The Gift of Giving

Happy Holidays from MicroAid.

We all know, “it is better to give than to receive…” So I want to show you some of the "gifts” you have given to families around the world—what your donations represent. (All photos are from last year's project in Juchitan, Oaxaca, Mexico—but prices are similar around the world): $100 buys a load of gravel or sand. We use it to make concrete for floors and mortar for brick walls.

$250 pays for a wall of bricks. It takes about 6,000 bricks to build a typical house.

$500 buys 50 bags of cement. We use about 300 bags of cement per house to make concrete.

$750 pays for one section of roof tiles… and the guy setting them in place.

$1,000 pays for a water system and bathroom fixtures. Most of the families we help have not had a flushable toilet.

$1,500 pays for doors and windows. In the developing world, doors and windows are made to fit the opening, not the other way around.

$2,500 buys the wood for the roof structure. Wood is always one of the most expensive parts of a project, but the most beautiful.

$3,000 pays for steel reinforcement. We use a lot of “re-bar” when we are "re-building" in an earthquake zone.

$5,000 to $10,000 pays for the labor on a project. Local manpower is the most expensive part of building a house. Of course, we are happy to compensate people for their hard work.

So those are some of the gifts you have given to deserving families as we rebuild their homes after a disaster. Thank you! And you can see, every dollar has an impact. You can donate again here: https://www.microaidinternational.org/copy-of-donate-1 Wishing us all a happy holiday and wonderful 2023. Sincerely, Jon Ross