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Homes Built/Repaired
College students from FOCUS group made a trip to Belize to paint the St. Martin church in Belmopan, Belize.
Roni and Meldra Ramirez have three children, Jasmine who is 2 months old, Claudia who is 5 years old and Daniel who is 8 years old. They are from Guatamala and have lived in Belize for 8 years. Roni is a hard worker, and to provide for his family he works in a factory that makes concrete blocks in the village of Spanish Lookout. They did not have a home of their own, and all 5 of them live in one room of his parents’ house. E
We were able to build a 3 bedroom home on their parents’ property thanks to our donors. Our donors were so generous that the children now each have a twin size bed to call their own.
We held a two day clinic for women in honor of Mothers Day. We were able to serve 88 women on May 4th and 5th. Each woman received a checkup, female exam, mammogram, prescriptions and an ultrasound! It was a huge success as we served women with medical needs that wouldn’t have had the chance to receive this care otherwise. A huge thank you to the Sisters of Charity for the grant that we received that enabled us to have the necessary equipment and funds to provide this care. Also thank you to Belmopan Medical Imaging Clinic and Our Community Pharmacy and all of the volunteers who helped make this day a huge success. Please check out our medical link and consider a donation to help us continue medical/RX assistance in the future. We plan to hold a clinic for children hopefully in August.
Gregoria is 73 years old and lives in Salvapan, Belize with her son Roberto who has epilepsy, her daughter Nidia and Nidia’s 4 year old son, Jefferson. They are originally from Guatamala, but now live in Belize. The house she used to live in belongs to her brother, so she did not own a home of her own, but she did have land. Gregoria’s husband left her when Nidia was only 14 years old, so she has raised her family on her own.
Gregoria now owns a home of her own thanks to our volunteers and donors!
Jose, his wife Dayra, and their two children, Fernanda and Anthony live in Salvapan, Belize. They came to Belize from Honduras in 2001. They were living in a house that he built from scraps and pieces of wood pieced together. Jose is a hard worker who rides his bike each day at 6:30 in the morning to the Co-Cathedral, where he works taking care of the grounds there. His job only provides enough for him to support his family. We met Jose when we were tiling the St. Martins Church floor. He came every day to help us, and also brought water and sometimes lunch for the workers.
Thanks to our generous donors and volunteers, we recently completed a new homes for this family!
On October 9th, a group of 10 volunteers from Kentucky, United Kingdom, Italy, Georgia and Ohio came to Belize to build a home for Maria Vargas and her family, in honor of the three Sisters who lived and worked in the Village of Las Flores, Belize. Thanks to the Sisters of Charity and Holy Spirit Catholic Church for donating the funds so this family can have a safe place to live.
Rosa and Genaro no longer have go outside in the dark and walking 30 yards just to use the restroom.
With your donation we were able to finish the bathroom their son Alberto started for them as a part of the back porch about a year ago. With your help we were able to finish the 8 x 4 feet indoor bathroom for Rosa and her family.
The Sibrian Bakery is completed!!
Marcos and Juana of 63 and 57 years old, along with their children Evelyn, Jenny, and Francisco now have their store front bakery to sell goods. This is what they do in order to make a living. Juana suffers from diabetes, Jenny is deaf and mute, and Francisco is mentally handicap. Today, they bake goods in their home kitchen and every day Marcos rides along in his bicycle selling the baked goods around the Village of Las Flores. Juana and Evelyn try to sell the baked goods during market days in Las Flores (Tuesdays and Fridays).
Since this is the only family’s income, with your donations we built them a Bakery store front.
Our Donors made it possible for the floor at St. Martin Catholic Church to be replaced. We had close to 20 volunteers/workers that came to help on the replacement of the concrete floor. The church floor had been damaged by water because the floor sits too low. We are happy to announce that this project has been completed!
The home for Peter and his mom Antonia is now complete!
