Four families from El Cenizo experienced the joy of an early Christmas Saturday by fulfilling their dreams of owning a new house.
The families received their new houses thanks to the help of the nonprofit organization La Gloria Development Corporation.
Juan Idrogo, president of La Gloria Development Corporation, thanked all the organizers and the families involved in the project at a ceremony Saturday morning. State Sen. Judith Zaffirini was invited, but did not attend the ceremony.
La Gloria organization helped the families to finance the lot, the building materials and the construction training, since the families themselves built their houses.
"The families provide the direction on all projects. La Gloria is a self-help housing program, which means that, when the family qualifies, we buy the material and the construction supervisor shows them how to build the houses," said Idrogo. "Now what the families have is worth around $50,000, and they only have to pay less than $28,000," he added.
Ramiro Torres, the head of one of the four families, said that he knows that he has to work very hard for the next 20 years in order to make the monthly payments for his new house.
"I do not understand anything about laws or loans, but I understand that I need to pay so I can stay. Life has changed a lot for us. What was a dream is now our new reality," Torres said.
By the time he received his house, Torres still did not know exactly how much did he have to pay every month for it. He said that by next week the families will be told all the specifics about the payments.
Gabriela Sandoval, the program coordinator, said that a great majority of the people has problems with their credit, and that is one of the impediments of getting a loan somewhere else.
"The applicants need to be residents of El Cenizo, they must have social security, and a copy of their last paycheck. We look for families that really need the help, but mostly that they are willing to get together with other families and help each other. We provide the blue prints, the tools, the training and the foundation of the houses, so the all the families can build the houses together," Sandoval said.
The funds for the housing program came from the D&A Realty and Cecil McDonald bankruptcy case, explained Karen Paup, one of La Gloria organizers.
McDonald sold lots and promised that El Cenizo was going to be a model community. Later, D&A Reality declared bankruptcy. El Cenizo citizens then voted for a bankruptcy plan that would dedicate the lot payments to improve housing and infrastructure. A court established El Cenizo Infrastructure Corporation (ECIC) to take charge of the improvement programs. La Gloria housing program is a result of the bankruptcy ruling.
"The average annual income of these families is $10,000. A lot of these people come here and rent, so it's really good that now they can be giving payments for their home instead of renting," Paup said.