How we got started: GCD's History
Executive Director, Kathy Powell Larson is the co-founder and driving force behind GCD.
GCD's story is her story:
In 2007, a leadership course called for a community project; my church proposed I take on building a bridge needed for children to pass safely from their homes to church and school in a small community in rural Honduras. Not knowing how, I said, “Yes.” My commitment to that first bridge opened up requests for more.
The opportunities rapidly expanded, including a request by the Honduran Minister of Social Investment to partner with him in eradicating poverty in Honduras. Not knowing how I would fulfill on that promise, I said, "Yes."
In October of 2008, Tropical Storm 16 devastated Honduras. Overnight GCD lost its major funder—this was a pivotal point. In our search for new sources we discovered a gap in funding infrastructure between $40k and $1M in developing countries worldwide. The money exists for these types of projects, but requires using the same processes as for much larger projects. Such methods waste money, time, resources and do not address corruption. I am not willing to do this. I am driven to create a new model for building infrastructure. The absence of basic infrastructure is at the root of poverty. By creating a model to address the gap, we can empower people.
-Kathy Powell Larson