A Global Crisis

In the time it will take you to read this newsletter, over 1,000 poor and desperate family members will become new inhabitants of the world's urban slums. Their "home" will be pieced together with scraps of wood, plastic, corrugated metal, and even street signs. Congealed mud will carpet the floor of their two-room, 11' by 15' shack.

When it rains, water flows through these shacks, and when an antiquated paraffin stove tips over and catches on fire, it will take out hundreds of neighboring shacks, leaving a path of destruction and often death.

Hard to imagine living like this? Yet, over 1 billion people on the planet live in wretched urban slums. And if nothing is done, by the year 2030, one-third of the world's population will be living in such conditions.

Our Mission

The mission of HopeBuilders Global's Tapestry Homes Initiative is to "share Christ's love by providing the most basic of human needs. . . a place to call home". It's more than providing a home; it's delivering God's love and the Gospel message to these impoverished families. By providing a real home and a sense of belonging, our purpose is to elevate the human spirit and promote stronger, more self-sufficient communities.

Exploring In-Country Manufacturing

With a long range vision to establish a local manufacturing plant in Kayamandi, South Africa (a township of 30,000 people living in 1 square mile outside of Cape Town) and other third-world regions, Tapestry Homes' Design and Engineering Team took a trip in January to the manufacturing plant of Arial Homes in Ensenada, Mexico. Arial Homes manufactures permanent, replacement housing for poor families living in Ensenada using panelized walls made with a polyurethane core and metal skin exterior, similar to our Tapestry Home.

Our team came away from the trip encouraged that it has the skill-set and experience to not only develop our own prototype manufacturing model for future deployment to Kayamandi and elsewhere, but to produce a "green" panel using a soy-based polyurethane core. Projected capital costs of $500,000 would be required to launch such an endeavor which has the benefits of:

Partnering With Local Manufacturers

As an interim step to developing a local manufacturing plant, we are pursuing partnerships with one or more South African-based manufacturers to produce and deliver Tapestry Homes ready for assembly in Kayamandi. We have identified five such manufacturers that produce similar panels primarily used for the construction of cold storage facilities.

July Mission Trip

We have hired a local, South African team member to manage the bid and selection process with the goal of building three Tapestry Homes in Kayamandi in July as part of the THREADS Africa missions trip. THREADS is our ministry partner in South Africa who has been ministering to the people of Kayamandi since 2003. To learn more about the July trip or future mission trips to South Africa, visit THREADS' website at: www.threadsafrica.org or contact Dave Coen at [email protected]).

Prayer Team Forms

In February, HopeBuilders Global formed a Prayer Team of dedicated and "spirited" individuals to pray for the ministry and the Tapestry Homes Initiative on an ongoing basis. Under the leadership of Kristen Price, the Prayer Team meets on the first Saturday of the month in Costa Mesa. If you have an interest in joining the team, please contact Kristen Price at: 562-438-6873, or [email protected]. Of course, prayers are always welcomed and deeply appreciated whether or not you are a part of the Prayer Team. "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them" Matthew 18:20

Stay Tuned for Major Housing Initiative

Once our relationship has been formalized with a local South African manufacturer, we will launch our first Tapestry Homes Housing Initiative to build a minimum of 25 homes in Kayamandi. Stay tuned to learn of the multiple ways you can become a part of this initiative and make an "eternal" difference in the lives of the less fortunate.