Delivering food, shelter, and hope to the poorest of the poor
Social Media and Search
Be Someone's Miracle
Housing and Hope in Guatemala
Guatemala
Housing and Hope in Guatemala
Despite the hardships that poor families in rural Guatemala endure, they are resilient people. They live in dirt-floor dwellings pieced together with scrap metal-panels and leaky tarp roofs — but still many cling to their unshakable faith in the Lord.
While these families give thanks for what little they have, they continue to pray for a miracle. The children need homes that will protect them from pests, snakes and the weather. Parents long for stronger houses where their sons and daughters can grow, thrive and work toward escaping the cycle of poverty into which they were born.
By the grace of God and the ministries working in Guatemala, the prayers of these impoverished families can be answered. Our partners in the dioceses of Suchitepéquez-Retalhuleu, Santa Rosa de Lima and Sololá-Chimaltenango want to build 224 stormproof homes in 15 impoverished villages — and your support can help them put those incredible plans into action!
Past support from friends like you has successfully provided 872 homes for Guatemalan families in need. We pray you will help extend that mercy to hundreds more families this year, welcoming them into the simple, sturdy, storm-resistant homes of their dreams!
A Parent’s Hope
Like most parents, Santiago and Carmen want to give their daughters the warmth and safety of a secure home. With help from U.S. Catholics, Cross Catholic Outreach can answer the prayers of Santiago, Carmen and many families like theirs in rural Guatemala.
Watch our “Be Someone’s Miracle Video” to hear Santiago and Carmen share their hopes firsthand.
It costs $8,892 to build each home and any size gift can go a long way toward changing a family’s future. Please give generously to be someone’s miracle.
The Need for Housing in Guatemala
Poverty traps rural Guatemalan families in a web of interrelated challenges: hunger, sickness, the inability to afford a quality education, a lack of economic opportunities, and living conditions that sap the health of both body and soul.
Children struggle to rise beyond these circumstances, but few succeed. This means that when the sons and daughters of the poor have children of their own, the cycle of poverty and hopelessness often repeats.
- Disaster Risk: Hurricanes and flooding put families at risk of crop failures and homelessness. Western Guatemala is particularly susceptible to droughts.
- Hunger Crisis: Nearly one in three people are resorting to crisis-level strategies to afford food, such as selling animals and agricultural tools or skipping meals, threatening their long-term health, stability and self-sufficiency.
- Stunted Growth: Nine out of 10 children in the poorest areas suffer from malnutrition and stunted growth, which can impact them for life.
- Economic Instability: Approximately four out of five workers are informally employed, most often as day laborers at large farms where they are exposed to chemical fertilizers and unsafe conditions. Work is available sporadically.
Our Approach To Overcoming Poverty
Cross Catholic Outreach follows an approach known as localization — where decisions are made by local ministry workers who have the best insight into community needs and many of whom have personally experienced poverty. We offer extensive training to help them assess the greatest needs, create budgets, implement projects and measure their impact. We monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of those local efforts in order to provide helpful feedback for future planning. We also host cross-training opportunities and workshops to encourage local Caritas ministries to collaborate and learn best practices.
Caritas Santa Rosa de Lima
Cross Catholic Outreach’s partnership with the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Lima began in 2014 in the aftermath of earthquakes and flooding that devastated the area. In 2014, the first housing project was completed. Since then, Cross Catholic Outreach and the local Caritas ministry have completed 671 homes — with plans for an additional 150 homes in five Santa Rosa de Lima villages by June 2026.
Caritas Suchitepéquez-Retalhuleu
This diocese of Suchitepéquez-Retalhuleu, our partner since 2018, is located within Guatemala’s Dry Corridor region. This area is particularly vulnerable to droughts and food insecurity — conditions that make it nearly impossible for farming families to afford improvements to their makeshift homes. So far, we have built 195 homes within the diocese, and with the help of U.S. Catholics, our goal is to build an additional 70 homes in nine villages by June 2026.
Caritas Sololá-Chimaltenango
Our newest housing partner in Guatemala successfully completed a pilot project in 2023, building three homes in the village of Xetzitzi during that time and three additional homes since then. This diocese is in Guatemala’s Western Highlands, known as the “heart of the Maya world” due to its diverse Indigenous communities. Sadly, many of these people have been subjected to severe discrimination, and nearly one in three survive on less than $2.15 per day according to the World Bank. It is our goal to build four homes in the remote village of Aldea Pujujil II as we prepare to increase capacity in this diocese.
Meet Our Partners
Partner Since 2014
Caritas Santa Rosa de Lima
Partnership Outreaches:
Housing, food, water, scholarships, agricultural support, spiritual renewal and school construction.
Cross Catholic Outreach and the local Caritas ministry have completed 671 homes — with plans for an additional 150 homes in five villages by June 2026.
Partner Since 2018
Caritas Suchitepéquez-Retalhuleu
Partnership Outreaches:
Housing, food, water, scholarships, agricultural support, medical support, microenterprise, and office and distribution center construction.
To date, we have built 195 homes within the diocese. With help from U.S. Catholics, our goal is to build an additional 70 homes in nine villages by June 2026.
