The New Hogar: getting it built!

In January of this year we started hearing back from architects and local construction companies re the Hogar Abierto Expansion Project. We now have a much clearer picture of what the New Hogar will look like and - more importantly – how much it will cost.

When the entire project is completed, it will encompass:

• Four self-contained dormitory buildings (or ‘Casas’), each with the capacity to house up to 20 children and one round-the-clock care-giver.
• A sporting field
• Two administrative offices and a reception area
• An office for a nurse or counselor
• An indoor assembly area
• A small chapel
• four parking spaces
• A vegetable garden

To make the project more manageable, construction will take place in stages. We will build one ‘Casa’ at a time with 20 children being to move in as soon as the first is built. After the second Casa is built, we will then need to construct administrative buildings before getting started on the remaining two Casas.

Architectural plans for the New Hogar.
Note the four Casas surrounding the sporting field and the admin and assembly buildings to the left.

So far, the most competitive building quote we have received puts the costs of constructing the first Casa at Q393’000.00 (or slightly less than USD 50’000.00). So 50K is our target figure. When we hit this target construction can get underway almost immediately and the first young residents can move in about 6 months after that.

So the biggest hurdle at the moment – as always – is raising the funds. In Quetzaltenango, we’ve been throwing benefit parties and eliciting small, extra donations from trekkers. This means that the funds in the project’s account are growing (albeit incrementally) and we are already part of the way there in reaching our target.

Between guiding treks and keeping the office running, the Quetzaltrekkers volunteers have also been busy writing grants and cold-calling companies in search of funding. Fundrasing in this manner can be a fickle process. It is often the case that the more funds you have, the easier it is to drum up additional funding. You can help us out by making a donation. Let’s get this thing built!

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