an address to start getting their official ID’s, receive mail, and even call for an ambulance.This way, they could get recognition from the government to plan ahead for basic services like potable water, electricity, and paving.

TECHO presents: Address the Invisible, a social initiative where technology dignified communities that no one had seen before. Techo gave them a decent place to live. Then, in collaboration with Google, we gave them an address through their geolocation technology called Plus Codes.

The more than 47 million Mexican people that don’t have a home or an address were our primary target: families that live lacking basic services and that are not recognized by the government as regular citizens.

The secondary target was the local governments. We needed to get recognition from them for the people who lived in informal settlements, who needed basic services and a fully dignified life.

By addressing thousands of families within hundreds of communities, we demonstrated that this initiative can (and will) be easily applied throughout all of Latin America and the poorest regions in the world.

First, Techo gave people in informal settlements a decent place to live. Then in collaboration with Google, through the use of their geolocation technology called Plus Codes, we gave them an address.

Plus Codes are alphanumeric codes that take into consideration latitude and longitude, totally free and open source and they work as a substitute for an address that allows marginalized people to start getting their official ID’s, receive mail, and even call for an ambulance.

And then, local governments pledged to plan ahead for basic services like, potable water, electricity and paving.

Though this initiative was mainly applied throughout Mexico, it has the scalability to reach all of Latin America and the world. Techo International is on its way to make this an international common practice.

​​Address The Invisible is not a regular advertising campaign. Consequently, results and metrics cannot be measured traditionally. However, the deep social impact and the success of the initiative is evident:

We helped 143 communities and 1042 families to have a decent place to live and an address to start getting their official ID’s, receive mail, and even call for an ambulance.

The support of government leaders like the Mayor of the Ixtapaluca Municipality in the State of Mexico allowed people to change their attitude towards communities that were otherwise invisible. Now Mexicans see Techo not only as builders of decent homes for the outcast, but as allies to help them claim a dignified living with basic services.