Carla Sanchez is about to lose her whole world. Her husband, Mauricio, is going to die. His kidneys are failing. Doctors say there is nothing more that can be done. After suffering for the past 15 months, he is in the last stage of his illness. It is only a matter of time now.

Things have never been easy for Carla and Mauricio. In their hometown of San Cayetano, Nicaragua, they have spent the past 18 years living in the same home — if you can call it a home. The makeshift structure has a dirt floor and is barely assembled with pieces of old wood, plastic, and rotten metal sheets. It isn’t stable, secure, or safe.

Despite living in what is essentially an unstable shack, the couple managed to raise five children, as well as aiding with the care of their grandson. Their eldest daughter is a single mother who, after finishing elementary school, never finished her education. Instead, she works as a housekeeper in San Juan del Sur to help support the family. Their eldest son also never finished his education in order to work, but is currently unemployed. Their youngest children are all currently in school. When you add their grandson to the mix, their frail home is not only dangerous, but it’s overcrowding.

No matter how hard things have gotten, Carla has always had Mauricio by her side. But now she must face a future without him; a future that is scary and painful. “I don’t have any help. He was the arm of our home,” Carla explains. “When he became ill, everything was ruined.”

As Mauricio is no longer able to provide, he is haunted by the idea of leaving Carla and his family alone in their unsafe home. His dying wish is to leave Carla and their family a lasting legacy; a safe place to live.

And now, with the help of our friends from Giveback Homes and Habitat For Humanity, Carla’s life is about to change forever.

Earlier this year, the Concierge Auctions team in Austin participated in our first Habitat for Humanity build with Giveback Homes, and something magical happened. We got to see our giving in action and learn more about the issues of housing that impact the world.

Giveback Homes is a community of real estate professionals who are committed to creating social change by helping build homes for deserving families around the globe. They work together to organize fundraising events, mobilize teams of volunteer homebuilders, and inspire others to take action for social good.

We’ve been involved with Giveback Homes since last year. Our relationship began as sponsors for fundraising events and by spending time with founder Blake Andrews and co-founder Caroline Pinal. We were drawn to their passionate commitment to housing for all, and to their tireless devotion to bringing social good to the forefront in real estate. At fundraising events in Austin, New York, San Francisco, and San Diego, we met more and more real estate agents and real estate companies who shared their vision. Like us, they were willing to give both money and time.

When Giveback Homes told us about Carla’s situation, we knew we had to help.

As a thank you to our friends who made this a historical year for us, this holiday season we are giving thanks and giving back. We are taking our support to the next level. We embarked on a life-changing journey to Nicaragua to help build a new home for Carla.

From the Concierge Auctions team, myself, Frank Kivo, and Nick Leonard, along with many of our friends from Giveback Homes and Habitat For Humanity, all traveled to Carla’s village to help build her a new, safe home as part of the Habitat for Humanity Global Village.

The trip to Nicaragua showed us first-hand why the work Giveback Homes and Habitat For Humanity is doing is so important. When we first pulled up to the site, the living conditions were right there in the open. They were unimaginable, quite frankly. Upon seeing Carla’s haphazardly-assembled home, it was unambiguously clear how urgent and immediate her need for a new house was.

Carla and her family are not alone. The need in Nicaragua is extreme. Habitat for Humanity reports that Nicaragua has one of the highest housing deficits in Central America. More than 900,000 homes are needed due to population growth, persistent overcrowding, and a very weak infrastructure.

Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America, yet it is the second poorest country in the western hemisphere. The average annual income is just $131 per year. The families that Habitat and Giveback Homes help are hard-working people living in dire conditions.

As temperatures here in the States have cooled down for the beginning of winter, the heat in the Nicaraguan summer is blistering hot. All of the volunteers, drenched in sweat, built Carla’s new home after long hours of mixing concrete, moving dirt, loading masonry blocks, and digging trenches.

After two grueling and sweaty days of relentless manual labor in the unforgiving Nicaraguan heat, we finished all four walls of Carla’s new home. Local masons will finish the roofing, putting the final touches on Carla’s new house.

Carla’s new home includes a concrete floor, reinforced masonry, cinder blocks, 26-gauge metal roof, and four metal windows. It is a two-bedroom house with a living area. It may be a modest, rebar-reinforced cement block house of simple construction, but for Carla and her family, it means they will finally have adequate protection and security from the elements.

We’re humbled to take our support to the next level and experience first-hand the issues of housing that impact the world. While we sell elite properties, none compare to the impact of this house in Nicaragua.

Carla is overwhelmed by her new home. “Thank God and you, for you helped me build this house,” she says. “As they say, ‘God never fails.’ I feel so grateful.”

Nothing can take away the pain of losing a loved one. Carla has already endured so much, and soon she will suffer the unimaginable loss of her husband. “We are happy because we are going to have a new house that we’ve never had before,” Carla says. “On the other hand, we are sad because he is sick. We know that, at any moment, he could leave us.”

Before he passes, Mauricio’s only hope was for Carla and their family to have a safe place to live. He is so grateful that, thanks to Giveback Homes and Habitat For Humanity, his dying wish came true. When his day comes, he can rest in peace knowing that Carla, his children, and his grandson will have a safe place to live and heal together. That’s all he ever wanted.

You can help families like Carla’s. Her family is just one of many in serious need of our help. To learn more about how you can get involved and make a difference, visit https://givebackhomes.com/builds.