Haiti Mission, Inc.

What are the benefits of building a home for the poor?

Perhaps you’re wondering what type of long term impact the home you are building will have.  First and foremost, you are taking people out of living hell and placing them into a life of dignity, safety and security or as we like to say, “changing hell holes to homes!” which is a priceless gift of love and compassion for which we at HMI and the families we serve will be forever grateful.  There are five main benefits however to a family receiving a home:

1. Economic Impact - A debt-free home helps leverage families out of poverty. Funds previously needed to treat sick children and help them survive can now be used to purchase school supplies and other necessities.

2. Educational Impact - A stable environment encourages learning. A child who lives in a decent home is much more likely to attend school and continue their education.

3. Health Impact - Eliminating dirt floors and exposure to the elements improves their overall quality of life and reduces sickness. Having a concrete floor alone reduces the incidence of all sorts of diseases but especially diarrhea.

4. Social & Emotional Impact - The emotional well-being of family members stabilizes as basic issues of survival are eliminated. Family life is strengthened and they can start thinking about the future.  These homes lift each family out of misery and raises them to a level of poverty where they have dignity, self-respect, joy, hope and understand love in action.

5. Spiritual Impact - Your practical demonstration of God’s love for them inspires a desire to want to give back.  As each home is completed and dedicated, the family is presented with an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and encouraged to pray daily for all who have given to bring about this miracle in their lives and to pray for all their friends and family members who are in need.

As of August 2024, we will have built 367 houses in this area.  This is a substantial and an incredible number of families that now have lovely, durable and dignified homes and no longer have to live in mud and squalor.  The four room houses with porches now afford safe shelter for them and for friends and family.

The Story of the HMI house construction project