16 voices
Raúl José Buitrago, Colombia
Colombia, Raúl José Buitrago
Partners serving those who need it most
“No one should be left unserved” is the emblematic phrase and enduring legacy of Father Rafael García Herreros, founder of The Minute of God Organization Corporation (Corporación Organizacion El Minuto de Dios, in Spanish), one of our partners in Colombia. For more than seventy years, every day at 7:00 p.m., just before the evening news, The Minute of God has been broadcast. This inspirational program gave rise to The Minute of God Organization Corporation, a Colombian humanitarian organization. Our interviewee, Raúl José Buitrago, serves as the organization’s General Manager.
A Pro Bono Project That Opened Doors
Raúl welcomes us at the library of The Minute of God University. In fact, it was a pro bono project to create a guarantee fund for students applying for educational loans that first brought him to the organization. Following this contribution, he was selected as the Corporation’s General Manager, a position he has held for the past year and eight months.
“I am the first economist to lead the organization at a particularly critical moment, one that requires our full attention to strengthen and maximize the impact of our projects, ensure their sustainability, and guarantee that our social services continue and grow in the years ahead. And the work we do with Habitat for Humanity on housing improvements is one of the organization’s key initiatives, one that must be scaled up.”
Raúl welcomed us at The Minute of God University, one of the Corporation’s flagship projects. The institution provides education to more than 110,000 people across Colombia.
Habitat for Humanity and The Minute of God Organization Corporation
Raúl’s early days at The Minute of God Organization Corporation were closely linked to Habitat for Humanity. Just two days after taking on the role of General Manager, he traveled with representatives from our organization to La Mojana, a region that had recently been affected by severe flooding. Together with two other partner organizations, we took on the challenge of carrying out housing improvement projects in the area.
The partnership, however, had begun years earlier through joint efforts to support the reconstruction of Haiti following the 2010 earthquake and the organization of our first Regional Housing Forum. In 2022, when The Minute of God Organization Corporation set a goal of carrying out 100,000 housing improvements across the country, an opportunity emerged to build on Habitat for Humanity’s 100,000 Floors to Play On campaign. The Minute of God Organization Corporation improves bathrooms, kitchens, and floors, with flooring being the component addressed through the partnership.
“To achieve the goal of 100,000 housing improvements over the next ten years, we need to build partnerships. We cannot do it alone. That is where Habitat for Humanity comes in, strengthening this program with new ideas, methodologies and, of course, financial support that allows us to leverage matching resources with municipalities across the country.”
In 2022, Habitat for Humanity and The Minute of God Organization Corporation signed an agreement to collaborate on flooring improvements. Raúl was first introduced to Habitat through this project, when representatives from both organizations traveled to La Mojana, Colombia.
We have completed nearly 900 home improvement projects together in regions such as:
La Mojana
La Guajira
Olaya Herrera, Cartagena
Comuna 13, Medellin
Ciudad Bolivar, Bogota
Usme, Bogota
Pibu, Santandera
Impact Through Stories
Beyond the impact reflected in numbers, Raúl has witnessed firsthand the needs of the people we serve. In La Mojana, he met an older woman who made a living raising pigs. Because of the conditions in which she lived, she was forced to keep the animal inside her home. When the team arrived to carry out the intervention, the woman’s main concern was not losing her pig, as it was her source of income. As a result, adjustments were made so that both she and the animal could remain in a safe space while the home improvement work was underway. Once the project was completed, the house had a concrete floor, and an outdoor area for keeping animals had been set up.
Raúl also shared how, in Comuna 13, construction materials had to be transported through extraordinary effort:
“There, together with the Medellín Mayor’s Office, Habitat for Humanity, and The Minute of God Corporation, we carried out a wonderful project because we were working in a part of the community that vehicles could not even access. We had to carry the materials needed to replace the floors on the backs of men, if you will allow the expression, and it was truly rewarding work. We were congratulated, and the community was very satisfied.”
The Relevance of Partnerships
Raúl emphasizes the importance of partnerships as a vehicle for successfully transforming people’s living conditions. He compares the multiplying impact of The Minute of God Organization Corporation to the miracle of the loaves and fishes, noting that throughout its more than seventy years of history, the organization has been able to work alongside partners such as ours. It is precisely this ability to bring different actors together that connects our organizations and enables us to support communities.
“Habitat for Humanity is an organization that, in my opinion, has a very specific focus on improving conditions related to the qualitative housing deficit throughout Latin America. It is an organization with highly developed capabilities for building partnerships with local stakeholders, enabling it to channel both international cooperation resources and local resources toward this goal of improving housing conditions and addressing qualitative housing deficits.”
Raúl also highlights the support provided by the business sector in his country:
“What I have seen here is that business leaders are genuinely committed to addressing social challenges, not only by creating jobs and generating wealth and prosperity, which is their day-to-day responsibility, but also by sharing part of the wealth they have created with others through organizations such as The Minute of God.”
I believe the generosity of Colombia’s business sector, particularly in my country, is immense and largely unrecognized,” Raúl told us.
United for the Cause of Decent Housing
When we asked Raúl what home means, he referred us to its etymological connection to the fire. It is that warm space where people celebrate joys, share what happened during the day and also let go of sadness. That is precisely what we build together.
“There is a very powerful phrase in that book [Pueblito Blanco] that says that a father or mother [...] who has a home can sleep more peacefully. I believe that phrase is very revealing of what The Minute of God’s housing work and these improvements are all about. It is not enough to have a roof. What is fundamental is that the roof creates a sense of security and protection.”
When there is a stronger sense of rootedness, there is greater confidence in the possibility of overcoming challenges and of shaping the conditions of one’s family through one’s own merits,” Raúl says.
Raúl is one of the 16 voices representing us on Habitat for Humanity’s 50th anniversary. His testimony shows us that through coordination and joint work, we can have a greater impact. Across Latin America and the Caribbean, our organization works with partners such as The Minute of God Organization Corporation to impact lives. If you or your company would like to be part of this multiplying effect, contact us.
“Decent housing builds confidence and increases self-esteem. It creates a psychological effect within the family, fosters family unity, a sense of belonging, a spirit of cooperation and, above all, the conviction that a better tomorrow is possible. So, I believe that with these attributes, creating better conditions and dignified living conditions allows people to believe in their own ability to overcome the conditions of poverty they are facing.”