Partner Since 2023
Caritas Sololá-Chimaltenango
Partnership Outreaches:
Housing
Caritas Sololá-Chimaltenango is our newest partner. In 2023, we worked together to complete a pilot project constructing three homes. It is now our goal to build four homes in the remote village of Aldea Pujujil II.
Give 224 Families Safe Homes
This outreach will build 224 safe homes to bless 1,164 people. The local Caritas ministries within the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Lima, the Diocese of Suchitepéquez-Retalhuleu and the Diocese of Sololá-Chimaltenango have pinpointed 15 villages where great housing needs exist. They have set the following goals.
- Caritas Santa Rosa de Lima: Build 150 homes for 750 family members.
- Caritas Suchitepéquez-Retalhuleu: Build 70 homes for 390 family members.
- Caritas Sololá-Chimaltenango: Build four homes for 24 family members.
New homes vary slightly by diocese, but all include:
- Concrete-block walls and solid concrete flooring
- Galvanized metal roofs, which are cost-effective, durable and corrosion resistant
- Locking doors and shuttered windows
- Sanitary latrines and washbasins to protect health
Our larger ministry partners, the dioceses of Santa Rosa de Lima and Suchitepéquez-Retalhuleu, engage in multiple projects tailored to meet the spiritual and material needs of local families, such as:
Education
The Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School in the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Lima provides a high-quality education that helps children break the cycle of poverty.
Agriculture
Farming projects offer training, tools and supplies and can increase household income, eliminate hunger and fuel hope for a bright future in Christ.
Food
We can reduce hunger and help families thrive by shipping nearly 2.2 million protein-rich Vitafood meals to these two partner dioceses by June 2026.
Spiritual Outreach
As families embrace Christ’s teachings, Catholic evangelization, religious formation, seminarian support and small-group Christian communities play a critical role in long-term transformations.
Microenterprise
Microloans and business training allow hardworking families to diversify their income beyond farming, channel their God-given talents to become more self-sufficient and even help neighbors in need.
Meet Families in Need
Milton, Andrea and Bernardo
Milton, Andrea and their young son, Bernardo, live in the low valley of Laguna Seca. Like most families living in houses made of metal panels, they have their share of pests that find their way into the home. They are particularly concerned about large snakes entering the house and harming their small child.
Milton works in construction and strives to prevent the roof from leaking. Still, the family has a problem with water getting into the home. The metal panels hold moisture on the inside, so there’s condensation dripping in the house. Water also rises from the soaked ground when it rains.
“The entirety of the house is a puddle,” said Andrea.
The humidity from the water on the ground and the moisture from the condensation of the metal panels cause Bernardo to get sick often.
Andrea and Milton pray for their son’s future. Bernardo is an active child and an avid learner. He learned his numbers very early and likes to paint with watercolors. He is so eager to attend school that he tries to follow his older cousin when he leaves for class.
Milton would like Bernardo to become an architect someday. Andrea’s hopes for her son are more immediate. “I want my child to go to school and graduate,” said Andrea. “Unless you graduate from high school, you can’t get a job.”
Andrea, Milton and Bernardo’s lives would be transformed if they lived in a home that kept them safe from the elements. They would be able to focus on Bernardo’s education instead of how often he gets sick from the moisture in their metal-panel home.
Rene, Brenda and Anna Milady
Rene, Brenda and their daughter, Anna Milady, live in the valley of Laguna Seca. They’ve occupied the same metal-panel structure for 10 years. It is the only home that Anna Milady has known.
Because of the valley’s low-lying location, water drains into it from the mountains, turning the family’s home into a flooded mess. During the wettest months, heavy rains and high winds have nearly destroyed the roof’s supports, causing the entire house to lean sideways.
“It’s sad living like this,” said Brenda, “especially in the rainy season when we have to deal with water, wind, cold and mud. When it is windy at night, I am afraid the roof will be lifted.”
The family uses buckets to try and catch the water leaking into their home. Still, the constant moisture affects their health. “Because of the moisture and humidity, we are always fighting colds,” said Brenda.
The family also contends with mosquitoes and other dangerous pests. During heavy rains, snakes and other vermin enter the house seeking drier ground.
Soon, Brenda will have a second child. She worries about the new baby living in their current conditions and asks the Lord to have mercy on their family.
“We ask for health and that God would listen to our prayers for a home,” Brenda shared. “We dream about having a block house, but because money is so scarce, we can’t build one ourselves.”
A single concrete-block home for one family costs only $8,892. Your gift can be the answer to Brenda and Rene’s prayers.
Felix and Patricia’s family outside their concrete-block home in the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Lima.
Be Someone’s Miracle in Guatemala
The hardworking families in western Guatemala want to give their children a better life, but the hardships of extreme poverty are nearly impossible to overcome without outside help. We believe God is bringing us together to intervene on their behalf.
Your generous gift will help provide 224 families with weather-resistant homes and a solid foundation on which to build a brighter future. Please take action to radically change these families’ lives, and be someone’s miracle today!
Download the Proposal
Donations from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures for this project incurred through June 30, 2026, the close of our ministry’s fiscal year. In the event that more funds are raised than needed to fully fund the project, the excess funds, if any, will be used to meet the most urgent needs of the ministry.