Frank Anderson, sales associate, and Matthew Erny, GRI , broker-sales associate from RE/MAX House Values 4 of Hackettstown, recently returned from Ecuador where they spent the week of June 20 -28 building houses for the poor.

Anderson, Erny and 19 volunteers from the Delaware Presbyterian Church in Knowlton Township, and the Pluckemin and Basking Ridge Presbyterian churches, built 15 houses with the Hogar De Cristo Organization in Guayaquil, Ecuador, South America. Similar to Habitat for Humanity, Hogar De Cristo is a non-profit social organization started in Guayaquil by Jesuit priests in 1971, to assist the poorest of the poor.

In addition to paying their own travel and boarding expenses, Anderson and Erny personally collected over $18,000 in donations used to subsidize the homes they built.

Local contributors to their building efforts include: The Young/Green Foundation of Blairstown; Realtor colleagues from RE/MAX House Values of Hackettstown; RE/MAX of New Jersey; teachers and staff of Blairstown Elementary School; Daniel and Elaine Erny of Frelinghuysen Township; Wells Fargo Mortgage, and Dean and Donna Kasturas; as well as, many other generous contributors to their mission trip. Additionally, RE/MAX New Jersey donated T-shirts, toys and other items for the children of Guayaquil.
“Without the generous donations from our family and friends, the beneficiaries of these homes would be living in a ramshackle shanty, or on the streets,” said Anderson, “On every trip I have made to Guayaquil, I am inspired by the friendliness and warmth shown by these people who are living in such extreme poverty, each and every day”.

Since many Guayaquil residents cannot afford the full price of a home, the Hogar de Cristo organization manages a “social fund” supported by donations like those collected by Anderson and Erny. The approximate cost to the new homeowner is $580 (U.S.). One hundred percent of all donated funds go directly to the Hogar De Cristo Organization – there are no administrative costs.

The dedicated volunteers, many of whom have made this trip before, including visits by Anderson (three) and his cousin, Joanne Hamilton (five), build modular homes constructed of prefabricated bamboo and wood with tin for the roof. The design and native materials have been used locally for centuries and are designed to hold up well in the humid equatorial climate. The size of each home is approximately 20 feet by 20 feet and, due to flooding problems; the homes are constructed on stilts. There is no water supply or sanitation provided.

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