Newsletter - October, 2012
| October, 2012 Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." Matt. 25:40 Published by the Society of the Good Shepherd, P. O. Box 122, Amberson, PA 17210. (717) 349-7033 |
One of the reasons why the Society of the Good Shepherd believes so strongly in helping the poor through microloans is that the money is continually recycled. For example, when someone donates a gift of $100, that $100 doesn’t help just one needy family. Rather, once the first family pays off their small business loan, that $100 is then recycled to another needy family to help them with their business. When the second family pays off their loan, the $100 goes to a third family, and so on.
Can that same principle work for housing for the poor? Yes, it can! In fact, it is already happening in Honduras. I would like to share with you the story of how this came about. A number of years ago, a brother named Joe Hess, along with several other brothers, began building sturdy, but inexpensive, houses for needy widows and families in Honduras. This proved to be a huge blessing to the poor. However, after the passage of several years, Joe discovered there was one defect in the program. In several instances, the homes were built for widows in dire poverty, whose selfish children refused to help them. However, once the widows died, then their ungrateful children were more than happy to accept ownership of the house, as an asset they could sell. This was hardly the desired result!
So Joe, along with Luis Vega, talked to the leaders of the rural community near Siguatepeque where some of the houses are being built. Together they came up with a brilliant plan. The community agreed to donate land for future homes to be built upon. However, in the future, the needy widows or widowers will not own the homes being built for them. Instead, they will have free use of the homes as long as they live. But the community itself will hold title to the homes and the land. That way when a widow dies, the homes won’t be inherited by her children. Instead, possession of the property will return to the community, and the community will then make the home available to another needy person, and so on.
In short, this housing ministry will work very similarly to the Society’s microloan ministry. The houses will get “recycled” over and over again to provide homes for the needy.
I asked Joe how much these houses cost to build and how long it takes to build them. The materials to build each house costs about $2800. It takes the brothers (who volunteer their time) about a week to build each of the houses. The brothers are assisted by Honduran community volunteers. These local Hondurans often haul in water by ox cart to mix the mortar, and they help in other ways. As you can see from the picture above, these houses are very simple, built from concrete blocks with metal roofs. The houses will have basic electricity: one overhead light and two wall receptacles. They will also have running water and an indoor shower and toilet.
The reason I said the houses will have electricity and running water is that these utilities still need to be brought to the property. Also, a community septic system for the houses still needs to be built. The $2800 cost of the houses does not include the cost of bringing in electricity and water and building a septic system.
I asked Joe if he is looking for volunteers for his next trip to Honduras. He said he has plenty of volunteers already. However, they can always use funds for the building materials. I told him that the Society would try to raise the funds to bring in electricity, etc. The total cost to do that will be about $1000 - $1500.
If you would like to financially help in this project, please make a note on your check that you want your funds to go to this project. If you are donating through our website, www.scrollpublishing.com, please send an accompanying email letting us know the funds are for the housing ministry. You can email us at customerservice@scrollpublishing.com. Please keep this housing ministry in your prayers! DB
Click on the following link if you would care to make a donation to the work in Honduras: Donations
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