Volunteers Are Building Homes, Inspiring Hope for Mexico's Working Poor Jacqueline Gulledge - CNN
go to original March 20, 2017

Homes of Hope International is a nonprofit organization that builds homes for families in need in the Baja region of Mexico (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCupvZG-5ko_eiXAupbDfxWw)

Many families in Mexico migrate to the country's Baja region on the West Coast seeking jobs and a better lives. Though they find employment, they often join the ranks of Mexico's "working poor," barely earning the equivalent of $100 a week.

Their homes are piecemeal, built out of scrap parts — some missing a roof and lacking electricity. These families want better homes, but simply can't afford them. One nonprofit organization is trying to to help.

Homes of Hope International builds houses for families in need - like the Noyes Cervantes family from Tijuana.

The family of six lives in a plywood and cinder block structure, measuring 6 feet by 10 feet, with a tarp for a roof and a dirt floor. Luis and Susana share a mattress on the ground with their four children. The family squeezes into the room, which barely holds the mattress, a rickety bookshelf to hold clothes, and a propane burner to cook food. There is no door or windows or even electricity. The only plumbing they have is their makeshift bathroom - a toilet, a hose for a shower, and a utility sink.

...The group's founder believes home ownership can help end a family's poverty. "When people get a house, they actually think differently about their future," says Homes of Hope's Sean Lambert. "In one generation, you can break the cycle of poverty over a family's life."'

Lambert says providing a safe, clean home can end poverty because families no longer have to save up to build a house. They can put that money towards their children's education, eat healthier food, and by no longer living a dirt floor - lower the risk of illnesses.

Since its first home in 1990, the organization has built more than 4,000 houses in the northern Baja region of Mexico. It's also expanded to other parts of the world such as Africa and Asia. The homes are built by volunteers who sign up to work a weekend alongside Homes of Hope staff. Each house is completed in two days - rain or shine.

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