Like many other families in her community, Maria's home was made of scrap materials and her family had to sleep on a dirt floor, making them vulnerable to sickness and disease.

COJUTEPEQUE, El Salvador – When Lauryn and Danny Hansen encountered a group of Salvadoran orphans in Houston, Texas seven years ago, they never thought it would lead to desperately-needed new homes in El Salvador today.

In June, the Hansens and their church, Golden Acres Baptist Church, partnered with A Roof For My Country, an institution that builds houses for the poor, and Operation Blessing to provide and build three new homes for impoverished families in El Salvador.

The homes were constructed on a mountainside, a slow 30 to 40 minute drive from the nearest city. The families who live in this remote, hot and dry area don’t have much.

“Living conditions for the community are very austere. There is no indoor plumbing or running water inside the homes,” Danny said. “Some homes have electricity, but most do not.”

Maria was one of the residents living without electricity or any other conveniences in her home. The 45-year-old grandmother built her home with scrap materials. It had no walls and a leaky roof. There, Maria, her three children, and three grandchildren lived, sleeping on a soil floor and often getting sick from exposure to such poor living conditions.

The children frequently missed school because of illnesses including respiratory problems and fevers.

Church volunteers prepare to install the windows on Maria's house.

Now, thanks to a collaboration of volunteers, Maria and her family have a new wooden house, with a leak-free tin roof. The children no longer sleep on a dirt floor and have a safe, clean shelter to call home.

The Hansens, both employees of their church, organized a team of volunteers who provided the manual labor as well as purchased all of the building supplies and necessary equipment.

“One family donated $500 of extra funds which was used to purchase an electric skill saw and provide food distribution to the entire community where the houses were built,” Danny said.

A Roof for My Country provided logistics support for the materials as well as construction supervision, while OBI coordinated the project, volunteers, transportation, and funding of other supplies, such as materials for each home’s new garden.

Mario Ponce, a local Congressman, even supported the effort. Besides personally participating in the construction, he donated meals for the 50 volunteers over the course of the two-day effort.

The work and donations of all these people yielded drastically improved living conditions for three needy families.

“Even though we were providing them with very modest accommodations, they reacted as if we were providing them with a lavish home,” Danny said.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

This microenterprise venture is one of many Operation Blessing projects touching lives around the world. You can be a part of improving the quality of life for impoverished communities by supporting these and other life-changing programs.

 

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