Community Profile
There are few cities in the United States that rival San Diego, California in terms of its beauty and climate. San Diego County has over 70 miles of some of the best beaches in the country, in addition to some of the United States' best attractions, including LEGOLAND and the San Diego Zoo. With over 1.4 million people in the city and roughly 3.3 million in San Diego County, it is the second largest city in California and the eighth largest in the United States.
Unfortunately, like many other of our nation's cities, San Diego has very marginalized populations who live in desperate need. According to the San Diego Foundation's Economic Equity Report, approximately 335,000 San Diego County residents — about 11% of the population, including 86,000 children — live below the federal poverty line. Roughly 162,000 residents live in deep poverty, defined as below 50% of the federal poverty level. Additionally, according to the 2025 Point-in-Time Count conducted by the Regional Task Force on Homelessness, nearly 10,000 people experience homelessness on any given night in San Diego County, including more than 5,700 who are unsheltered.
Beyond all of that, San Diego is one of the largest cities in the country for refugee resettlement. A refugee is someone who “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.” San Diego County remains one of the country’s most significant refugee-receiving regions. More than 85,000 refugees have resettled in San Diego since the end of the Vietnam War, and the county is currently among the top three refugee-receiving counties in California, with newcomers from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Burma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, and dozens of other nations. Roughly 22% of San Diego County residents are foreign-born, and more than 100 languages are spoken across the region.
We are very excited to be partnering with several ministries and churches to specifically serve this growing refugee community in San Diego. The community is comprised of people from some of the most truly marginalized and oppressed countries worldwide. We would love for your group to join us as we partner with these great local ministries in San Diego to serve and show the love of Christ to people from all over the world. In San Diego, world missions has truly come to our own backyard!
Sample Schedule
Breakfast / Devotionals
We provide breakfast for your team and give you the opportunity to either do devotionals as a group or for your students to do devotionals individually.
Culture/Prayer Walk and Refugee Simulation
Your team will likely spend a portion of your week serving the refugee community in San Diego. Additionally, our teams stay in a very unique and diverse area. Your team will have an opportunity to pray for the community while getting to know and experience the unique culture. You will also learn about refugees and seek to understand their experience.
Lunch at Kaleo Housing Location
Bible Club Preparation Time
Bible Club with a Partner Ministry in San Diego
Your group would have the opportunity to lead all aspects of the club including arts/crafts, Bible time, games, and a literacy/reading time.
Dinner at Kaleo Housing Site
Evening Debrief
This is a sample schedule and does not reflect specific times and ministry activities for your team.
Logistics
Cost
$450 for a five night trip or $540 for a six night trip includes all of your housing, food (with the exception of one evening meal on your night off) and ministry expenses. The only additional cost to your group is the cost of transportation.
Housing
Our Kaleo teams stay at the facility of one of our ministry partners. The building is a church and is currently used as both a church and community center. Girls and boys will be housed in separate rooms in different parts of the building. Showers are onsite and we will provide air mattresses for your team. Teams will need to provide their own bedding.
Parking
Parking is free and is available in the church parking lot.
Transportation
You will need to have vehicles to transport each individual team and a space available in your van for one Kaleo staff member for each team.
Food
Our goal is to provide good and healthy food options for your team. Additionally, as part of our food service, we will provide your group with some meals that are unique to the local culture of San Diego (Somali food and Rolled Tacos). We provide fruit at all meals and have salad options during lunch and dinner. If members of your team have food allergies, please let our City Director know. We can make basic accommodations such as gluten free bread and lactose free milk and you are free to bring additional food if necessary.
Your host on the ground
Staff information coming soon.
From the field
San Diego, in pictures
Ready to bring your group to San Diego?
We are excited about the opportunity to partner with your group to serve our ministry partners and the people of San Diego. If you would like more information, please feel free to contact us, or if you are ready to register your team, click the button below.