Villa Soleada Housing

Status: Completed

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Beginnings

Tucked snugly at the bottom of rolling green mountains, just outside of the city of El Progreso, Honduras, lies a small village called Siete de Abril. The setting is picturesque, but a closer look reveals another story. The people of Siete de Abril live in extreme poverty. Homes are roughly constructed using scraps of corrugated tin and cardboard. There is no clean water, and illness is widespread. More than half of the over four hundred residents are children. It is no surprise then, that when ten year old Carmen Flores talked to Shin Fujiyama, she expressed only one wish – she wanted all of the families in her village to have a home.

The Movement

Last April, SHH members from the entire East Coast met at the University of Mary Washington (UMW) in Fredericksburg, VA for the second annual Walkathon for Hope. It was the culmination of a semester of intense fundraising. Over 3,500 people turned out, including Doris Buffett of the Sunshine Lady Foundation. Also in attendance were representatives of the Dodge Motor Company, who presented SHH with a check for $20,000 for their success in being the first nonprofit organization to obtain 20,000 votes in an online voting campaign called GrabLife GiveLife.

SHH had set its goal at $100,000, with the promise that if the goal was met, Doris Buffett would generously match that amount. When the final tally was announced, we had far surpassed our goal, nearly doubling it on our own. With The Sunshine Lady’s match grant, the 2007 Walkathon for Hope raised about $288,000 for Carmen’s wish.

Onward

Although we were eager to begin construction to fulfill our promise of new homes for every family, problems arose in the form of lengthy land disputes. Most of the land in Honduras is untitled; that is, it belongs to no one, although people may be living there. This is the case in Siete, where families have squatted on the land for as long as nine or ten years, but who possess no actual deed. Once it became known that an American organization was interested in the property, several different individuals came forward claiming ownership, and are now involved in a court battle which may take another three to five years to resolve.

SHH faced a choice: build immediately on land that could be taken from us during or after construction, wait out the decision of the court, or find a new plot of land nearby to turn into a new village for the people of Siete de Abril. Thus was born Villa Soleada.

Breaking Ground

In October 2007, members of SHH made a joint decision with the residents of Siete de Abril. Because the villagers did not own the land where their homes were located and there was seemingly no end in sight to the property battle, the villagers and SHH voted to move the village. SHH found a large plot of land only fifteen minutes from Siete de Abril, an ideal location that allows the villagers to maintain their current jobs and their children to attend a local school. The new area has been named Villa Soleada (Sunshine Village) in honor of Doris Buffet’s charitable Sunshine Lady Foundation.

The Labor

The families are responsible for almost all of the labor – approximately half of the entire project cost. Each family sends a member to work at least three days a week and raises the funds to pay for skilled labor. They meet weekly to discuss their progress and concerns. Since the ground breaking, over 300 international volunteers have contributed their time and sweat to help build the homes.

The Village

When finished, Villa Soleada will consist of forty-four 22’x28’ homes, each with three bedrooms, a central room, bathroom, and shower. The design of the homes and the entire village was based on drawings made by the villagers. The village will also include a community center usable for church gatherings or town meetings, land for farming and sustainable businesses, a well, a library, eco-friendly waste management system, electricity, and most importantly, a soccer field.

Big Decisions

Some families have decided to stay in Siete de Abril due to their ties to community churches, work-related concerns, or travel considerations. SHH respects each family’s decision to stay or move. We will continue to work with Siete de Abril, through smaller projects such as healthier cook-stoves and potable water. In the meantime, dozens of residents look forward to soon being able to call Villa Soleada their new home.