Because Everyone Deserves a Home: Real Estate Broker Partners with FFTP to Build 12 Homes in Guatemala
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Dec. 16, 2021) Twelve impoverished families in a tiny Guatemalan community soon will have new homes and a better quality of life, thanks to the generosity of real estate broker George Khoury, a dedicated supporter of Food For The Poor.
Khoury, CEO of GK Realty Group and GK Premier Properties, donated more than $90,000 to FFTP on Wednesday during a check presentation to FFTP President/CEO Ed Raine at the charity’s Coconut Creek headquarters.
“As a broker, I know how important a home is to a family. It provides safety, security, and a level of comfort and convenience that many of us take for granted,” Khoury said. “Providing these homes is a step toward breaking the cycle of poverty by giving each of these families a space where they can rest without worry and rejuvenate to take on the challenges that they face every day as they try to build a better life.”
Khoury’s gift will fund the construction of homes in El Tablón, a poverty-stricken community of 1,400 residents – about 300 families – in the municipality of Villa Nueva, located about 10 miles south of Guatemala City. The donation will support FFTP’s overall work to build 40 homes in the community. Many families in El Tablón live in overcrowded conditions, languishing in one-bedroom, dirt-floor houses made of sheet metal and wood, corn stalks, and/or adobe blocks pieced together to provide shelter. They have little protection against the cold, and rain seeps through the cracks in their homes, turning their dirt floors to mud.
With Khoury’s donation, FFTP will build 12 new homes on concrete foundations, reinforced with iron, and covered with zinc-sheet roofing, starting next year. Each home will have a living/dining area, two bedrooms, a kitchen and shower, furnishing, a rain harvesting system for collecting water, and an eco-stove that filters smoke away from the kitchen. In addition, the gift will include a dollar-for-dollar food match, which will provide nutritional support for families in countries that FFTP serves.
“Helping the poorest of the poor in the 17 countries that we serve is our calling, and we are only able to do that with the help of our donors,” said FFTP President/CEO Ed Raine. “This gift from George Khoury, along with GK Realty Group and GK Premier Properties, will enable us to provide reliable, comfortable shelter for 12 families. Their lives will change significantly because of his thoughtful generosity.”
A supporter of FFTP since December 2018, Khoury wants to inspire others to support the charity. With that in mind, he brought members of his team to the check presentation at FFTP headquarters, where they also toured the facility and learned more about the organization’s mission. He hopes to visit El Tablón to see the community and meet the families who benefitted from his donations.
“Everyone deserves a home,” Khoury said. “I thank God for blessing me and for the opportunity to share my blessings with others and help lift them out of poverty. I am in a position where I can bring much-needed housing and assistance to people who are in such dire straits through no fault of their own. We all should do what we can to help, and I am grateful to be able to make a difference in the lives of so many people.”
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry children and families living in poverty primarily in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for vulnerable children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Ernestine Williams
Public Relations
305-321-7342
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