Build a Future of Hope

Safe Homes in Guatemala

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Jennifer lovingly protects her little brother, Jordy, from the harsh conditions of living in a flimsy, dirt-floored home.

Guatemala

Be Someone’s Miracle This Advent Season

In Guatemala, nearly 46% of the population lives below the poverty line. Most of the poorest families live in rural areas, where almost six in 10 people are born into poverty they may never escape.

The predominantly indigenous communities face a critical housing crisis. Over 1 million homes are substandard with dirt floors, leaking tarp-covered roofs and no basic water or sanitation services. Even simple repairs are almost impossible for families to afford because what little money they have must go toward food.

Last advent, thanks to the faithful generosity of U.S. parishes, we were able to build 299 homes for some of the poorest families in rural Guatemala. This year, we will support our ministry partners in building 240 safe homes in 22 impoverished communities across six dioceses and archdioceses.

As you help give these families hope, inspire hope in your own home, too. Find our Advent Activity Guide for family-centered crafts, prayers, and lessons on the Corporal Works of Mercy.

A gift of any size can go a long way and lay the foundation for families to build a future of hope.

The Need for Safe Homes in Guatemala

An Advent Outreach

Poverty in rural Guatemala is not a choice; it’s a trap.

Families face challenges that are difficult to overcome. Without a quality education or meaningful economic opportunities, young people have no way to build a path out of the poverty they were born into.

Each day, hope runs thin inside makeshift homes that offer little protection. Guatemalan men, women and children stuck in the soul-crushing cycle of poverty turn to God for help, praying for his mercy.

Sources: World Food Programme and The World Bank

A woman stands next to a house made of mud and old wooden planks. — Maria stands next to a home built of wood and mud that is vulnerable to strong winds and rainstorms.

A family stands in front of their rusted tin panel home. — Santiago and his wife prayed for a safe and sturdy home to replace the metal-panel dwelling where they’d lived with their children for more than 14 years.

A man and his family stand in front of their sturdy and safe new home. — Santiago and his wife wave in front of their safe home. Thanks to the generosity and support of U.S. Catholics, this family doesn’t have to worry about getting wet when it rains.

A family stands in front of their dirt-floored, tarp-covered dwelling. — Ruben, his wife and their three sons stand in front of the makeshift home where the children often fell ill.

A family of five poses in front of their safe concrete-block home. — Ruben and his family of five pose in front of their safe concrete-block home, where they no longer worry about rain, snakes or being cold at night.

A family poses in front of their house made mostly of tarp and wooden planks. — In Nuevo Bracitos, Guatemala, Elda’s family has a house made mostly of tarp and wooden planks. They are praying for a miracle — a home with solid walls and a concrete foundation.

Our Ministry Partners

Our work with Catholic ministries follows an approach known as localization. The dioceses of Santa Rosa de Lima, Sololá-Chimaltenango, Suchitepéquez-Retalhuleu and Escuintla and the archdioceses of Santiago de Guatemala and Los Altos have local ministry workers who make decisions because they have the best insight into community needs.

Partners for More Than Five Years

Diocese of Santa Rosa de Lima

Cross Catholic Outreach’s partnership with the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Lima began in the aftermath of earthquakes and flooding that devastated the area. Over the years, the relationship has expanded into a wide-ranging empowerment effort that has transformed thousands of lives.

Diocese of Suchitepéquez-Retalhuleu

Our relationship with the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Lima opened the door to a partnership with this nearby diocese, enabling an expansion of outreach programs to remote villages.

Friends for Health and Life

This ecumenical ministry is a long-time partner and continues to be a reliable friend of the poor. We work with Friends for Health and Life to provide nutritious Vitafood meals and medical supplies to a vast network of schools, feeding centers, hospitals and programs serving the poor.

Our Expansion Partners

Diocese of Sololá-Chimaltenango: A partner since 2023, this diocese has already built 49 homes through our assistance. As we expand the housing outreach here, we are also adding an income-generation project that empowers impoverished mothers by teaching them to operate a commercial sewing machine.

Diocese of Escuintla: Our support continues to help the diocese enhance its long-standing outreach programs and bless more families. We will expand beyond the eight homes built last year while adding a home gardens program to further empower families.

Archdiocese of Los Altos: We successfully completed a pilot home-building project last year with this new partner. As with the Diocese of Escuintla, we are expanding the number of new homes being built this year and creating a home gardens program to provide nutritious food and family income.

