Enma Castellanos Rivera
Enma lives by herself in her new Habitat home in Valle de las Flores Habitat Housing Community in Escuintla.
She is one of the 41 families who received a fully subsidized Habitat home through the Fuego Volcano Disaster Response project. The families who have benefited from the project are from the communities of San Miguel los Lotes, Los Barrios and El Rodeo. The Fuego Volcano eruption affected over 1.7 million Guatemalans, leaving many dead and missing, and thousands seeking refuge in temporary shelters.
Following the tragedy, where she lost her husband, five daughters and two grandsons, she lived with her two remaining daughters who are both married. After a few months, she learned about Habitat’s program through her sister, and after receiving the visit from Habitat Staff she started to build a home for a new start.
When asked about how she feels with her new home, Enma says, ”I feel very happy! I want to thank God and the donors. Receiving a house is a big deal, I did not have a house of my own before.”
She shares that she cannot pick her favorite part of the house because she enjoys everything. Her sister lives just a few houses away, so they spend a lot of time together.
Enma has many memories of the construction process, and the volunteers and donors that helped them; “We all came together to build and help each other. W all carried blocks and materials,” she says.
To all of the donors and volunteers she says, “On behalf of everyone living in this housing community, thank you. Thank you for your support and for sharing your kindness with us.”
