From Houses to Homes
De Casas a Hogares
Guatemala
E-NEWS
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From Houses...
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to Homes... |
Improving Lives! |
June 2010 |
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Our Mission
From Houses to Homes aims to strengthen community harmony in highland Guatemala by building lasting, healthy homes, improving access to health care and education, and inspiring participation between the poor and civil society.
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Letter From Our Founder/Director
Hello Everyone,
 I am sure that you have seen in the news that Guatemala has experienced not one but two natural disasters in the past month. First the Volcano Pacaya erupted and then came Tropical Storm Agatha. We are deeply saddened by the loss of life and the suffering the poor of Guatemala are enduring.
Tropical Storm Agatha hit Guatemala on Saturday, May 26, 2010 and destroyed many lives. To date there are 174 dead, 113 missing, 397,808 people affected in some way, 39,160 homes damaged, 162,857 people evacuated and there are still 27,823 people living in shelters. Guatemalan President Colon said that Tropical Storm Agatha has caused more damage than Hurricane Mitch in 1998 where more than 268 people died and Tropical Storm Stan in 2005, which killed 669 people.
My friend, Roberto Perez, who lives in San Antonio Palopo at Lake Atitlan, lost 10 members of his family. A mudslide destroyed 25 homes in this community. Needless to say, they need your prayers and your donations. Can we count on you? Please, any amount will be appreciated.
Thank you,
Joe Collins
Executive Director |
From Kids to Kids
"A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead.
The 5th graders (10-11 year olds) of Our Lady of The Lake Church in Verona, New Jersey raised almost $7,000 for FHTH. Only with the support of this very generous parish was this possible. Thank you so much to the children for their hard work and dedication and to all those who supported them. |
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For those in the United Kingdom
To all our friends and donors in all of the UK, From Houses to Homes-Scotland, is now a registered charity. A volunteer, Marie –Claire Harvey was so impressed with her volunteer experience with FHTH last July, that she returned home to her native Scotland and decided to form a UK branch of FHTH. To date she has raised over $6,600 plus Marie-Claire and her Dad just ran in the Edinburgh Marathon on May 23 and raised almost $1,300 more.
Visit their website at www.fromhousestohomes.org.uk. Donations can be made on this website through PayPal and they are also listed on the Virgin Money Giving website at tinyurl.com/2gy4cfe. Although the charity is registered in Scotland, it qualifies as a registered charity throughout the UK. Now, everyone in the UK can make a general donation or set up a monthly direct debit from it, or use it to create their own sponsorship page. Thank you Marie-Claire Harvey. |
Meet the Valle Bucú Family
 The Valle Bucú family lives in San Juan Alotenango, a town located about thirty minutes outside of La Antigua Guatemala.
I first visited the Valle Bucú family in 2007, and I have never had any doubt that they are in need of many things. When I first met them, they lived in a small room of approximately 3x3 meters built from cornstalks. The floor was made of dirt, the roof of scraps of old sheet metal. They shared the site with two other families. There was no electricity, running water or drainage system. They had almost no furniture.
The Valle Bucú family continues to live in poverty. Alejandro, the father, solely supports the family. He works as a farmer in a coffee finca near the town. He earns about Q.35.00 per day (a little over $4). Like most parents in San Juan Alotenango, Alejandro has no education and cannot get a better job.
Alejandro and Petronila Valle Bucú have four children, all boys. Oscar Armando, 13; Erick Noah, 8; Edgar Leonel, 7; and Hugo Geovani, 6. Currently the older children are in school. The two younger boys are special children. According to their mother the two were born healthy, but before one year of age both caught meningitis fever and the two were afflicted with physical paralysis. Edgar Leonel and Hugo Geovani have been treated only with physical therapy; Petronila carries them every Thursday to Guatemala City for rehabilitation, which is very difficult. They need and deserve better medical care.
In February of 2008, From Houses To Homes built a cinder block house for the Valle Bucú family. Though Alejandro and Petronila and their children have a better, dignified place to live, they continue to need other basic necessities such as consistent medical attention, food, clothing, school supplies, and physical therapy for Edgar Leonel and Hugo Geovani.
We have helped over 300 families and each of them have different needs, but there is no doubt that the Valle Bucú family is one of the most in need.
Oscar Mejia
Project Director, De Casas a Hogares (From Houses to Homes)
Guatemala is the worst place to be a mother in Latin America. One hundred and sixty countries were examined, placing Guatemala in 109th place, ranking the lowest in Latin America. The criteria taken into consideration reveals that one out of every 71 women risk their life while giving birth and only 41% will receive medical attention. The report also shows that only 34% of women use contraceptive methods and that 35 out of 1,000 children under the age of 5 die due to lack of specialized health care.
- “ State of the World's Mothers 2010” by Save the Children. |
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 Senior Citizen Home Needs Help
Meet Mercedes Pérez. She is one of many seniors who we would like to help at Casa Maria.
She joined Casa Maria on July 11, 2005. She was taken to San Juan de Dios Hospital for Firefighters, who picked her up from the street without knowing where she was, not remembering her name, not realizing the dramatic exposure to trucks, thieves, and the cold. Without company and without identification, she was admitted for abandon syndrome and for not having family. Today no one has asked for her, ignoring her life story, when was she born and how old is she? We don't know if she had ever married or had children. Won't you please help?
CASA MARIA, a senior citizen home in San Felipe, Guatemala is asking for our help. The saddest thing about this nursing home is that most of the residents have been abandoned and spend much of their day, "hoping that their family will return and take them home." These very poor families make the difficult choice to abandon their family member because they believe their parent will be better cared for in this nursing home. Please visit their website at www.casageriatricamaria.org to learn about these poor and abandoned seniors..
If you choose to make a donation to help, please mail it to From Houses to Homes - Guatemala, PO Box 85, Mt Tabor, NJ 07878-0085 and write "Casa Maria" in the memo section of your check. We will see to it that they receive your donation. If you'd like to donate online, go to our website (www.fromhousestohomes.org) and click on the PayPal button on the right-hand side of our home page.
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Looking for a Doctor
This is Karla. She is 7 years old. She has a Venous Vascular Malformation. We are in the process of searching for a MD to help her. Previously, she had visited a hospital in Colorado for treatment, and although the treatment shrunk the tumor, it has returned to its current size. If you have any information that can help us locate the appropriate Doctor/Specialists for treatment please forward it to FHTH.
If you choose to make a donation to help, please mail it to From Houses to Homes - Guatemala, PO Box 85, Mt Tabor, NJ 07878-0085 and write "Karla" in the memo section of your check. If you'd like to donate online, go to our website (www.fromhousestohomes.org) and click on the PayPal button on the right-hand side of our home page.
"YOU HAVE NOT LIVED UNTIL YOU HAVE DONE SOMETHING
FOR SOMEONE WHO CAN NEVER REPAY YOU"
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