Posts Tagged With: housing
Shelter from the cold
You know it’s going to be a cold winter when south Floridians kill the A/C and drag their furnaces out of retirement. Last night, our Florida office experienced temperatures around 30 degrees – frigid for us, but mild for those of you enduring heavy snow and strong winds up north. While Florida worries about damage … Continue reading
The All-in-One ‘Perfect’ Project
When a single project can house the homeless, create jobs for the jobless, protect the planet, and be self sustaining—all at the same time—Cross International Catholic Outreach would consider it to be just about the perfect project! That’s why we’re so excited about a special enterprise being launched in Haiti. It’s an all-in-one housing program, … Continue reading
“I hear the rain, I don’t feel the rain”
Claudner Pierre, 37, is a man who works with his hands. As a mason, he knows exactly how much hard labor goes into building the foundation, walls, and ceiling of a proper house. But even with that knowledge, he still didn’t have the resources or money to build a house for his own family. He … Continue reading
Housing Brings Hope
After more than two years of waiting and praying, Ana Briceño’s dreams came true. Her family was one of 50 to receive a sturdy home through a housing project we support in Nicaragua. “This is such a blessing from God,” Ana said. “Before our family was suffering because we were constantly moving from place to … Continue reading
Helping the poor help themselves
Last year, we met a Zambian woman named Christine who had gone from riches to rags because of AIDS. Once the owner of three houses, she sold all her properties in desperation and used the money to pay a medicine man to cure her. In the end, she was left with no money, no friends … Continue reading
Giving with Dignity
It can be humiliating to be treated as a charity case—the object of someone else’s pity and justification for their pride. Not being able to feed your family can be enough of a blow to your self esteem; but having food (or a house, or other basic need) provided in the wrong spirit can be … Continue reading
The Legacy of St. Patrick’s Day
For many people, St. Patrick’s Day is a time to wear green, eat corned beef and cabbage, and have a night out with friends. But behind all the merrymaking is a story of a 4th century missionary whose life exemplified the kind of self-sacrificial love we strive to emulate here at Cross. Before St. Patrick … Continue reading
2010 Housing Crisis
As we move into the New Year, media outlets have been a buzz with forecasts about the U.S. housing market in 2010. One Wall Street Journal article proclaimed that the future was “uncertain” with things unlikely to recover much this year. But the U.S. housing market isn’t the only one suffering. Worldwide — mainly in … Continue reading
Advent: the Forgotten Season
Sunday, Nov. 29, marked the advent of Advent – a traditional Catholic observance that often gets upstaged by Thanksgiving on one end and Christmas on the other, especially now that the Christmas season seems to begin on Black Friday or even earlier! But Advent is important. For one thing, it’s the liturgical version of New … Continue reading
Haiti through the eyes of a first-time visitor
Deborah, one of our staff members who usually works at a desk in our Florida headquarters, recently went to Haiti for the first time to see some projects we support in a remote village. Here are some of her raw reflections from day one: When you have no electricity, you go to bed with the … Continue reading
