FROM HOUSES TO HOMES-GUATEMALA
From Houses to Homes aims to strengthen community harmony in highland
Guatemala by building lasting, healthy homes, improving access to
health care and education, and inspiring participation between the poor
and civil society.
In the poorest areas of highland Guatemala, improper building
materials, a lack of appropriate resources, and unsustainable
architectures turn houses to foul rubble in the blink of an eye. Many
families live in makeshift homes that are constructed of nothing more
than cornstalk or cardboard walls with dirt floors. Decrepit housing
quashes hope, fuels health problems, and destroys family unity. From
Houses to Homes-Guatemala, Inc., recognizes that flourishing homes and
thriving communities begin with improving actual home structure. From
Houses to Homes works with the poorest of Guatemalan families to build
or rebuild houses making them strong, safe, culturally appropriate, and
affordable to maintain. These homes become the foundation for a
community building process
Each home costs approximately $1,500. Our homes are 13 x 19 foot homes,
made entirely of concrete block, with cement floor, corrugated metal
roof, with skylight, a metal door with lock, and a metal-framed window
with glass. The home is stuccoed and painted inside and out with colors
chosen by the home owner. A plaque with your name will be placed on the
home honoring your donation.
There are over one million corn stalk shacks in Guatemala. Some
communities consist entirely of these provisional houses which sometime
include additional scavenged resources, like corrugated metal siding,
scraps of wood, or even plastic bags as siding. All houses have dirt
floors, occasionally a bed, and most with leaky roofs.
We at FHTH try to visit every family three or more times over several
months at unannounced times to see how the families are actually
living. The only requirement to receive a home is that they are very
poor and can prove ownership of the property.
We then try to select the families with the largest number of members
so there will be a benefit to the largest number of people. A single
mother with five or more children will head the list. During our first
four years of operation we have averaged six members per home. This
means that FHTH has provided a safe home to approximately 1250 people.
While home building is our main focus, we recognize that houses just
remain structures and communities remain collections of impoverished
families without proper health and education. In addition to homes, we
believe that providing poor families with better access to healthcare
and education most effectively helps address community deterioration in
highland Guatemala. From Houses to Homes makes health and education
possible by subsidizing health care costs and school registration fees.
While we can't combat this problem in its entirety, we try to assist
the neediest families in the highlands.
To provide the foundation for a hopeful future, communities must become
more than a collection of families. Both individuals and families must
be inspired to participate for the greater good of a neighborhood. From
Houses to Homes, works with families and civil society to demonstrate
the value that a clean and well functioning community has on the
quality of life. We strive to bring people of all ages and backgrounds
into the fold of a tightly knit community.
From Houses to Homes is a New Jersey-based nonprofit 501(c)(3)
organization founded in September 2004 to build homes and improve the
lives of the rural poor in Guatemala. FHTH is currently funded through
private donations, corporate giving, and contributions from private
foundations. Nearly 100% of all donations go toward building homes and
providing health and education to revitalize disadvantaged communities
in Guatemala.
Joe Collins is a licensed New Jersey private investigator who first
became familiar with the needs of the Guatemalan community when, in
1999, he visited his son Darron who was studying the language and
culture of the Q'eqhi'-Maya people, an indigenous group in northern
Guatemala. During his stay, he witnessed firsthand the devastating
extent of poverty in Guatemala and, profoundly impacted by his trip, he
began volunteering for an organization in 2001 that gathered service
teams to build homes for the poor. He returned home empowered to
further help families, and with generous help from friends, raised
funds for this organization and returned to Guatemala on 11 different
occasions, sometimes for 3 months at a time, to enhance the building
efforts of that organization. Recognizing family homes as the
cornerstone for improving lives and developing communities, Joe started
From Houses to Homes (De Casas a Hogares) in late 2004, providing
individual families with a better home and a fresh start in life. Joe
does not take a salary from From Houses to Homes. |
