The Alexandre family is thankful for kind donors who made their new home possible!
In developing countries around the world, poor families live in cramped, flimsy shacks or camp out in primitive settlements. When it rains, water pours in through a leaky roof, leaving dirt floors a soggy mess, and children often miss school due to repeated illnesses from these unsanitary living conditions. Without a safe place to rest their heads, these families face a never-ending cycle of patching leaks, enduring stifling heat, overcoming disease, and staving off despair.
Still, there is hope. Through our worldwide network of ministry partners and the support of friends like you, families can get a fresh start. In 2025, our donors helped build and repair 356 homes to bless 1,840 people. The missions we partner with have developed effective plans to address the critical need for housing in places like Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala.
We need your help to build and repair homes that will bless families for generations to come. Your generous gift will put solid roofs over their heads. A gift of $120 will help build a home for a family in need!
Change lives with safe housing projects worldwide!
Cross Catholic Outreach began partnering with Kobonal Haiti Mission in 2011. Since then, we have made great progress. The community continues to be transformed by the love of Christ and supporters like you!
Partner Since 2011
When a missionary team first arrived in 1989, they were heartbroken by the extreme poverty families endured. Over the course of a generation, Kobonal has transformed from one of the most desolate places into a thriving, peaceful community — and that transformation continues today.
The Kobonal Haiti Mission has helped hundreds of families by building safe and resilient homes, providing clean water and sanitary latrines, offering agricultural assistance to help families establish sustainable sources of income, and ensuring educational opportunities and spiritual formation.
When asked about his hopes and dreams, Desir had a simple but profound answer: “My hope for my family is that I work harder to meet their needs as the man of the house.”
His desire to be a better husband, father and provider is honorable, but no matter how hard Desir works, the poor farmer struggles to earn a living. About 70% of the people in Haiti’s Central Plateau have a hard time securing enough to eat every day, so the thought of building a safer home is far beyond the reach of most families.
Desir, his wife, Midaylove, and their three small daughters used to spend their nights crowded together in a tiny dwelling cobbled together from scrap metal, mud and tree branches. Every time it rained, water streamed inside and turned the dirt floor into a muddy mess. Worse yet, the family lived in constant fear that the next storm might cause the feeble structure to finally collapse.
Through God’s grace, the Kobonal Haiti Mission has a solid plan in place to address the dangerous housing conditions facing people like Desir — and they turned this family’s miserable situation into a story of God’s grace with a safe, concrete-block home. Now Desir’s girls run and play in the yard, thankful for this blessing.
The mission wants to build 44 concrete-block homes for those most in need, but it needs financial support from caring Catholics like you to carry out this life-changing effort.
Transforming a Community:
Since the housing program began, Kobonal Haiti Mission has built 437 homes for families in need.
A Safe Place to Call Home:
Each home is made from concrete blocks and has four rooms, a galvanized-steel roof, concrete floors, lockable doors and windows, and an outdoor sanitary latrine.
Building on the Firm Foundation of Christ:
These homes reflect God’s love and point families to the firm foundation we have through the grace and mercy of his Son, Jesus Christ.
Home Features:
Your generosity will help build and repair homes worldwide, giving poor families a safe place to call home. Read more below about a few more of our trusted ministry partners.
Guatemala
Cross Catholic Outreach has partnered with the Diocese of Suchitepéquez-Retalhuleu in Guatemala since 2019, delivering not just safe housing but programs that provide food, education, water, agriculture and microenterprise initiatives. Each home constructed by the Diocese of Suchitepéquez-Retalhuleu features concrete-block walls, a galvanized-steel roof and a modern bathroom. Benefiting families assist with construction by working on tasks such as clearing land, unloading and moving construction materials, and transporting water for concrete mix. They also participate in workshops that the diocese offers to enhance family life.
Dominican Republic
Responding to the housing crisis in the Dominican Republic, our ministry partner FUNDASEP is working with the region’s poorest communities to develop solutions and empower families to improve their lives through safe housing. Each home is cost-effectively prefabricated with metal frames and concrete panels and includes shuttered windows, a solid door, a toilet and electricity. Able-bodied beneficiaries contribute labor throughout the construction process, establishing a sense of ownership over their new homes. Each home is not just a safe place to live; it means a family will be transformed.
Philippines
Answering the Cry of the Poor (ANCOP) works tirelessly to bless families and communities trapped in extreme poverty in the Philippines. ANCOP is the Vatican-recognized humanitarian arm of Couples for Christ (CFC) that replaces dilapidated shacks with rows of safe, concrete homes. What makes ANCOP’s programs unique is that they don’t just build a row of homes and then leave. Rather, they seek to transform the community from the inside out with Gospel-infused values. Families accepted into the program also have a chance to lay a firm foundation for their lives by participating in the eight-week Christian Life Program, a homeowner’s association, and opportunities for education and job training. The result is a community where neighbors love one another as themselves (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:39).
In Guatemala, Jennifer cares for her baby brother outside the family’s dilapidated home. Your support will help provide a new home that will change both of their lives forever!
Poor families around the world live in crisis mode because they have no safe place to call home. But we can be God’s instrument of mercy by building safe homes that will impact families for generations. Give now and change lives!
Use it for reflections and notes to grow in your spiritual life. You’ll also receive a prayer request form to mail back so that we can pray for your needs. In effect, this creates a spiritual bridge to connect you to our sisters and brothers in Christ in the developing world!
Cross Mission Partners also receive a semiannual Mission Update with news, insights and information about the good work and accomplishments made possible by your support.
Every dollar helps us bless the least of our brothers and sisters throughout Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Mexico & Central America and South America.
Thank You for Your Special Commitment to Serving the Poor!
It’s easy to shop through the Cross Catholic Outreach Project Catalog. Simply browse the categories and choose an item within your budget and close to your heart, such as Anti-Trafficking and Girls’ Rescue or Most Urgent Needs. Select and sponsor one or more of these gifts, and you’ll make a meaningful impact on the life of a needy child or family. It’s that simple!
Absolutely! Once you select your items, you’ll be given the option of sending an e-card or printing a customizable certificate. This is a meaningful way to share Christ’s love with others while also honoring friends and family.
We are a Catholic ministry that partners with bishops, priests, religious and lay workers to provide Food, Water & Health, Housing, Kids & Education, Women & Girls, Disaster Relief, Farming & Loans opportunities and the love of our Lord Jesus Christ to the poor and vulnerable in over 30 countries around the world.
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.
