After Hurricane Mitch devastated Nicaragua in October 1998, hundreds of poor people were given small houses in large settlements to replace the homes that were destroyed. Before long, the new home-owners began selling the doors and windows, and eventually the houses, themselves. Observers were quick to criticize these people as irresponsible gold-diggers, only interested in money.
The problem was that the people who were given houses had insufficient job skills to find work that would help them maintain the houses and support their families. Unemployment was around 70% so even the most industrious of the home owners found themselves having to sell off parts of the house in order to feed their children.
The lesson that should have been learned is that you can't give people houses without job training, and lots of it. Unemployment continues to hover around 65 or 70%, so workers need to be versatile to take advantage of whatever work opportunities exist. At Chacocente, we are training our families in many aspects of construction and agriculture, but also in small business practices and craft-making. Given that doctors make only about U$300 a month, even if some of our children manage to become professionals, they will have to be multi-talented to make ends meet.