96. Building Homes In Guatemala With Betty & Sven

Five years ago, we will build maybe five houses a year. Now we're able to build 25, 30 houses a year. And the need is so much bigger than that that we built one house. And on Monday, we have other families, at least 10 more families asking us, can you help?

Welcome to Professional Builders Secrets, the podcast for building company owners wanting to grow safely and securely. I'm your host, Will Blunt, and today I'm joined by Sven and Betty from the One4One Project. Betty, Sven, welcome to the show.

Thank you, thank you.

Great to be here.

I'm really excited to have you both on today. We're in a unique position where we're in three different parts of the world in three different time zones. But it's an absolute privilege to have you both join me today because the One for One project is doing some amazing work. Just for anyone out there who doesn't know what the One for One is, Sven will probably do a better way of explaining what it is to everyone, but my understanding of it is it's an organization that builds houses for families in need around the world. So some fantastic work going on. But, Sven, do you want to kickstart the show by giving us a backstory on the One for One project?

Yeah, absolutely. Would love to. So the One for One project partners with Breaking Cycles, which is Betty's organization in. In Guatemala, outside of Guatemala City, in a. In a suburb called Simpongo. And we strive to build homes for families in need and we do that on behalf of builders in the United States and in Australia. Now that, that make a donation on behalf of their clients as a move in gift or, or just as a thank you gift for clients when they complete their homes. The homes that we build are, are relatively simple, but it's, it's almost unattainable for the families that we're donating them to, if not for the donations and for the work that Betty is doing through Breaking Cycles and One for One.

Yeah.

Great. So for anyone out there who is an association of Professional Builders member, we've started to donate or renew $100 USD for anyone that renews their membership to the 141 project, which contributes to building new homes in Guatemala at the moment. So it's a great cause and I'm really excited to be a part of that. But Betty, how did you get involved?

Well, I am from Guatemala and I was born in a very poor family and the first years of my life I also lived in one room. So when we said a house is one room and that is How I grew up. Those were the first years of my life. After the big earthquake In Guatemala in 1976, the government donated the rights to have a two bedroom house and my family was applied and got one. And that meant the before and after for my family to have a safe place that we could call home, that it was ours. And that is part of my heart. And how, why to help people? Because I understand in it, I was there and I know that my people just need a little bit of help to feel that they can do it.

Yeah, that's a really powerful story. So what kind of impact do you are seeing the one for one project and the work you're doing with Breaking Cycles having on the locals in Guatemala?

Wow. When you think of poverty, you really don't know what poverty is in Guatemala. So you have a family living in rooms made of bamboo. And today it just rained here, it poured and for those families the water is going to go through their rooms and that is the one room where they sleep, where they eat, where they cook. And tonight if they sleep on the floor, they're going to sleep in a wet floor, in a wet dirt floor and all of their clothes get wet. Everything is wet right now there. So for them to have a cinder block room with a cement floor and a roof that really covers them from, from rain, it makes, it makes a life changing impact.

Yeah, I think it's really important to educate people that live in North America, Australia and other parts of the world about the reality of that because it would be easy to not fully understand that. So the houses that are being built, can you explain exactly what they like, how different they are from what they're living in at the moment.

A lot of people live in rooms, as I said, made of bamboo sticks or other people. They make rooms out of thin metal sheets and some other people with plastic, they finished covering that with plastic and dirt floor. And it is just, it is just one room and that is their home. They don't own a table and chairs. They, it's just beds and probably, probably chairs that they can sit on. And after the dream is that we through Breaking Cycles can donate three rooms to each family. So they could have in one room like a bedroom for the parents, one room bedroom for the children and one other room can be their own social like kitchen, dining room and living room and where they, where the kids can do homework. Because right now what they have is no place to do homework, no place to even put their books. And that is why we dream about giving, helping them to have three rooms per family. We have helped a lot of families, but there is so much need that every time we build for a family, the next to tomorrow we're going to bless the house number 200 that we have been able to build thanks to, to people like you and thanks to the One for One project five years ago, we will build maybe five houses a year. Now we're able to build 25, 30 houses a year. And the need is so much bigger than that that we build one house and on Monday we have other families, at least 10 more families asking us, can you help us?

