Dani Johnson Builds 500 Homes for Families in Nicaragua: Plans to Build More with Food For The Poor
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (March 13, 2017) One donor’s passion for the poor is making a great impact in the lives of the destitute in Nicaragua’s forgotten communities. Hundreds of families, who have lived for generations in flood zones, mining sites and on the outskirts of a garbage dump, have received the gift of safe and secure homes, thanks to Food For The Poor donor Dani Johnson and her King’s Ransom Foundation.
Johnson, an author and business woman who has appeared on ABC Television’s “Secret Millionaire” committed to building 1,000 homes through Food For The Poor in Nicaragua. Thanks to loving support, she raised enough funds to build 500 homes in less than two years.
“It’s amazing to see the deeper peace in the people now, versus two years ago, when I was here. They have a new hope,” said Johnson. “We’re here and we do, not to just give a word of hope, but we deliver the hope.”
The deliverance of that hope started in 2015 after Food For The Poor and the American Nicaraguan Foundation worked on securing safe land in Santa Pancha for construction. Since then, hundreds of brightly colored concrete block houses have been built in El Limonal, in the municipality of Chinandega; in Jiquilillo, a small fishing community in the municipality of El Viejo and in San Rafael del Sur.
In January, Johnson returned to Nicaragua with Food For The Poor to witness the fruit of her labor with an inauguration celebration of 43 homes built in the village of San Rafael del Sur, which is located near the capital of Managua.
Johnson and her team of volunteers prayed over the plot of land where 30 homes in Phase II in the community in Jiquilillo will be built in the coming weeks. These homes are for families who live in a high-risk area where sea water frequently floods their makeshift huts.
Food For The Poor Executive Director Angel Aloma, who has traveled with Johnson on each of her trips to Nicaragua, was especially moved by the 239-home village built for the families who find their food and items to sell from picking in the garbage dump in El Limonal. Families will receive an eco-stove and will be trained in self-sustaining projects. A community center also will be built in the central part of the village.
“The last time we were here, more than 100 families were living in makeshift shelters at the base of the dump site in unimaginable conditions with no sense of security, no protection from the elements and no access to a clean water source,” said Aloma. “It’s nearly impossible to express the joy of these families who have received a home with an indoor bathroom and access to clean water. We are so very thankful to Dani Johnson for all that’s she done and continues to do for the people in Nicaragua. She truly has a heart for the suffering poor.”
Dani says she’s only getting started as she continues to build homes through Food For The Poor.
“It feels like home to me and I think about Nicaragua every day. There’s something special about the people here,” said Johnson.
To experience Dani Johnson’s trip to Nicaragua, visit: www.FoodForThePoor.org/jiquilillo2017
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor primarily in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. Over the last 10 years, fundraising and other administrative costs averaged less than 5 percent of our expenses; more than 95 percent of all donations went directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Wanda Wright
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6079
[email protected]
