Pueblo Modelo was established by the government after Hurricane Mitch in 1999. In the rush to relocate families that were affected by the hurricane, the town was established without any infrastructure, i.e. running water, electricity, etc. 

In 2017 Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (GSLC) donated a pila to the town. Then on September 3, 2018, Hearts In Motion (HIM) opened a daycare in Pueblo Modelo in partnership with GSLC.

The daycare operates five days a week from 7:30am to 3:30pm. This is an all year round daycare with the exception of some holiday closings. The children receive two nutritious meals a day plus a snack. The children will be receiving a preschool education which will prepare them for kindergarten when they enter the Guatemalan school system. In addition, the children have access to medical, vision and dental care when volunteer medical teams travel to Guatemala. 

After opening the daycare in Pueblo Modelo in September 2018, Hearts In Motion (HIM) surveyed the living conditions of the children in the program.  The results of the survey were astounding.  Most of the children and their families were living in tin/tarp huts, or mud houses.  

Therefore, HIM decided to help improve the living conditions of those families. A goal was set to start building houses for all of the children in the program who were living in tin/tarp huts and mud houses.

With the help of generous donors like the Jim & Rhonda Bradley, Bellarmine University, St. Michael’s Church/Aaron Frazita, Colette and Chris Mattingly, Ridgecrest United Methodist Church/Terry Ratcliff and Scott Maher, we started to build houses for the children in the daycare. 

The children have also been receiving solar lights and water filters thanks to the donations from Gerry Rambo and GSLC.

Hearts In Motion would like to continue its mission to provide for better living conditions for the families in Pueblo Modelo; however, we need your support to continue our mission. Please help HIM in its mission of improving the living conditions of those children and their families by building a house or contributing with others to build a house. Please click below to donate.

Donate a house to a child at Pueblo Modelo 

Videos of houses built since 2019