You mentioned that the, the need for the house is so much greater than what you can do at the moment. But you are, you know, working towards building more houses. How, how like far spread are these issues in Guatemala? How many people are living in those one room bamboo houses that you mentioned?

Well, 70, 70% of people in Guatemala live in poverty and over 50% of people live in extreme poverty. And that is to say half of the Guatemala population live in extreme poverty. We, we are a country that we have. The Mayan people lived in Guatemala. Over 25 different languages spoken in Guatemala. And that divides, that divides the groups and limits the opportunities they have. If they don't speak the official language. It limits the roads, everything. That because we are not a modern country, always the poor people are the ones that are leaving behind the most.

Of course, of course. Sven, I want to bring you into the conversation here to understand a bit more about the process of, I guess from dollar through to home build. What does that look like for the one for one project? If a builder does donate or the APB or someone else donates $1 to your organization. What's the full process there?

Yeah, and I love that question because we're really proud of the process and we're proud of how much of the money goes towards building the homes because it's 100%. 100% of the money that's donated to One for One flows through directly to Breaking Cycles and organizations like Breaking Cycles to Build Homes. A number of builders locally here in Minnesota cover the overhead expenses of running the nonprofit so that we can make it happen that way. And really the process is that as we fundraise, we work with Betty and on her end, she and some other local folks she works with help to identify the families in need. They determine if the land that they wish to build on is owned by the family. They have a lawyer that they work with, there's a local pastor and a social worker that will work with the family to determine if they're truly a family that is deserving of this donation. And then something that I think is great that Betty does on her end is that the family is required both to make a donation, Financial donation towards the construction of their home and also be a part of the process of building the home. Betty's organization will help to hire masons to get the majority of the work done. But when those masons are on site doing the work, the family has to participate. And so they have some skin in the game. It's not just a handout and. And a free home. It's something that they. They feel like they've really earned as well and that they're contributing towards. It's really a beautiful process to. You know, I think I've lost track. I think Betty has as well, in terms of how many homes I've personally built working with the masons down there. But the families that work alongside of us and the pride that they take and the. The little touches and the fixes that they do to the work that we're all doing to make it literally to put their fingerprints on their new home is striking. And it's just such a beautiful thing to be a part of, to help deliver that home to these families and to get to know them for the few days that we're a part of building it, to get to know them through the process of building their new home.

I love that. Yeah, you get the new homeowners involved in the process. What was the decision behind that? And maybe, Betty, this is one you can talk to as well.

Yeah, I think that's a great question.

Yeah, I. I was telling you at the beginning, we were given the right to have to own a house with my family, but the government just gave the right. And then my father and my mom had to make monthly payments for that house. And that made. Made us have ownership. You know, like, it was not something that we were just given, but it made my father very proud that we were making the payments for that. And I think that that is part of why we decide to make the people also part of that, or because we're not just giving the house, but we're giving back dignity to them. And they have ownership, but they have pride in that. The house. To build a house is a $3,000. It's what each room cost. And the families give 400, and the one for one gives the rest. And what we have seen is people getting very proud and happy to be part of this and encouraged to continue doing this.

So it's like, it's an impact beyond just the shelter itself. It's more of a psychological journey, I guess.

Yes, yes, yes it is. And then just how they feel. First, can you imagine being a father that goes to work in the fields and makes about $10 a day and you need 3,000 to build a room and you just make $10 a day and it is kind of hopeless. And then because it is, it is so far you don't even try. But there is an organization that can help you if you just get these $400 and that will give the, the house for the, that they need for their family. But also the fact that there's 200 people in the waiting list and they were chosen to get the house that week, that makes them feel more unique, you know.

Yeah, it seems so much more achievable that $400 as you said, compared to the 3,000. And it's something they can work towards, I guess. But if there's 200 people on the waiting list, how do you choose who gets to get the next house?

That is the hard work and that is the work that the socialist workers do, because I cannot do that. But the social workers go and see the, see the house, see the need, how many children they have. If they have a special need child, that puts them on, on top of the list. If they have somebody that is sick and like respiratory problems, that puts them on top of the list. But then there's just the waiting list and as they come and they are checked and they have all the requirements, then they'll go next.

