Category Archives: The Fuller Center for Housing

Asia, Nepal, The Fuller Center for Housing, Travel, Volunteering

Trishuli, Nepal (December 2023)

Our team is now complete and everyone is excited to ring in the New Year doing something special!

In 2015, Nepal experienced 3 devastating earthquakes that left hundreds of thousands of people homeless. Thankfully, all 23 of the homes built by the Fuller Center prior to the earthquake withstood the disaster in pristine condition. This includes the 11 that were completed in Trishuli in the Nuwakot district, which was directly in the heart of the earthquake zone.

Currently an estimated 7.7 million people live below the poverty line in Nepal with only basic necessities.  People are forced to take shelter in structures fashioned from any available materials, including mud bricks, stones, wood, hay and plastic.  Families have very little protection from the elements.

The Fuller Center in Nepal is committed to serving families and making safe and affordable homes a reality in the community of Trishuli, where housing is now the biggest community need.  Our team will be building a 300 sq ft earthquake resilient home which will include two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a bath with a shower and a toilet.  The home will be supplied with the capability of electricity, water, and plumbing. The foundation is often built into the hill side and constructed of rocks and cement. Walls are made from concrete blocks and are reinforced with rebar. 

About the Global Builders Program

Global Builders is The Fuller Center for Housing’s short term volunteer program, sending teams on domestic and international home-building trips, where partner families help build the homes and then will repay the cost on a no-interest basis to help more local families. All trips are hosted by our trustworthy Fuller Center covenant partners around the world, who love having volunteers join them in serving God by partnering with the poor. 

For more information or to join a team, visit https://fullercenter.org/global-builders/

About The Fuller Center for Housing

The Fuller Center for Housing, faith-driven and Christ-centered, promotes collaborative and innovative partnerships with individuals and organizations in an unrelenting quest to provide adequate shelter for all people in need worldwide. Their foundational principles include the beliefs that: We are part of a God movement, and movements don’t just stop. We have been called to this housing ministry; we didn’t just stumble into it. We are unashamedly Christian, and enthusiastically ecumenical. We aren’t a church but we are a servant of the Church. We are faith-driven, knowing that after we’ve done all we can do the Lord will help finish the job — something that requires us to stretch beyond our rational reach. We are a grass-roots ministry, recognizing that the real work happens on the ground in communities around the world through our covenant partners — so a large, overseeing bureaucracy isn’t needed. We try to follow the teachings of the Bible and believe that it says that we shouldn’t charge interest of the poor, so we don’t. Government has a role in our work in helping set the stage, but that we shouldn’t look to it as a means to fund the building of homes.

To learn more, visit https://fullercenter.org

This post contains information provided by the Fuller Center for Housing.  Their help and support is much appreciated.

Africa, Madagascar, The Fuller Center for Housing, Travel, Volunteering

Antsirabe, Madagascar (October 2023)

This team is FULL! We are excited to travel in October to Antsirabe, Madagascar where we will help several families construct new homes.

Despite an abundance of natural resources, more than 75% of people in Madagascar live on less than $1.90/day.  Over 77% of the urban population in Madagascar lives in slums and in the capitol of Antananarivo, informal settlements make up between 60 to 70 percent of dwellings.  These houses often have large holes in the roofs, decaying walls, dirt floors or overcrowding. With only 10% of the adult population having access to a bank account, most people do not have the resources they need to improve their lives.

Our team will  partner with families in the town of Antsirabe, in central Madagascar. Families are required to begin saving prior to constructing their home to demonstrate their capacity and willingness to actively participate. They then help to build the homes and pay the costs forward on a no-profit, no-interest loan over about five years. Our goal will be to build several houses each with a detached latrine.

About the Global Builders Program

Global Builders is The Fuller Center for Housing’s short term volunteer program, sending teams on domestic and international home-building trips, where partner families help build the homes and then will repay the cost on a no-interest basis to help more local families. All trips are hosted by our trustworthy Fuller Center covenant partners around the world, who love having volunteers join them in serving God by partnering with the poor. 

