JOE COLLINS: Guatemala

A Personal Account

Chances are, you’re wondering why a private detective has a page on his web site devoted to a country in Central America. The simple answer is this: I build houses for the poor in Guatemala. Of course, as most members of the adoption triad can attest to, nothing in life is simple.

How it all began
My first journey to Guatemala occurred in the fall of 1999 when I went to visit my son Darron. He was studying the language and culture of the Quechi, a group of people indigenous to the region, and would be living with them for 18 months as part of his Ph.D. program in Anthropology.

It was during this stay in Guatemala that I saw firsthand the devastating effects of poverty. The inhabitants of the area where my son was located were extremely poor and most lived in makeshift homes which were nothing more than poorly constructed shacks with cardboard walls, dirt floors and no plumbing or electricity. On our return to the airport in Guatemala City, we stopped in the historic town of Antigua. It was founded in the early 16th century but present-day Antigua was a study in contradictions. Some of the town had been restored to its colonial splendor—complete with cobblestone streets—while other parts continued to show the devastating effects of an earthquake which struck way back in 1773. Once again, however, the poverty I witnessed was astonishing and it wasn’t restricted to the quake-torn areas of Antigua. Homeless adults as well as children were scattered around the town square, many of them making their beds on the sidewalks. When we drove through Guatemala City and saw all the shacks built into the side of the hills, I realized the extent of the poverty in this Central America country.

Next Stop, Antigua
I was profoundly impacted by my trip to Guatemala but it wasn’t until the summer of 2001 that I began to give serious consideration to going back. By this time, my son Darron had received his Ph.D. and was working for the World Wildlife Fund in Washington, DC. Since he was no longer in Guatemala, I decided that if I was to make a second trip there, I would have to do it on my own. I went on the Internet, put the phrase “volunteering in Guatemala” into a search engine, and came across an organization called the God’s Child Project which was headquartered in Bismarck, ND. I read through their web site (www.Godschild.org), found a program they offered which sounded perfect and sent for more information.

The program they had provided individuals with the opportunity to become a member of what they referred to as a service team which would bring together people from all walks of life and from all over the world for the purpose of traveling to Antigua, Guatemala for two weeks and helping the poor by building homes for them. The memories of what I saw in Antigua were still very fresh despite the passage of time so without a moment’s hesitation, I decided to become a member of a service team that would be heading to Antigua, Guatemala that August.

Little did I know that I was signing on for an experience that would end up changing my life forever. It’s difficult to make such a declaration and then try to explain it without sounding melodramatic but those two weeks in Antigua truly were life altering. Once again I saw the poverty but this time I was able to do something about it. And although it was a small part, the home we built for a family probably had more of an impact on me than it did on them.

2002
I returned home and with the very generous help of my friends, I raised over $11,000.00 for the God’s Child Project. In February 2002 I made a return trip to Antigua, Guatemala and helped build another home. Several months later, on July 1, 2002, I went back and stayed for three months, volunteering in whatever capacity the God’s Child Project decided was needed. I returned home to New Jersey on October 1, 2002.

2003
In 2003, I was able to make three trips to Antigua, Guatemala. In March, I spent two weeks there as part of a service team. In June, I returned for an extended three month period and built houses all summer long with the numerous service teams that came to volunteer. By December, I was restless and went back for another week.

2004
I have made three trips to Guatemala thus far—one week in March, one week in April and three months this summer.

2005
Founded From Houses to Homes-Guatemala, Inc. See www.fromhousestohomes.org.

To date, I have raised $19,905.00 for the God’s Child Project but I have also been able to provide aid directly to other poor Guatemalan families who have no connection to God’s Child.

This all began with my decision to send money every month to a family I had become acquainted with during one of my trips to Antigua. Although it was gratifying to know that this financial assistance was making a real and tangible difference in the lives of these family members, I wanted to do more—I wanted to help more families. It didn’t take long before the realization hit that I could not accomplish this alone and although hesitant at first, I reached out and began asking others to help. Before I knew it, people were coming to ME asking how they could donate and I have since made it my mission to do whatever I can to improve the lives of as many families as possible in Antigua.

At the present time, I am helping a total of seven families thanks to generous contributions from a few very kind people and I’m diligently working to find other ways to raise money. One which has proved successful thus far involves my purchasing handmade bracelets from several women I know when I’m in Antigua and selling them here in the United States. I then return the profits to these women which enables them to provide for their families. One family was earning about $30.00 per month but with the help of people like you, I was able to resell their bracelets here at a very reasonable price, earning them a little over $200 in less than a couple weeks time which, in turn, increased their monthly income for that month to $250.00. Although $250.00 may not seem like much to us here in the U.S., an extra $220 per month for a family of 4 or more in Guatemala makes an incredible difference and goes a long way towards changing their lives considerably.

Contributions
On September 28, 2004, I formed a New Jersey nonprofit to help the poor in Guatemala. The name of the corporation is “From Houses to Homes-Guatemala, Inc.”

On December 3, 2004, I received approval from the IRS for tax exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and all donations are tax-deductible.

Please send contributions to:
Joe Collins, Executive Director
From Houses to Homes-Guatemala, Inc.
P.O. Box 85
Mount Tabor, NJ 07878-0085

Thank you for all that you have done for me and for any help you can provide.
Please be sure to visit the From Houses to Homes-Guatemala web site.