“We are there to help people, but not to do what they should do for themselves. We want to avoid paternalism….”

Ángel Sáenz-Badillos has been the Director of the Real Colegio Complutense –an institution facilitating the arrival of Spanish investigators at Harvard– for over 7 years. When he talks about helping people, this renowned specialist in Medieval Jewish literature is not referring to the post doctoral students and scholars that visit –semester after semester– the offices of the Colegio in Harvard Square. He is speaking about the hundreds of families in Managua who have benefitted from the work that this sexagenarian and his wife promote through the local NGO Casas de la Esperanza.

Sáenz-Badillos is a man of cordial manners, who transmits a warmth and simplicity atypical among academics and men of science. One might say that his friendly nature –a “social variant” of generosity– is a reflection of the goodwill that led him to launch in 2006 a “Utopian plan” to construct homes in the extremely economically depressed neighborhoods outside of the Nicaraguan capital (one of the poorest countries in Central America). An idea that, two years later, with the construction of 36 houses, has achieved encouraging results for a community in dire need of good examples.

Casas de la Esperanza, which is sustained through donations the Sáenz-Badillos have collected from their colleagues in Cambridge and Madrid, with additional support from companies and foundations on both sides of the Atlantic, was started in the same way many charity organizations are started. With a feeling.

On a trip to Managua, after seeing the difficult conditions in which its habitants live, Ángel and Judit came up with the idea of designing a sustainable development project for a settlement of houses located in the outskirts of Managua, known as the La Prusia. According to the professor, the NGO was formed after learning that for the majority of neighbors, having a house was their number one “priority”. “People dream of owning a small home that they can someday leave to their children”, explains Ángel, who is from one of the most famous wine regions in Spain, La Rioja.

To get Casas de la Esperanza started, the Sáenz-Badillos bought with their own money four acres of land. Later, as additional donations came in, they gave those who were interested in participating in the project the materials to build their homes. Help was granted in the form of micro-credits, that recipients will need to return in small amounts without interest. Similarly, over the last two years, almost two hundred volunteers –mainly from Spain and the United States– have worked together with the neighbors of La Prusia laying bricks.

Casas de la Esperanza in Managua is based on the goodwill of its founders and an original philosophy according to which the NGO cannot use any of the raised funds for its maintenance. “There are no administrative costs. Volunteers who wish to work on the site pay for their own trip. We depend exclusively on the unpaid work of volunteers”, explains Ángel.

His efforts go beyond housing. The Director of the Real Colegio Complutense enjoys talking about an “integral plan”, because it encompasses more than simply putting a roof over the head of people who, like many Nicaraguans, live on less than a dollar a day. With tenacity and patience, and by requesting a proportionate amount of effort to the help that each person received, Casas de la Esperanza has organized in La Prusia a medical assistance service, literacy courses and training workshops…

The ambitions of this NGO are nourished by its achievements. As they take on a second construction project of 80 houses, they are exploring other challenges like a micro-credit program for small businesses. They’ll take on as many challenges as their donations and the selfless dedication of their volunteers allow.

More info: http://www.casas-de-la-esperanza.org/