For more information or to join a team, visit https://fullercenter.org/global-builders/

About The Fuller Center for Housing

The Fuller Center for Housing, faith-driven and Christ-centered, promotes collaborative and innovative partnerships with individuals and organizations in an unrelenting quest to provide adequate shelter for all people in need worldwide. Their foundational principles include the beliefs that: We are part of a God movement, and movements don’t just stop. We have been called to this housing ministry; we didn’t just stumble into it. We are unashamedly Christian, and enthusiastically ecumenical. We aren’t a church but we are a servant of the Church. We are faith-driven, knowing that after we’ve done all we can do the Lord will help finish the job — something that requires us to stretch beyond our rational reach. We are a grass-roots ministry, recognizing that the real work happens on the ground in communities around the world through our covenant partners — so a large, overseeing bureaucracy isn’t needed. We try to follow the teachings of the Bible and believe that it says that we shouldn’t charge interest of the poor, so we don’t. Government has a role in our work in helping set the stage, but that we shouldn’t look to it as a means to fund the building of homes.

To learn more, visit https://fullercenter.org

This post contains information provided by the Fuller Center for Housing.  Their help and support is much appreciated.

Bolivia, The Americas, The Fuller Center for Housing, Travel, Volunteering

Oruro, Bolivia (March 2023)

The team had an amazing week in Bolivia working with the Fuller Center for Housing. Our team of 13 volunteers made great progress on a new home for Julio and his 12 year old daughter Juliet. We worked side by side with local masons, translators, other staff members and our fantastic bus driver turned wheelbarrow pusher!

The Fuller Center Bolivia was started by two brothers, Carlos and Alex Aramayo, who had previously built 600-700 homes through an independent organization. They joined the Fuller Center so they could be part of something larger and have a greater reach. Their focus is primarily in working with indigenous families who have been lured to the city with hope for a better life, but find themselves living on the urban periphery in expensive, less than ideal conditions. Our team was the first to visit the new project location in Oruro – a special treat!

About the Global Builders Program

Global Builders is The Fuller Center for Housing’s short term volunteer program, sending teams on domestic and international home-building trips, where partner families help build the homes and then will repay the cost on a no-interest basis to help more local families. All trips are hosted by our trustworthy Fuller Center covenant partners around the world, who love having volunteers join them in serving God by partnering with the poor. 

For more information or to join a team, visit https://fullercenter.org/global-builders/

About The Fuller Center for Housing

The Fuller Center for Housing, faith-driven and Christ-centered, promotes collaborative and innovative partnerships with individuals and organizations in an unrelenting quest to provide adequate shelter for all people in need worldwide. Their foundational principles include the beliefs that: We are part of a God movement, and movements don’t just stop. We have been called to this housing ministry; we didn’t just stumble into it. We are unashamedly Christian, and enthusiastically ecumenical. We aren’t a church but we are a servant of the Church. We are faith-driven, knowing that after we’ve done all we can do the Lord will help finish the job — something that requires us to stretch beyond our rational reach. We are a grass-roots ministry, recognizing that the real work happens on the ground in communities around the world through our covenant partners — so a large, overseeing bureaucracy isn’t needed. We try to follow the teachings of the Bible and believe that it says that we shouldn’t charge interest of the poor, so we don’t. Government has a role in our work in helping set the stage, but that we shouldn’t look to it as a means to fund the building of homes.

To learn more, visit https://fullercenter.org.

This post contains information provided by the Fuller Center for Housing.  Their help and support is much appreciated.

Puerto Rico, The Americas, The Fuller Center for Housing, Travel, Volunteering

Meet Don Wilman and Abigail

It’s time to get back to the work! Next week I’ll be traveling with a team of volunteers to Maunabo, Puerto Rico. While there, we will help to improve the home of Don Wilman and Abigail. Let’s meet this family!

Don Wilman and his wife Abigail inherited their home from Abigail’s parents. They shared the home with their adult daughter and their granddaughter. But when Hurricane Maria struck as a category 5 storm, their lives were forever changed.

Abigail recounts those terrifying 48 hours while their family endured:

We “believed that the house was falling on us but there was nowhere for us to go. We couldn’t leave my husband [bedridden following knee surgery] alone. The hurricanes destroyed the doors and several windows, the walls and ceiling cracked.”

“It was a horrible day and night. Our granddaughter was screaming. My husband was motionless. I couldn’t breathe.”

