Before becoming involved with Fundación Esperanza de México, Carmen Cervantes lived with her three daughters and granddaughter in an unstable, one-room home in Tijuana made from scraps of wood haphazardly nailed together. The roof leaked and all five women shared a queen bed pushed together with a bunk bed. For 25 years, Carmen had been the sole caretaker of her two daughters and granddaughter, all who have severe special needs.

With Carmen at home tending to three family members with special needs, her eldest daughter, Selina, carried the responsibility of being the sole breadwinner of the family. From medications to diapers to daily food and water, Selina struggled to cover the family’s basic needs with her minimum-wage job.

In May 2017, Esperanza International & Fundacion Esperanza de México joined forces to raise funds to build the 1,000th home (or “Casa Mil”) and give the Cervantes family the safe and dignified housing they needed.

Typically, this is not how Esperanza works. Esperanza families are not given homes, but they become homeowners by paying for their houses through their neighborhood community savings fund. This is the first time in our 32-year history that we are called upon all our Esperanza communities from Tijuana to Seattle to Sydney and beyond to work together to raise funds to build Casa Mil.

We broke ground on Casa Mil in June 2017. Volunteer groups enthusiastically worked all summer to build Casa Mil. We expect to complete the home in October 2017. Overwhelmed by the support of the entire Esperanza community, Selina Cervantes shared, “We are so happy, none of this would have been possible on our own.”

Check out our Facebook album that documents the entire project here.