For many families renting land or living in small spaces with a large number of people, the housing projects, like San Raymundo, have been a significant help to improve their quality of living. Named after Bishop Raymond Lucker, the second bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm in Minnesota, who raised money for the community, San Raymundo is located just up the hill outside of San Lucas on the road to Santiago Atitlan.  For it’s location as the exit of San Lucas, this community has become known as “La Puerta” (The Door).

Though the initial plan for La Puerta was to be a space for provisional housing, the mission decided to begin a stable housing project and permanent community.  Beginning with 15 families, the project’s main emphasis is to build houses with ample space for dignified living.

These houses have 100 square meters of living space under the roof, including a large living room, four sizeable bedrooms, a bathroom with proper sewage and a kitchen.  These houses estimate at a cost of $15,000 per house

These houses differ from other housing projects like San Andres, in which the government built the homes.  Contrary to the houses built by the mission in La Puerta, the houses in San Andres only cost the government approximately $2,000 per house. 

“The houses are smaller there (in San Andres),” explains Felipe Yoxon, community liaison and Land Development Coordinator.  “Here in Guatemala we say, ‘Peor es nada.  (Worse is nothing).’  The government builds houses only to fulfill their promise to the people.  The parish builds for dignity.”

As the need for land, space and housing still remains, the mission plans to expand the community to continue to help those in need of adequate space that they too may live in dignity. Across the road from where the 15 families have received housing, the Parish has distributed additional land to more than 40 families. Once provided access to water, the families will be able to move onto the new land and develop housing.