Archdiocese of Santiago de Guatemala: This partner has a high-capacity distribution center and has been receiving Vitafood meals for impoverished families, as well as medical supplies for local health outreach programs. We started a pilot housing project last year and are now ready to expand and complement it with a home gardens program.

Partnership Timeline

Our work of mercy in Guatemala begins with a grant to a small shelter for women fleeing domestic violence

Our projects in the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Lima expand to build 17 homes in partnership with the Pontifical Council Cor Unum.

We build our 100th home in the diocese.

Our outreach programs in Guatemala expand to the Diocese of Suchitepéquez-Retalhuleu.

Our home-building projects extend to the dioceses of Sololá-Chimaltenango and Escuintla.

We build our 1,000th sturdy home in Guatemala.

The Plan

With your support, our goal is to build 240 safe homes for impoverished families living in 22 destitute communities in partnership with:

New Home Features

The new homes in each diocese will feature:

A bathroom: The porch features an enclosed bathroom with a shower, toilet and sink. In areas where a local well supplies homes with water, families will be able to take showers and flush toilets with a lever. In areas without water, they will flush the toilet by dumping water in. The shower stall will provide a private area for cleaning up.
A self-cleaning biodigester: Wastewater from the home will be funneled to a buried biodigester. Wastewater undergoes primary treatment, which allows separation of solids and liquids. Subsequently, the liquid fraction passes through an additional biofilter before entering the absorption well, where it flows through three additional stone filters and ultimately returns to the subsurface.

Earthquake-resistant: Concrete is poured on site to create a sturdy foundation and strong walls so the homes can withstand earthquakes and storms.
Interior space: Bedrooms with entrance doors provide privacy, while a common area provides a place for families to gather for meals and conversation.
Covered porch: A covered porch provides space for families to gather and has a wash basin for cleaning clothes and household items.

Safe housing is the foundation of our transformational efforts in Guatemala — but that’s just the beginning! 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. Many of the families there receive integral support through the provision of:

Education

Offer scholarships for 216 impoverished children and support teacher salaries and operations at a Catholic secondary school, with enrollment expected to reach 400 students.

Agriculture

Equip 510 families to grow nutritious food and earn income by expanding crop fields and livestock businesses or establishing home gardens.

Food

Ship and distribute more than 5.1 million nutritious Vitafood meals to hungry Guatemalan families.

Spiritual Outreach

Support small-group Christian communities, seminarians and priests and provide operational expenses for Catholic lay ministry workers.

Microenterprise

Enable 125 families to expand their home-based farming, as well as baking and retail businesses, so they can become financially secure.

Water and Health

Create an expanded health clinic in one village where a physician can treat patients three times a month and support the efforts of health promoters in nine communities.

Box of Joy

Surprise children with what may be their first Christmas gift and remind them of God’s love.

Meet Maria

Maria’s Family Needs a Miracle

“When it rains, all the water runs down, and we have to use a broom to sweep it out,” said Maria, a mother of seven children living in a home with crumbling walls that just grow worse each time it rains.

A few months ago, one of these mud walls collapsed in the middle of the night, and since then, Maria hasn’t slept well because she’s afraid for the safety of her children.

Her husband, Ancelmo, works hard as a day laborer, but the money he earns is not enough to improve their living situation. Even with tight finances, Ancelmo got creative and built a second structure out of discarded materials a few yards away from the mud house. Even though it’s sturdier, it doesn’t allow the family to sleep under the same roof.

“We ask God for the miracle of a new house,” said Maria.

With your support, we can build this precious family a home that will change their lives and reunite them under one roof.

Advent Activities for the Whole Family

The Advent Activity Guide is a perfect way to participate in the season. The activities are made for the whole family and help encourage young hearts in the Corporal Works of Mercy. Share the peace and hope of Advent with a free 2026 Advent Activity Guide or find the guide online for kid-friendly activities, crafts, liturgical readings, prayers and more!

advent activity guide

Join Our Advent Outreach

Bless a family with a safe home.

In this season of hope, we invite you to turn your generosity into tangible blessings for impoverished families in Guatemala. Find your parish name on the chart below to donate directly.

If your parish is not listed, you can still donate here and list your parish in the comment at check-out.

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A family lives in this wooden-plank structure that does not offer real protection from the elements.

Donations from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures for this project incurred through June 30, 2027, 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.