How it Started
Jairo and Bob
Our Founder
“God has blessed me greatly and now my goal is to use what I have to bless others.”
Bob Spence spent over 22 years as a lawyer and served 18 years as a judge in Kane County, Illinois. Today, he is associated with a local law firm and lives in Batavia, Illinois with Janet, his wife of 40 years.
His faith has provided a compass to guide his life, leading him to lead over 20 mission trips to Central America.
Out of a passion to see people decide to follow Jesus, and to meet their physical needs, he founded Business to Barrio to equip business leaders to partner with and sponsor barrios in need.
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.”
Proverbs 31:8
Why Nicaragua?
The need.
From leading over 25 mission trips to Nicaragua since 2011, Bob has gained an insight into the overwhelming poverty that exists in rural Nicaraguan barrios. Nicaragua has the highest poverty rate of any Latin American country.
In many rural barrios, people walk two miles every day to get fresh water. Many houses are constructed of only black garbage bags.
Typically, 1 in 4 teenage girls will have their first baby by age 16. The unemployment rate in Nicaragua, historically over 50%, has increased due to the COVID pandemic to over 80% in the poorest rural communities.
Our Nicaragua Partner
The solution.
Bob has developed a close working relationship with Chosen Children Ministries, who have been working in Nicaragua for 25 years. Chosen Children (CCM) is a faith-based, non-denominational ministry. CCM focuses on the transformation of lives, which leads to the transformation of communities.
They are our hands and feet on the ground: they build churches, drill wells, mentor young leaders, and provide grants so entrepreneurs can start their own businesses. Their strategy has successfully created hope in barrios all over Nicaragua.
Chosen Children ministers holistically to the needs of the barrios. In 2020 alone, even in the midst of a pandemic, five fresh water wells were drilled, among many other fulfilled needs. In 2021 and 2022, another five wells were drilled, providing hope for hundreds of people.
Want to be even more involved?
Sign up for one of our Vision Trips and spend a long weekend with Business to Barrio in Nicaragua. You will meet small business owners, witness first-hand a well being drilled, eat local Nicaraguan food, and personally see the communities that are being transformed due to the generosity of others. We stay at the Chosen Children Ministries camp, eat food prepared by their cooks (delicious) and sleep in air-conditioned dorm rooms (a welcome respite from the heat).