The purpose of this website

This website has been set up to raise money for the purchase of a brand new 4x4 pick-up to donate to the 'from houses to homes' project.

My name is Bill Farrow

For the last 15 years I led a very successful management consultancy and development business based in the UK working in the public and private sector in the UK, Central Europe and the Middle East.

The upside of this phase in my life was that it was the most professionally fulfilling time of my life characterised by risk, competition, and autonomy.

I was blessed with the leadership of a really able team of people; I really thought they were the best of times.

There were other dimensions to this time of my life too, working long hours for example, for about 10 years it was very difficult for me to remember not working for at least part of the weekend, 60 even 100 hour weeks were possible, I think the scariest thing about this was that I was actually used to it.

I became the consummate dealmaker, a trader, very driven and drawn to the thrill of the chase in business, an addict to work which I loved, successful in business terms by almost any measure, the successes however were not without their personal cost.

In September 2007 I sold the business that I started some 15 years ago on the kitchen table and started a new (unplanned) phase in my life, to help me do this I volunteered to work with a charitable project in Central America called From Houses to Homes and spent a month working as a builder's labourer constructing houses for the poor.

What follows here is a little of the story of how this transforming experience helped me make changes in my life and enable me to rediscover important things like perspective, work life balance, and how to take care of myself and others a little better.

In so doing I left a little piece of my heart in Guatemala.

Bill

About the 'from houses to homes' project

From Houses to Homes is a New Jersey-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in September 2004 to build homes and improve the lives of the rural poor in Guatemala.

FHTH is currently funded through private donations, corporate giving, and contributions from private foundations. Nearly 100% of all donations go toward building homes and providing health and education to revitalize disadvantaged communities in Guatemala.

Vital statistics of the project

• 65 new homes built providing housing for 422 people.
• 8 homes repaired providing housing for 36 people.
• Built 2 bathrooms and repaired 1 classroom for a school in Santa Maria de Jesus.
• Registration and school supplies paid for 54 children in 2006 and 18 children in 2005.
• Registration and school supplies paid for 267 children for the 2007 school year. Total of 339 children educated.
• 21 bunk beds with mattresses, sheets, pillows and blankets provided plus 7 other beds with mattresses, sheets, blankets and pillows.
• Over 1000 pounds of new and used clothing and shoes distributed.