Agros Blog

Distress and struggle are circumstances we all face during our lifetime. For some of us this looks like illness, life transition, or the loss of a loved one. For many others, these struggles are related to the uncertainty of having food on the table, a place to work, the loss of home, or the daily impossibility of living with simple dignity because its been stripped away.

Whatever the degree of our struggle, we all can relate to the relief that comes with tangible opportunity to overcome desperation. This is the story of José Ángel and his journey to fulfill his dream.

“We used to live in a community called Pancasan, on a little plot of land that belonged to my mother. However, four siblings plus our wives and children shared this place, so I decided to look for a piece of land where I could settle my family. When I began my search it was hard to find a loan to buy a plot of land. That is how I ran into people who told me about Agros. I thought it was a great opportunity and Agros staff visited me and invited me to a meeting where they explained their development model to us. I thought it was a good process so I signed up for the project. Nine months later, with the support of service teams who visited us from the US, we began building a well for drinking water. It was a beautiful and unforgettable experience.

After the well was finished, we began building our homes. Although a difficult endeavor, it was an extraordinary experience, and we continued persevering, motivated by the hope of finally having a beautiful and decent home!

We moved to our homes in June of 2001, and until this day I cannot fathom that I have a house when I see it. It seems that it is not mine, because even when I always dreamed of a well-built and beautiful house I could not imagine the possibility of owning it because I come from a very difficult economic situation. I am grateful to God -who used Agros - to make the dream of my life come true.

My life has changed, my mindset has been transformed — my situation has been improved. I’m grateful and very hopeful. Thanks be to God, and thanks to Agros!

My name is José Ángel and Modesta is my wife. We have four children and we have a great vision for the future of our community.”