Paid in full: El Salvador families

Paid in full, theirs forever: El Salvador families demonstrate power of partnership housing

For two families in El Salvador, years of hard work and faithful mortgage payments have led to a milestone worth celebrating: Their homes are now paid in full, and they own them outright.

But the accomplishments of Douglas Francisco Peralta and Ana Odenia Gonzales Anaya represent something even greater. They demonstrate exactly how The Fuller Center for Housing’s model of partnership housing is designed to work — empowering families to become homeowners while helping others achieve the same dream.

Through The Fuller Center’s zero-percent-interest mortgages, homeowner partners make affordable monthly payments that are recycled into a fund to help build more homes. Rather than simply receiving a house, families become active participants in a cycle of giving that strengthens entire communities.

And that principle applies whether The Fuller Center is building in the United States, El Salvador or anywhere else in the world.

Douglas, 43, moved into his home five years ago in La Bretaña, a 96-home community in San Martín. On October 14, he received the legal document confirming that he had completed his mortgage payments in less than half the originally scheduled time.

His accomplishment is particularly meaningful because a zero-percent-interest mortgage provides no financial incentive to pay ahead of schedule. Yet Douglas chose to do so, knowing his repayments could help other families obtain decent homes sooner.

“What strikes me most is how Douglas finished his payments not only early but in less than half the time!” said Ryan Iafigliola, The Fuller Center’s vice president of international operations. “Not only does this indicate the flourishing of the family, it shows his care for his neighbors. With a no-interest loan, there may be no financial incentive to pay early, but there’s a more powerful incentive — the moral and spiritual kind — that Douglas’ family embraced to help more families have the same opportunity faster.”

For Ana, 59, the journey to full homeownership began in April 2018 when she moved into her home in the Monseñor Romero community of Nuevo Cuscatlán.

A single mother and grandmother, Ana operates a small lunch business in her community and has worked diligently to provide for her daughter and granddaughter.

Now, after more than eight years of payments, she has received the legal documents confirming that her home belongs to her family outright.

Her achievement represents more than financial security. It provides a lasting foundation for three generations and demonstrates how affordable homeownership can empower families to build brighter futures through their own efforts.

The celebrations were especially meaningful for The Fuller Center’s board chairman, Jeff Cardwell, who was visiting El Salvador with his wife, Cheryl. They joined local housing leaders and attorney Irene Alfaro as the two families received their ownership documents.

“A simple, decent home is foundational for a family’s success, especially for children,” Cardwell said. “There are countless studies that show children who grow up in a decent home are happier, healthier and have better educational outcomes than those who do not.”

Cardwell also emphasized the importance of families earning their homes through their own efforts and recognizing that their repayments make homeownership possible for others.

That philosophy goes to the heart of The Fuller Center’s mission and the vision of its founder, Millard Fuller.

Millard believed that people in need of decent housing deserved more than charity. They deserved an opportunity to become partners in building a better future. Through sweat equity, affordable mortgage payments and a commitment to helping their neighbors, homeowner families could become part of the solution to poverty housing.

The Fuller Center carries that philosophy forward through its covenant partners across the United States and its international building programs. Mortgage repayments help replenish funds for future projects, creating a sustainable approach that allows generosity to multiply.

In El Salvador, that partnership has already helped more than 1,000 families obtain decent homes.

And when homeowners like Douglas and Ana pay off their mortgages ahead of schedule, they do more than achieve financial independence. They accelerate the cycle of giving that makes the next home possible.

Their houses are paid for. Their futures are more secure. And through their commitment, they have helped open the door for other families.

That’s partnership housing at work — one family helping another, one house at a time.

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