Homes for Homeless Families in Guatemala

So far this year, we have built 31 houses to provide safe and dignified homes for our families and there are more that we will build next week.

One of the families that has received a home from us this year is the Gutierrez family who live in Santa Ana. Their process to receive a house was slightly different from other families, as we approached them rather than them approaching us.

To decide who we are going to build for we have a small committee of staff from different programmes who visit candidates to ascertain if they qualify or not. These visits are based on the requests that we receive from people who come to the office to ask for a house build. Our committee visits the areas and decides if the houses qualify or not before presenting to leadership to organise the priority list.

We are conscious, however, that there are many families who are unaware of the service we provide and so do not know that they could receive a home from us. When our committee is visiting houses on the list, we also look out for other houses that qualify and invite them to apply.

We did this with the Gutierrez family. They were not on our list but, as we passed by their house, it stood out to us as a home that needed help. We knocked the door and there was Gladys. When we introduced ourselves and explained to her what we do, she agreed to show us her humble abode. We also met Gladys’s two sons, Angel and José, who were very sociable and enthusiastic to show us around.

The family of four is a loving and happy family. José and Gladys have been together for 6 years and they started a family in Santa Ana, a little town just outside Antigua. José works as a blacksmith and Gladys is a housewife and takes care of the boys. They managed to build a makeshift home out of sugar cane and blankets for the walls, and the roof was made of sheet metal.

The family was very enthusiastic about receiving a house build from us and so talked to their other family members to get the paperwork for their small area of land. They also visited the Project to find out more about our organization and were delighted to receive some clothes for their trouble.

The house was built by Teens Inc. a service team from Philadelphia who have been volunteering with us and building houses for over 15 years. In three days the team was able to build a brand new, comfortable and dignified home for the Gutierrez family. During the handover ceremony there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, as the family shared their gratitude to Teens Inc. and the GOD’S Child Project. That wasn’t the end of our support, however, as our Sponsorship department was also able to provide the family with a new bed so that Angel and José could sleep comfortably.

The GOD’S CHILD Project has been working for 30 years to break the chains of poverty through education, housing and healthcare. Please click the link below to donate to support us in our ongoing mission.