Well, I mean, hopefully that list can start to get moved through more as more money is raised through the one for one project.

Hopefully that is not only my hope. It is so fun that when we go and bless the house at the end, we build the house in one week and at the end of the week we, we ask God to bless the house and give it to the, to the family. And it is amazing how many families ask. Thank God and ask. I hope that other people can be blessed with this.

That's very powerful, Sven. You've, you've actually been hands on and, and seen this process from start to finish in Guatemala, I believe. What kind of impact did that have on you?

Well, it was really a turning point in my life. The first time that I built a home in Guatemala. I think it was probably 22, 25 years ago that I decided to go on a trip with my church at the time and built a home for a family, met my wife on that trip, met some very good friends, met some relatives of Betty, that, that led us to the relationship that we now have with Betty. So it was really instrumental in forming what we have today. But what was so striking to me was in building that first house and setting those blocks and the simplicity of the structure that we were building, you know, these homes that we're building by American or Western standards aren't much, you know, a 12 by 15 cinder block structure. And the level of appreciation and the joy and the happiness that you see on the, on the faces of the family that you're building this for and even their neighbors, it's striking and it is, it's such a contrast to what we see in the business of building homes in the United States with the difficulties that we face and the everyday challenges of trying to achieve perfection in the, in the mansions that we're building. And, you know, oftentimes I think that lack of appreciation and so that's really what inspired the donation of homes in Guatemala, which led to the one for one project was, you know, even in the toughest of projects in the us, if it results in a family in Guatemala and other places in the world at some point down the road here receiving a home that they otherwise would never have, that maybe offset some of that, the difficulty and the challenges of the work that we do day to day, and it makes it all worthwhile. So that's, that's, that's kind of how it all came about.

Yeah, I guess it puts things in perspective when you're building a home in America compared to the impact it can have on, on a family in an underprivileged society, you know.

Yeah, absolutely. And it's an impact that, that no matter how well we do in the United States and building the homes that we do, we can't impact a family in the US or in Australia in the way that we can in Guatemala with so little. I often relate it to the cost of building a home in Guatemala is many times less than the cost of a refrigerator in many of the homes that we build. And so just that perspective, it's so little, but it makes such a huge impact. And having that power is that power to change lives. It's meaningful and it's what keeps us doing this.

Yeah, it's quite amazing. And as you said, it's only a relatively small sacrifice. For example, I think you replaced the thank you gift after building a home with building a new home in Guatemala. It's such a huge. They seem so different in perception, but it can have such an enormous impact.

Yeah, I think we talked about that on a previous call. We at my construction companies do this as that move in gift. It replaced some other things that in hindsight were pretty trivial. Maybe a very nice bottle of wine, but nothing in terms of the impact that a donation to a family in need.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Betty, I'm interested to hear if you have, you know, a story of a family that you've worked with maybe recently, or one that you can think of where they've gone through this process and it just really stood out to you.

Wow.

So many stories.

But I think that there are a couple of families that have been affected positive by this project and is not the family that had received the house, but is the family of the masons that work making this possible. So we have one mason that is in charge of the subcontract to hire other masons, but he's a father, he's a brother, he's somebody that is changing the path of the family. A lot of people here, a lot of Masons, when they don't find a job for two or three weeks in a row, they start thinking of leaving Guatemala and going overseas to find a job in the States and leaving their families behind, trying to seek for a dream that will not happen. But by having this project going on, and we have this group of masons that they know that they will have a job with us. And not only that, but he hired other people. He hired his sister, who is amazing as well. And that is breaking the thoughts that women. Because here in Guatemala, there's a lot of macho culture where only men are able to do this and not women. And I have seen a whole family changing their path instead of trying to go somewhere else to know that they can have a better life here in Guatemala thanks to this project.

Yeah, that's amazing. So it's like keeping the family together and giving them hope.

See? Yep.