Once the storm passed, more problems arose. “My daughter and my brothers looked everywhere for somewhere we could shelter.  There was no electricity for the therapies I [asthma] or my granddaughter [kidney disease] needed. It was very distressing. Then came the mold and the moisture on the walls. We did not qualify for housing aid because our house belonged to my parents.  We did not have the resources to repair it as we wanted. We already had a lot of medical bills. Those increased following the hurricane.” Abigail recounted her experience.

She added, “We cried constantly.”

In order to seek medical treatment, Abigails daughter and granddaughter left Puerto Rico for the mainland of the US. Soon after, Abigail and Don Wilman followed because their house was no longer habitable. Depression threatened to consume them until they found an opportunity for assistance from The Fuller Center for Housing – Puerto Rico.

Our team is excited to assist Don Wilman and Abigail achieve their dream of returning to their family home in Puerto Rico. Over the course of our week on the island, we will break down some walls in order to convert it to a larger, handicapped accessible home with two rooms.  We will repair doors and install new windows, build a closet and a ramp for accessibility, change the entrance, and upgrade the electrical system. We will also rebuild the kitchen, plaster, and paint. 

Stay tuned for a post-build update on our progress!

*Thank you to the Fuller Center for Housing and the Fuller Center – Puerto Rico for providing information and photos used in this story!

The Americas, The Fuller Center for Housing, Travel, Volunteering

Nuevo Cuscatlán, El Salvador (May 2022)

The team had an amazing week in El Salvador working with the Fuller Center for Housing and People Helping People in this community of 130 homes. In addition to our team of 25 volunteers, we worked with 6 staff members, 6 volunteer translators, multiple future homeowners, approximately 35 local skilled workers and a crew of ~70 inmates participating in El Salvador Plan Cero Ocio (work release/rehabilitation). We accomplished a lot and had some fun along the way!

El Salvador, is the smallest Central American country yet with a popluation of 6,090,646 ( est.), it is one of the most densely populated countries in the world.  Approximately 700,000 Salvadorans are in need of decent, adequate housing. An estimated 30.7% of the population lives below the poverty line and over 40% of the rural population lives in homes with dirt floors and impermanent wall materials. Within the last few years, the local goverment has been instrumental in helping families obtain full ownership and title to the land where they reside. However, many Salvadoran families continue to struggle to survive while living in dilapidated housing subject to natural disasters such as flooding, mudslides and earthquakes.

The Fuller Center has been building in El Salvador since 2008 and has completed over 350 homes in communities throughout the country.  Our specific project took place in the community of Nuevo Cuscatlán, just outside San Salvador.  We assisted partner families as they built two-story homes of about 600 square feet with 3-4 small bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and an indoor shower with flush toilet. Homes are made of blocks with simple metal roofs. The partner families will repay the cost of building the homes using no-profit, no-interest loans over a 12 year, 7 month period.  A decent home has been shown to improve numerous health measures, educational outcomes, and a family’s overall well-being.  

About the Global Builders Program

Global Builders is The Fuller Center for Housing’s short term volunteer program, sending teams on domestic and international home-building trips, where partner families help build the homes and then will repay the cost on a no-interest basis to help more local families. All trips are hosted by our trustworthy Fuller Center covenant partners around the world, who love having volunteers join them in serving God by partnering with the poor. 

For more information or to join a team, visit https://fullercenter.org/global-builders/.

About The Fuller Center for Housing

The Fuller Center for Housing, faith-driven and Christ-centered, promotes collaborative and innovative partnerships with individuals and organizations in an unrelenting quest to provide adequate shelter for all people in need worldwide. Their foundational principles include the beliefs that: We are part of a God movement, and movements don’t just stop. We have been called to this housing ministry; we didn’t just stumble into it. We are unashamedly Christian, and enthusiastically ecumenical. We aren’t a church but we are a servant of the Church. We are faith-driven, knowing that after we’ve done all we can do the Lord will help finish the job — something that requires us to stretch beyond our rational reach. We are a grass-roots ministry, recognizing that the real work happens on the ground in communities around the world through our covenant partners — so a large, overseeing bureaucracy isn’t needed. We try to follow the teachings of the Bible and believe that it says that we shouldn’t charge interest of the poor, so we don’t. Government has a role in our work in helping set the stage, but that we shouldn’t look to it as a means to fund the building of homes.

To learn more, visit https://fullercenter.org.

This post contains information provided by the Fuller Center for Housing.  Their help and support is much appreciated.

**Thanks to Gente Ayudando Gente for providing the team photo.