What does it take to help change a nation?

What does it take to help change a nation? Well…a heaping of perseverance, a lot of patience, sweat, and tears, and joy. It requires people - compassionate people, empowered people, learning and growing people. And maybe most of all, to be part of changing a nation you need to live into the hope that God has provided; the hope of something better.

I want to say thank you to every one of you that have been part of this hope for the last 21 years. Because of each of you, Shelter is celebrating a huge milestone this month - the 5000th Shelter home. That means that well over 20,000 people have been lifted out of the mud and been given a safe and stable foundation from which to grow and flourish. Each of these families has seen God’s love in a tangible way, expressed through so many Shelter team members, donors, and Salvadoran staff. Thank you for being part of an incredible community that is building hope.

Yet even as we celebrate, we don’t stop aiming and preparing for the future. Five thousand homes is incredible, but it represents only about 1% of the housing need in El Salvador. So, as an organization we have prayerfully raised the bar.

We will be part of the holistic transformation in El Salvador by building our 10,000th home before the end of 2027.

We are growing the capacity of our Salvadoran staff team, we are multiplying our teams that travel to build with families in need, we are expanding our reach in El Salvador, and we are creating partnerships with other organizations that are working in complementary ways.

Our hope is building!

I extend a personal invitation for you to be part of this goal. Here are three ways that you can continue to make a difference today:

1) Join our community of monthly partners through Shelter Ignite

2) Help us to reach 10,000! Donate towards a new home for a family.

3) Join or form a Shelter Immerse team travelling to El Salvador. Get started here.

Thank you for being part of our community of builders and thank you for being part of transforming El Salvador.