Our Impact
We build small, 16’x20’ houses in Belize. We replace roofs, floors, bathrooms, and kitchens in Appalachia. We do safety and accessibility projects in Louisville.
Our Building for Change program in Belize is thriving. Since 2002 we have been able to build over 500 small, brightly colored wooden homes for economically vulnerable families in and around Belize City. These modest, 16’ x 20’ houses provide safe shelter and include running water and connections to sewer or septic systems.
Our Building for Change Partners must undergo an intensive screening to qualify for a home. They are required to assist in another family’s build in a “pay it forward” sort of system. The recipients must also provide proof of ownership of their own land, assist with the building of their home, and attend empowerment classes.
Though immersion trip volunteers build and finance most of the homes, several are sponsored by Belize businesses each year, and built by employees. In addition, for several years, a group of residents who once received a house, have organized fundraisers so they could “pay it forward” by building a home for one of their neighbors. They raised enough money to build their first home in 2015, their second in 2017 and their third in 2023.
Each year our immersion trip volunteers repair dozens of homes and build wheelchair ramps in Floyd, Johnson, Magoffin, and Martin Counties.
Guided by local contractors, they replace bathrooms, floors, ceilings, underpinning, and sometimes, the kitchen sink.
These improvements help create a safe place to call home for dozens of families each year.
We focus our work on safety and accessibility projects like building wheelchair ramps, installing safety bars in bathrooms, repairing steps, installing handrails, and building fences. Though we work primarily on projects in west Louisville, we will go where needed within Jefferson County for qualified applicants.
Over the years volunteers have built 47 homes in Managua, Nicaragua. We have suspended this program in recent years due to travel challenges.
We bring people together to instill hope in one another as we meet housing, education, and healthcare needs of the economically vulnerable.
Hand in Hand Ministries is a 501(c)3 charitable organization.
Federal Tax ID (EIN): 61-1352889