And one of the things I'll also add is, you know, the house is just a part of what Betty does. And a lot of times it's kind of the beginning of her relationship and her organization's relationship with the family. Family. And that extends into education and, and, and some health care and, and. And conversations about faith. And so it's, it's. It's foundational, no pun intended. But it leads to so many better things and it leads to truly breaking the cycle of poverty with a family because the, the parents don't have to. To. To work for. For never ending, for the goal of building a home that they may never be able to afford and they've got that. And then they can start making different choices about are their children going to work in the market or in the field so that they can support the family. Now maybe they don't have to now maybe the children can stay in school. And it really is a fork in the road for that family to change the trajectory of those kids lives. Yeah.

I think you mentioned Sven, in a previous call we had. It's like it's the start of the conversation. It gives you that, that door into the conversation about all of these more entrenched issues that the families are facing.

Yes, yeah, absolutely. And Betty, maybe you can speak to that a little bit about just quickly where it goes from there after you begin that relationship with the families.

Yes, I am a teacher by heart and by profession. I love to teach. And I know, as I said, I come from a, from a family that had little and little, little education, little money. But my mom had a heart and she was wise in saying you're not going to quit school, you're going to finish school. No matter what, you're going to finish school. And that changed my whole path also. And I believe that education is the key. Education, sending their kids to school is the key. But I understand that in so many, in so many cases is just not possible. Involves a lot of, involves transportation, money and, and even will they go to, they go to school. Parents may say okay, you can go to school. But then when the kids come back from school, they need help doing their homework. But the parents never went to school, so they don't know how to read and write. So they have no idea how to help and they cannot help. So by having these conversations with them and letting them know there is a place that you can send their kids and they're going to get the help that they need. It opens up, it opens up dreams and opportunities and it's just everything we do, it's an excuse to share our faith and the possibilities of growing in Guatemala.

Well, thanks so much for sharing that, Betty. I think the work you're doing is absolutely amazing in Guatemala. And Sven, obviously you've had an enormous impact on, you know, the people on the ground in Guatemala and their lives. So it's a really powerful story and I'm really proud that the APB is involved to help build those houses. I guess. Sven or Betty, what would you say to the builders out there? I mean, obviously if they're a member of apb, they're automatically contributing to the One for One Project. But for anyone else out there that you think would, would like to contribute to the organization, what would you say to them?

We'd love to talk to them. You know, I can think of no better opportunity to, to change lives. It's, it's near and dear to our hearts as builders. You know, really everyone that's a part of the One for One project is in some way involved in real estate or building or architecture and you know, where we're, we're giving, we're giving kind of the fruits of our labor to say to families that otherwise wouldn't have the product that we, that we build. So we'd love to have the conversation, would love to have builders come alongside us. We try to head to Guatemala once a year to put our hands on and, and build the homes ourselves and, and we'd love to have builders join us if ever there's any interest in that as well. So yeah, you know, just, it's an open, it's an open door to have that conversation.

It could be a life changing experience. It certainly was for you, Sven.

Yeah, really, it's, it's, it's something that was really a moment, kind of a momentary decision, just kind of, I'm in, I'll go and. It really did changed my life in so many ways.

Would you like to add anything, Betty, to that?

Well, to, to the people that have been like the members that had already been involved in donating, I just want to say thank you. I want to thank each of them because what they're giving towards, it is changing, it is changing lives. It is a, it's not just a gift that goes away. It is a security, love, keeping families together. It is a life changing gift. And I want to thank each of you in behalf of the, the people, the children, the families that have been receiving these houses. Thank you. And if somebody else is there, I, I can talk for hours, but it's not the same as if they come and see and have a hands on experience. So welcome to Guatemala anytime.

Thank you so much, Sven and Betty. I've learned a lot about, more about Guatemala and the impact you're both having on, on people's lives there. So I really appreciate you taking some time to come on and talk about that. For anyone that wants to learn more about the 141 project, they can go to the141.org and include a link to that in the show notes. There's lots of great information on the website there. The stories of the families that you're building the houses for and just generally where all the money that is being donated to the organization is going. So an amazing impact you're having and I really appreciate you guys for coming on the show today.

Yeah, thank you. It was a pleasure.

Also, a big thank you to our listeners wherever you are in the world having a listen today. If you are feeling generous, please check out the one for One project and be generous. If you like the show, please subscribe. And if you're feeling generous, leave us a review. But until next time, have a great day and we look forward to seeing you again.