FOX 12 traveled with some Portland volunteers to the city dump outside of Managua, Nicaragua, where hundreds of families live, to give the people an incredible gift.

Hundreds of families call the La Chureca, the city dump, home.

VLOG #2: Pete Updates From Managua

The children who live in the final destination for garbage face unthinkable choices: make a living sifting through trash for anything to sell or sell their bodies to the dump truck drivers.

Wilson Smith is just one of dozens of volunteers from Southlake Church in West Linn who recently learned about La Chureca. The group sprang into action to help build an entire village.

“It’s fun doing it with your hands. Often times you give your money and you wonder where it is going to. But now, you have an opportunity to go and live it, do it, be it,” said Smith.

Portland architect Gary Eckelman was initially reluctant to travel to Nicaragua.

“When I got off the plane and we went to La Chureca, we saw a girl named Eliana who I've heard stories about. She's been sexually abused and mistreated, and she's 15,” said Eckelman. “And I saw Eliana and that look of hopelessness on her face , I just knew. God said, ‘This is why you're here. This is why you have to do this project.’”

Eckleman’s design included individual homes and recreational facilities – something unimaginable to the children in the dump.

“We tried to preserve as many trees as possible. They’re mostly mango, avocado and lemon trees.”

Phase one of the village will be complete in January and the first occupants will be the girls most at risk.

The buildings are a remarkable gift for the children of La Chureca, which could change their lives. But the volunteers said they are receiving much more than they’re giving.

Wednesday night on FOX 12’s “The 10 O’Clock News,” FOX 12 will introduce you to a local family who is selling their Pearl District condo and moving to Managua to adopt two Nicaraguan children.