Juan XXIII

The Options Team travelled to Managua, Nicaragua to visit a group that is interested in our work. Options was invited to Nicaragua by a member of Juan XXIII; today we go into depth about Juan XXIII and how they are similar to Options for Homes…

Pope John XXIII

Juan (John) XXIII was an adimirable Pope that served from 1958 till 1963 when he passed away from cancer. He was an advocate of social justice, human rights and world peace. These beliefs lead to him obtaining the name “Good Pope John” followed by many schools and institutions in his name.

Juan XXIII is a charitable social entreprise that was founded in 1972, after the massive earthquake of 1972 that destroyed the majority of Managua. They started out building homes for the survivors of the earthquake as there were thousands of people without homes. In that year alone they built 1500 units for the population of Managua. Though Juan the XXIII began in order to help the victims of the earthquake, they have continued to this day helping the very low income residents of Nicaragua. It was in the 1990’s that Juan XXIII began to work on a community organization model. As a result of focusing on community organizing, they began to set up pharmacies across the country to not only provide pharmaceuticals but also to provide education to the public on effective use. It was at this point the organization started building homes for the middle class as well. As Juan XXIII branched out to building middle class homes, they became interested in the Options model as they believed that it would result in increased production of middle class homes.

Options for Homes and Juan XXIII share a similar vision for the future: we’re both interested in providing homeownership to strengthen society as a whole.

Other blogs in this series; Options for Homes in Nicaragua!, Nicaraguan Homes,Nicaragua’s Landscape Photos, Day 4: The Options Team encounters obstacles