Developing Our World

You, your church, your school or organization can engage in holistic community development. How? You can book a trip and spend seven to 10 days working in communities all over the world, building relationships, researching the community, building capacity, and providing individual or communal projects that enhance the life of the local people.

Since Developing Our World works with a holistic approach and we believe in ongoing relationships, every single trip is planned carefully according to the values of the community and the values of the organization, avoiding any kind of projects that encourage dependency.

First Year - This year the emphasis is community engagement and "ice breaking.” Through researching (asking questions) and building relationships, your team will get to know people within the community. During this trip the foundation for future trips is laid.

1) Meeting with leaders

2) Meeting with teachers

3) Meeting with nurses, doctors, etc.

4) Meeting with church leaders

5) Home visits

6) Community Party

7) Worship with them

Second Year - This year, the emphasis will be based on the vertical relationships, which is on God.

1) Worship with them

2) Teaching

3) Training

4) Visits

The Third Year - This year, the emphasis will be based on the vertical relationships, which is on God.

1) Worship with them

2) Teaching

3) Training

4) Visits

The Fourth Year - This year, the emphasis will be based on the horizontal relationships, which is in my neighbor and myself and the rest of the community.

1) Worship with them

2) Teaching

3) Training

4) Visits

5) Building

The Fifth Year - This year, the emphasis will be based on the horizontal relationships, which is on the rest of the community.

1) Worship with them

2) Teaching

3) Training

4) Visits

5) Building

Note: this will give you a picture of how our trips would look like. The number of years could be more or less. It depends on the commitment of the church / organization. Therefore, Developing Our World understands that there are several factors that will contribute to this decision in order to determine how long the work will last.

There are two Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - BJJ instructors that are teaching BJJ in Managua, Nicaragua and Guatemala City, Guatemala respectively. They are seeking help in purchasing mats for their academies. Both have around 20 students and currently cannot expand more because they don't have enough mats. They need 12 mats of 2m x 1m x 40mm (78.75″ x 39.375″ x 1.5″).

We need to find 24 people or more who are interested to support a fellow jiu-jitsu brother who is struggling to open a BJJ academy and make a living of it. Providing this mats to them, it will build their capacity and provide them a job.



Team Bixão BJJ ✰ MMA

Professor: Rodrigo “Bixão" Santos

Rank: Black Belt, Second Degree.

Lugar: Managua, Nicaragua



Paragon BJJ Guatemala

Instructors: Roberto “Crippler” Cáceres & Jorge Flores

Rank: Purple Belts

Lugar: Guatemala City, Guatemala

Developing Our World is concerned about the basic needs of people. Food, shelter and access to work are things that everybody needs. We have a housing program that provides homes to families of lower income.

The model of the house is simple. It will be a cinder block house, measuring 36 square meters with two bedrooms, one room destined for living room, dining room and kitchen, and one room destined for the bathroom that includes a shower. Generally, these houses have one main door, one back door, and three windows (one window in each bedrooms and one in the bathroom). All of the materials, according to each country, are standardized. For example: doors, windows, floor, roof with its structure, and utensils for the bathroom, etc. will be the same. The only variation is the position of the bathroom (according to the desire of the family) and the doors (according of the landscape of the lot).

The next generation is the future of our society and it passes through education. In Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi there is community that could have better schools for kids. You can contribute for a single classroom or to an entire school building. A single class room built in a remote village costs $11,000.00 and the entire school with four classrooms, two bathrooms, and a kitchen, costs $61,000.00. The entire school project is meant to be built in phases, 3 to 5 years of work.

Note: this project is meant to be built with the help of the community

Pastor Carlos Mario Marin who is a church planter in Medellin, Colombia, is seeking support to complement what he has raised. He has 10 families gathering together around the word and sacrament on a weekly basis. He hopes to purchase property, construct a church building with a parsonage. The approximate cost to achieve this goal is to raise $50,000.

Pastor Carlos Amador is plating a church in Villa Nueva, Chinandega, Nicaragua. He needs $8,000.00 to buy a property and build a church. He has around 30 people gathering together every week.

Pastor Rufino Quintero Lainez is planting a church in Jinotepe, Rivas, Nicaragua. He is seeking support to build a church. His congregation has around 15 families worshiping on a weekly basis. A church building will provide security and credibility in the community. The cost of the project is around $30,000.

Brother Frank Vásquez is looking for property in La Unión, Guatemala, to purchase and plant a church. With $15,000 it's possible to buy property with a house in the area of La Union.

Note: Developing Our World does not support dependency! All of these projects are joint efforts with a local congregation / mission in order to build their capacity. Their participation in the process is essential for their development and growth.

We are providing two workshops to two different communities in Guatemala to train rural leaders about how to serve and lead their community. At these workshops we will teach the following themes:

1. Identifying leadership skills

2. Civic entrepreneurs as leaders

3. Collaborative leadership

4. Finding new and emerging leaders

If you are interested in this project, please, click here to make a donation. Otherwise, contact us for more information.

If you are interested in making a difference in a kid's life, we are seeking 20 people to provide monetary scholarships for 20 kids, with a three year commitment in Malawi and Guatemala. These kids are at the equivalent of our High School level, living in extreme poor conditions. The cost estimated per student is $660.00 per year.

To build the capacity of a person or providing them a job is essential for Holistic Community Development. Each small loan costs $600 and includes operational, administrative, and disbursed costs.

These loans are disbursed by local cooperatives among the national church and village cooperatives that set the accountable process of refunding. The cooperatives decide how much and for how long each individual who received the funds should pay back. These same loans will generate more loans to other people in need.

There are several Pastors in Nicaragua that are seeking loans as well as several leaders in Guatemala.