This family, from Mayan decent, live in the village of Las Flores. Peter’s dad died when he was in High School, so he became the sole breadwinner in his family. He worked in security at the Belize International Airport until he became seriously ill in 2018. The disease affected his liver, his eyesight and his ability to walk for a while. His sister Silvia had to quit her job to take care of Peter and his mom, who is deaf.
Peter is on medication now and is slowly getting better. He has been walking to try to seek a light duty job so that he can help with his medication and food, but has not been successful in getting anyone to hire him as of yet. He is a very humble person and takes care of his mom as much as he is able.
We met Olivia when she was walking in the village with her grandson. She begged us to come and look at her house and that all she needed was a roof. She explained that when it rains, she has to move everything in her house because her roof leaks. We walked with her to her house and found that there was no way that just a roof was going to fix her problems. The wood in the foundation of the house is rotten and there are holes in the walls where there is no longer any wood. She does not have an indoor bathroom or a septic system. Please watch the video (on the left) to see and learn more about Olivia and her situation
When this project began, this cause was for Natalia and Miriam, mother and daughter. However, weeks before the project began, Natalia passed away to our Father God’s house. We proceded with the completion of the project for Miriam.
This project presented many challenges; the biggest one being Hurricane Lisa. On Sunday, October 30th, 2022, the San Miguel Arcangel Missions Team and the volunteers got together to make a critical decision to start the project and finish within 2 days or not start the project at all because the hurricane was supposed to hit Belize the afternoon of November 2nd. With prayer and planning, the team decided to start the project at the first sunlight on Monday Morning. Through more prayer and a hard working team, we were able to complete the roof replacement in 2 long days before Hurricane Lisa got to the Village of Las Flores.
Today you see the before and after of Miriam’s Roof. Before it was a Wooden rotten roof, today it is a strong Steel Frame Roof. Mission Completed!
Despesario 67 years old and Manuela who is 69, are married and have been together for 18 years. They used to live in a small house that they rented. Today, because of your support, they are now owners of this beautiful home on their own land. Despesario’s dream was to own his own home on his land and with your help they have accomplished their dream.
With your help we were able to raise $8,000 to build this 14 x 18, two room home on his own property. Thank you!
Miss Alma and Miss Maria are neighbors to each other in the village of Las Flores. We met them in 2019 and at that time both families had outhouses for bathrooms and an outdoor shower that they collected rainwater in barrels to wash with. Thanks to our generous donors both women and their families now have indoor bathrooms complete with a shower, basin, toilet, plumbing and electric.
With your donations we completed an outdoor kitchen in June 2022 for the women in the village of Las Flores. The women cook Empanadas, Tamales and other goodies to earn money which they use to pay utility bills, purchase candles and other supplies for the church.
Valentin Ortiz is one of the original settlers of the village of Las Flores. He and his family fled El Salvador during the Christian persecutions. Valentin and Maria, his wife of 50 years, live in a home that gets flooded when it rains. Consequently, the floor in the house was rotted out. Their desire was to have a home that stayed dry on a small farm that was given to refugees, by the government of Belize. In February 2022 we completed a 20 x 24 home for them in the village of Springfield. Special thanks to our donor for making wishes come true for them.
The church was last painted using donated paint that was watered down to make it go further. As you can see in the before pictures, it was in dire need of fresh paint. In one week we were able to prime and put a fresh new coat of protective paint on the building. Thank you to our donors and volunteers who worked hard to complete this project in March 2022.
Iliana, who has been handicapped since birth, lives in the Village of Las Flores with her mother Carmen. When we first saw their home, it did not have any windows or a door. The floor was made of mud and rocks. There were huge gaps in the walls where you could see outside and above the roof. Thanks to your collaborations they now have windows and doors and a new concrete floor.
As for this New Mission Accomplished, we were able to gather funds to finish a small bathroom for them. With this new bathroom Carmen can bathe Iliana since the renovation can accommodate Iliana’s needed arrangements. Thank you!
Make a donation to our construction/renovation fund.
San Miguel Arcangel Missions
445 County Road 262
Hanceville, AL 35077