Spend one week building a home in Guatemala
We’re looking for an enthusiastic group to build a home for a needy family in Guatemala. It can be a church, a team of co-workers, a Rotary club or a boy scout troop. Or, maybe your extended family would like to have the vacation of a lifetime, one that you will always remember?
Meet the family
The family of Tomas Calel lives in the community of Chutzorop I, Chichicastenango. They do not have electricity or running water.
There are nine people that live in this home constructed of sticks and corn stalks. A strong wind could blow it down. It probably leaks with every rainfall. They all sleep on the ground, huddled together for warmth. Look…
There are no beds, no kitchen table. Tomas has a physical handicap and does not work. None of the children have EVER attended school. All nine of them survive on roughly $1 per day (not individually — the WHOLE FAMILY) yet they smile and play, and laugh when Diego bumps his head. (please watch our short video)
Thankfully this family now has a stove. We have provided them with food donations and will also be delivering them a water filter. But, for the first time in our nonprofit’s history, we are building a home. Join us!
While this is new for the Guatemala Service Projects, it is not new for Diego. He has coordinated work project teams in his past and he is hopeful that we can coordinate a work team to build a home for this family.
Looking for a work team…
At this time, we are not looking for individual donations which, when combined, would raise the funds needed. We are looking for a church, corporation, Rotary Club, Boy Scout troop or extended family group to travel to Guatemala and together build a house of concrete block construction.
It could be completed in one week with a team of 8-12 people. The total cost of the home would be approximately $5000 to $6000 and both teens and adults could participate. This would be similar to one of our travel teams but the primary emphasis would be this home-building work project. It would be a private travel team, coordinated by Guatemala Service Projects and the construction project overseen by Diego Xirum. Please contact me if your church/club/business/troop/family would have an interest! If you would like to extend your vacation and add some tourism at the end of the work week, that is certainly an option!
Wouldn’t it be a wonderful feeling being part of a fulfilling work week where the home above was replaced with a dignified, fortified, safe home?
You can build a home for a needy family in Guatemala and receive more blessings than you give. The joy is in the giving. A week’s worth will change Tomas Calel’s family forever.
The “right” opportunity arose when I learned about a travel opportunity for adoptive families which would include volunteer work and cultural sightseeing. Being members of that team had a profound impact on me, Lillian and Andrew. Not only were we able to make a real connection to our son’s birthplace, but we met incredibly warm and generous people, all of whom we now consider to be a part of our “family.” In addition to the volunteer work I shared with the Team, I also was able to “give back” by performing as my alter ego, “Farfel the Clown” at a barbecue for children of The Backyard School. It will remain one the proudest and happiest memories of my life.
Hello! First of all, thank you for the work that you do. I am interested in your home-building methods in Guatemala. What do you build them with, and do you consider earthquakes or other hazards when building them? I am an engineering student learning about earthquake risk and am curious about how vulnerability of rural Guatemalan families might be reduced. Also do you accept individuals to come to Guatemala to help with building? Thanks!
Thank you for your comment Desirae. Best wishes on your engineering degree! When we first published this blog article, we were accepting individuals or groups to come to Guatemala to assist with the building process. However, since then we have decided not to offer this as an option, as we found that it was better to provide the work opportunity and the resulting pride to the family that received and Guatemalan workers that had the foreknowledge of building in their environment with the tools that they have available.
However, to respond to your question, I will say that the very basic house that could be built for $5000 to $6000 as this post suggests does not have earthquake risk as a factor, it is more an improvement over cornstalks or adobe blocks.
To truly guard against earthquake risk, in our larger construction projects (school classrooms, heath clinics, etc.) we use thick rebar, heavily reinforced columns, and deep footings averaging two meters deep.
Check out this post in another of our social media pages for some photos and videos that illustrate what I am describing…
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15Kb46Qq5P/