[top] It costs $2,600 to build a house and change the life of a family in the San Juan de Limay area of Nicaragua. Many other people send donations of $50, $100, $250, $500 or $1,000. We then bundle these donations to fund the building of a house. Other individuals and families donate the full amount for a house as a “family to family” donation or on behalf of their family for special events, for example baptisms, birthdays or Christmas. Bottom line, any donation you wish to make will result in a house being built for a deserving family. Your donation will have a dramatic, life changing impact!

[top] All of your donation goes towards building a house in Nicaragua. Administrative expenses and travel expenses are paid by travelers and/or come from other private funds. Every dollar you send to build a house goes towards building a house.

[top] Yes, all of your donation is tax deductible. You will receive a tax deduction letter from St. John Vianney Catholic Church signed by Father Peter Daly.

[top] Those who donate $2,600 or more for one or more houses will receive a framed certificate and a soap stone cross made by a local San Juan de Limay sculptor. A similar cross will be given to the recipient of the house you donate – a spiritual connection between you and the family receiving the house.

[top] Our original goal was to build 100 houses. We now know that thousands of houses are needed in this desperately poor area. In part, that is why we are reaching out to a wider audience for additional donations.

[top] No. One of our base criteria for receiving a house is that families will be based on being among the “poorest of the poor” and politics and religion will not play a role in the selection process. Recipients are strictly needs based.

[top] We schedule visits to San Juan de Limay every six months – one in February and one in June/July, the best travel months to this very remote area.

[top] We selected San Juan de Limay, Nicaragua because Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the western hemisphere, just behind Haiti. The San Juan de Limay region of Nicaragua is the poorest region in this very poor country. Also, we believe that because of the relatively small size of the population in the San Juan de Limay district (roughly 7,000 in the town and another 6 – 7,000 in the surrounding countryside (an area roughly the size of Calvert County, Maryland), we can really make a difference in this area.

[top] We believe that every family deserves the security and dignity of living in a simple but solid, basic house which will protected from the elements.

[top] Each house is twenty by twenty feet – roughly the size of a one car garage. There are two styles of houses. One style we found best suited to remote rural areas (no porch but more windows and three doors) and another style for the more urban areas (a small front porch). While these houses are very basic – no electricity, no running water, with a new outdoor privy in back -- as you can see from some of the “before” houses in the photos on this website, they are a 100% improvement over their previous shelter.

[top] The houses are made of locally made adobe brick with adobe brick pavers for flooring. They have a wood post and beam frame and a metal roof. In addition, if needed, each house gets a new outdoor privy built out back.

[top] It all depends. In some cases there might be a mother and her disabled child. In other cases there may be as many as eight or nine family members. Usually, it's somewhere in between.

[top] San Juan de Limay is located in the norther, mountainous part of Nicaragua, approximately 30 miles south of the Honduran border. The nearest city of any size is Estili which is on the Pan American Highway. The roads leading to San Juan de Limay off the Pan American highway are narrow, winding and made of gravel. During rain storms they become very treacherous for vehicle travel. A four wheel drive vehicle is a necessity. You can get a good overview of the region by using Google Maps.