The words that come to mind when someone says “Home” likely all have a sense of security, warmth, happiness, health, and well-being. At least, in the consciousness of our ideals, these are the likely answers.
But when a mother, whose meager income barely keeps her son fed, and who battles the elements, wild animals, and disease each day in the place that she must call home- it is far from the ideal.
Pueblo Modelo is hot, it is dusty, it is dry, and at the end of a day ministering there, we are always left worn out and dirty. Yet each day, this woman and so many like her are walking from one end of this village to the other, to work long days for a very little pay. And at the end of the day, rather than going to a safe, secure, and welcoming home… she walks past a tin wall that stabilizes her short timber counter, to cook dinner next to her black plastic backsplash.
The large village that is perched on a flat above Zacapa is a displacement community. When tropical storm Mitch rolled quickly into a destructive hurricane in early 1999, the results were total devastation for thousands of families.
Homes were washed away.
Lives were lost.
Entire futures had to be rebuilt.
After the passing of the storm, government officials had to deal with masses of people who no longer had a place to belong. The solution was to grant them a piece of property outside of the city of Zacapa for them to rebuild their lives.
The problem is that this was the only thing given to them… property.
How can you rebuild a home with nothing but dusty acreage?
We have encountered so many families and communities that have suffered this same circumstance. Hurricane Mitch has not been the only storm to pass, in the last decade we’ve seen Hurricanes Stan and Agatha wipe out entire communities in the exact same fashion.
And we’ve watched them collect their strength and attempt to rebuild.
It is a painful thing to watch a mother create a house from black plastic and sharp tin. Houses were no longer any larger than an average bathroom or bedroom, yet housed entire multigenerational families. The result of whatever was gathered in the local dumps or from the side of the road.
We decided to not stand by and watch it any longer.
In the past few years, Hope of Life and our partners have committed to helping families find a home. We’ve constructed over 3,500 and have plans to complete at least 500 more in the coming year. Communities like Pueblo Modelo, and Los Limones, and Pueblo Del Rio are desperate for new homes and safe spaces.
We are dedicated to find a way to make that happen, and it will only happen with your help.
If you are interested in being a part of our home construction projects, visit our website for more information and pray about how you could help build a house and create a home. A new home for a small family can cost as little as $6,500… but the impact will spread for generations.