NJ Man Solving Three Problems At Once By Building One Small Guatemalan Home At A Time

By Carol Barbieri
published Atlantic Highlands Herald
15 June 2006

Joe Collins worries about the future of America. He worries about our current immigration problem. He worries about America going to war again and again. And he worries about the priorities of our American young people. That’s why he’s so determined to help the poor people of Guatemala.

Photo by Joe Collins
Cornstalk house 

Guatemala? What do the poor people of Guatemala have to do with the future of America?

Plenty, according to the sixty-five-year-old private investigator from Morristown, New Jersey. Collins believes that the benefits of making lives better for the poor people of other countries will ultimately have a positive effect on Americans, too.

Photo by Joe Collins

From Houses to Homes completed home 

But how?

Collins has a three-part answer to that question.

First, he believes that, if we could improve the lives of the poverty-stricken in other countries, they’d be less likely to cross our borders.

Secondly, he believes that the key to world peace is education. He feels that uneducated masses are more likely to become the victims of leaders like Saddam Hussein. Uneducated people are powerless people. Powerless people need other countries (like the United States) to help them.

Finally, he believes that giving to others builds character and understanding. Wouldn’t college students, whose spring breaks are spent volunteering, have a far more enriching experience, than college students who spend it drinking and partying? Joe Collins thinks so.

But how does one man accomplish three such daunting goals? He builds homes in Guatemala.

Photo by Joe Collins
Collins (third from top left) with Project Director, Oscar Mejia (in blue shirt), Construction Supervisor, Henio Perez (to Collins’ left), and volunteers 

“When I was visiting my son in Antigua, in 1999, when he was a doctoral student there,” says Collins,” “I was stunned to see the level of poverty in which the indigenous people were living. Their houses were no better than small storage bins. The conditions were appalling, and it was heart wrenching to witness. Yet, I was amazed at the peoples’ spirit. They actually felt ‘lucky’ to have what little they had.

“But I did witness some desperate people leaving – attempting to get to America any way they could. I met women whose husbands never came back. To this day, they don’t know if they made it, or if they died trying.

Photo by Joe Collins
People of all ages and walks of life volunteer for From Houses to Homes  

“It occurred to me that, if we made these peoples’ lives better – even a little bit better – they wouldn’t have to leave.”

That’s when Collins began to volunteer with an organization in the area that built homes for the poor. But he wanted to do more. So in 2004, he founded his own organization, From Houses to Homes - Guatemala. Since then, with the help of volunteers of all ages, from all over the world, and from all walks of life, he’s been building homes and making life better for the poorest of the Guatemalan poor.

But why build homes? Why not just fund children’s educations?

Although Collins believes that education is paramount, he believes that children simply can’t go to school if they’re living in houses that are uncomfortable and unsafe. Shacks made of cornstalk and plastic are unstable. A family’s shelter could literally be washed away after one day of rain.

“Our organization would love to do more to educate and feed and clothe these families,” says Collins, “but we can’t do it all. That’s why, even though we do donate money we’ve raised for these other needs, we decided to mainly focus on housing. Since January 2005, we’ve built thirty-one new homes for 212 people. I think, sometimes, maybe one of the children who live in one of our new homes will turn out to be the President of Guatemala one day. Who knows? But for now, our home building is our number one objective.

Photo by Joe Collins

Collins with college student volunteers and some

local workers

“Believe it or not, it only takes seven working days to build a safe, comfortable home for a Guatemalan family. The biggest problem is in getting donations. It costs $1,500. to build a home. If just fifteen people gave $100. each, we could build a home. A hundred dollars is the equivalent of a “night out to dinner” for most Americans. Imagine being able to shelter a Guatemalan family of seven for a lifetime, simply by giving up one Saturday night out. It doesn’t seem like a big sacrifice, when you put it that way, does it?

“Unlike America, there is no welfare program in Guatemala. Poor people are helpless, unless more fortunate people, like us, do something to help them."

Can one man really change the world? Maybe not, but Joe Collins says, “We must try.”

“I may not be around to see my dream come true, but at least for now, I know that I’m making a difference. You’ve got to start somewhere.”

For more information about From Houses to Homes, go to: www.fromhousestohomes.org

You can also contact:

From Houses to Homes-Guatemala
X-12 Farmhouse Lane
Morristown, NJ 07960
973-538-3987

From Houses to Homes is also registered at www.ebay.com and at www.Goodsearch.com, a search engine that donates money every time you do a search.