El Salvador Update
August 2010
- Gomez family's life is changed by new home in Villa Esperanza
- REMINDER: Sustainable Livelihoods Program offers an opportunity to give!
- How to donate to the Villa Esperanza Sustainable Livelihoods Program
- Stay involved! – Advocate and Volunteer!
- Send us your story
- El Salvador Update Archive
Gomez family's life is changed by new home in Villa Esperanza
Silvia and Miguel have been married more than 25 years. They have four children and 3 grandchildren. They lived for 22 years in a neighborhood on the northern side of Santa Ana, the second biggest city in the country.
After losing their house, they moved to Guatemala and lived there for more than ten years. They later came back to Santa Ana to rent a house, which the family did not like. They moved from one place to another until they found out about Habitat for Humanity El Salvador.
They had an interview with a Habitat agent and took the paperwork on a Wednesday. Two days later, their credit was approved.
Silvia and Miguel have four children: Omar, Mario, Silvia and Miguel Angel, who is already married and has two children. Their daughter Silvia also has an 18 year–old child named Miguel. The six members of the family are happy to have a house through the Thrivent/Habitat partnership in Villa Esperanza.
Silvia used to work at a medical lab. During the eight–week construction of the house, she received permission from her manager to spend time putting in her "sweat equity" on the home instead of coming to work. In exchange, she worked in a different lab in Honduras after the construction was completed. She worked really hard to build their house.
Now, the whole family lives in Villa Esperanza. Miguel, the father, has a job as a mechanic at an air conditioning shop. Silvia, the daughter, is a volunteer at the recently inaugurated Child Development Center. Omar, 19 years old, works in a factory to help provide income for the family, and Mario is studying in high school.
REMINDER: Proposal from Habitat for Humanity El Salvador makes giving more to the Villa Esperanza community possible!
Last month, you read about how Thrivent Financial for Lutherans member Todd Sipe experienced a life–changing trip that left him wanting to do more for the families in Villa Esperanza.
Habitat for Humanity El Salvador has drafted a proposal for a new Sustainable Livelihoods Program in the Thrivent Builds Worldwide community, Villa Esperanza. When completed this year, Villa Esperanza will provide homes for more than 75 families..
In this next step toward holistic community development, the Sustainable Livelihoods Program could help the 135 families in the community learn new skills and produce marketable goods that can help generate sufficient income for their families. Read the full proposal to find out more about the project, budget and methodology.
The full project budget is approximately $155,000. Thanks to the generosity of a Thrivent Financial for Lutherans member in North Dakota, we already have $45,000 raised! Will you help raise the rest?
How to donate to the Villa Esperanza Sustainable Livelihoods Program
There are two ways to make a tax-deductible donation to the Villa Esperanza Sustainable Livelihoods Program (PBF Code SV08001).
- Telephone: Call Habitat for Humanity International at (800) 422-4828. Explain that you would like to donate to Habitat for Humanity El Salvador, specifically to PBF Project Code SV08001.
- Mail: Please make your check payable to Habitat for Humanity International and write PBF Project Code SV08001 in the check memo. You can send it to:
Habitat for Humanity International
121 Habitat Street
Americus, GA 31709-3498
Unfortunately, online donation is not an option at this time.
Stay Involved! Advocate and Volunteer
Advocate Your Support for the El Salvador Community
- Recruit future participants by using the prepared El Salvador Community recruitment materials, including a bulletin insert, newsletter article and a program fact sheet.
- Share your experience by using the prepared El Salvador Community post-trip resources, including a PowerPoint template and a post-trip news release.
- Watch the El Salvador Community Video, featuring inspirational and motivational interviews of trip leaders, team participants and partner families.
- Read printed trip participant stories, featuring heartfelt experiences from an El Salvador Community trip participant in a creatively designed travel diary brochure.
- Read about all the global volunteer teams working with Habitat El Salvador, posted on the Habitat El Salvador blog.
- If you're on Facebook, join the Habitat for Humanity - GV El Salvador group, become a fan of Hábitat para la Humanidad – El Salvador and become a fan of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans!.
Volunteer as a Team Leader or Team Participant
- Join an existing trip
- Be a team leader – Recruit teams of 10-13 volunteers for one of the 32 teams between January and September 2010. The price has been reduced to $695 for members!
- View weeks available to lead trips in 2010 (PDF, 31K).
Send us your story!
Have you been part of a Thrivent Builds Worldwide El Salvador Community trip? Do you have stories or photos you'd like to share with others? Send them to Nicole Doebert for consideration in future issues of the El Salvador Update. We want you to share the experience and inspire others to help!
El Salvador Update Archive
If you would like to read previous issues of the El Salvador Update, simply access the El Salvador Update Archive from this link or from the left navigation bar.