Tigre Lopez’s Path to a New Home

The first time the team at IMN heard about Mario Lopez, known as “Tigre,” was in 2021. Hope to Walk, a ministry partner of IMN, introduced Tigre to them. Hope to Walk had been a part of Tigre’s life since he was a young boy, providing prosthetics after he lost his arm and leg in a high-voltage power cable accident in 2000. In 2002, Hope to Walk fitted him with a prosthetic arm and leg, which made Tigre feel whole again.

Nineteen years later, Tigre is a grown man, married with two children, and living with his mother in a one-room adobe house without electricity or indoor plumbing. Despite the challenges, Tigre became an advocate for disabled people, helping them find work through his job at the municipality. However, when COVID-19 struck, Tigre lost his job.

Undeterred by unemployment, Tigre’s humility and passion for helping others drove him forward. He searched for work opportunities and even hopped around Lake Atitlan on one leg to raise awareness and funds for disabled individuals. With the money raised, he provided food provisions to those in need during the pandemic. Today, Tigre has joined the Hope to Walk team, learning to craft prosthetic parts and continuing his mission of giving back.

While Tigre tirelessly raised funds for others, he also faced personal struggles. His family lived in a deteriorating adobe home with dirt floors and a separate outdoor bathroom. Despite their hardships, they owned the land in Sololá district, town of Panajachel.

Through the collaborative efforts of BUYONE BUILDONE, IMN, and Hope to Walk, a new home was built for Tigre and his family. The new home features three rooms—a family room with a kitchen, two bedrooms, a covered patio, and a bathroom—with electricity and plumbing.

Tigre and his family expressed immense gratitude, stating, “It is a great blessing to have a home that can protect us from the weather. This makes us so happy. I thank God because He put people with a great heart in our way.”