Wendy (28) lives with her husband, Manuel (28), and their two children, Adbiel (4), Eliu (3), in the community of Santa Lucía Utatlán, in Sololá. Both of them dedicate to clothing industry, Manuel as a tailor, and Ofelia waves traditional clothes.

As part of Habitat Guatemala’s smokeless stove program, families receive a stove, to help them improve their health by giving them a smoke free environment. She found out about this program through a local Habitat committee member and decided to work together with other women, to build their adobes and have everything ready for when the volunteers came to build.

Wendy  feels satisfied with her new stove;“Receiving this stove has been of great help for our family because we save wood and money. The stove stays warm and allow us to cook everything at the same time.  We no longer have to buy wood so often,” she continues, “I like to prepare my tortillas, beans and boil water on it.”

She refers to her time with the volunteers; “It was a beautiful day! we all worked together, they finished fast and we shared lunch together,” she continues, “Thank you all for your support in building my stove. May God bless you, fell welcome when you want to come visit.”

 

Ingrid (23), her husband, Marlon (25), and baby Abby (2), are living in their new Habitat home in Rabinal, Baja Verapaz.  Marlon works in an advertising agency, while Ingrid stays home and takes care of Abby and the house chores.

Before partnering with Habitat Guatemala, the small family used to live at Marlon’s parents house, sharing it with 12 more relatives, “When Marlon’s parents gave him a piece of land, the first thing that Marlon wanted to do, was to build our own house! We needed space for us and and for Abby too,” mentions Ingrid.  They learned about Habitat Guatemala through a friend, and after making some research, they decided to start the process.”

When asked how she feels with her new home, Ingrid smiles and responds, ”We feel very happy! We are grateful to God and Habitat for giving us the opportunity to build our house and make this dream a reality! It is a big blessing for us to have it, we are paying it little by little but we already have it, and we are happy for it!” She continues, “in the future we are planing to add a second storey, and add a porch too.”

What Ingrid enjoys the most about being at her home is to cook, she enjoys cooking and trying new recipes at her kitchen.  “Abby enjoys to play in the garden, we live next to our in-laws so she plays with her cousins too.”

About their time spent with the volunteers, Evelyn recalls, “It was a wonderful experience to share with all of the volunteers. They were of great help for us! they worked hard next to the masons, and we still remember them, the piñata was fun too!”

She finishes by sharing a message to the volunteers, “Thank you for coming to share with us, and helping us building our home! May God bless you all. Receive our greetings from my husband, Abby and I. Thank you!”

 

Migdalia (36), is living with her three children, Oscar (18), Karla (16), and Génesis (7), in their new Habitat home in Cubulco, Baja Verapaz. Before partnering with Habitat Guatemala, the family lived in a different department.

A few years ago, the family suffered a big car accident, and because of their injures they had to moved to Cubulco with Migdalia’s parents and they had to share a single room among the four. “After the accident we moved in with my mom and lived with her for a year. I did not have a house here, and remembered that my mom, aunts and other relatives built their house with Habitat.  That is why I decided to partner with Habitat and build our own house,” says Migdalia.  Their prime motivation to build a new home was for the family to start a new life after their accident, in a space of their own.

When asked how they feel about their new home, Migdalia smiles, and responds, ”I feel truly blessed. We now have a roof over our heads to live, we are still paying for it, but it is ours already! It is different to have our own space, everyone has their own space to do what they want.  What Migdalia enjoys the most of being at their home is being able to rest and spend time in their front yard enjoying nature, and taking care of their plants and flowers.

Regarding the week of construction spent with the volunteers, she answers, “It was a fun week!  We enjoyed our time together. Actually, my parents cried when they had to leave. They worked really hard the entire day digging trenches.”

The family finishes by sharing a message to the volunteers: “Thank you all for your support in building our home, receive our warmest greetings! We still remember about you all, and we always will.”

 

Isabel and his wife Fidela, are the proud owners of a Habitat home in Santa Elena, Petén. Isabel works as a tour guide, while Fidela is in charge of the house chores.

Before partnering with Habitat Guatemala, Isabel and Fidela used to live in rented houses for around 17 years, since they moved from the community they are both from (Cahoba) because of work . “We have been renting for several years, we moved here because of work, but after many years we decided to invest in a house of our own and quit paying rent, ” Isabel explains.

They learned about Habitat programs through one of Construred’s associates, who explained the process to them. After doing some research, they decided it was time to invest in their own house. “After many years of renting, we decided to start the process and to have our own house,” Isabel mentions.

When asked how they feel with their new home, Isabel answers, “We feel very content to know that now we are paying for our own house, no more rent! We are paying for something that belongs to us, it gives us hope,” Fidela adds, “I feel good and in calm in here.”

“We are grateful to Habitat, because they gave us the opportunity to build our house, we took advantage of it, and now it is a reality,” Isabel mentions.

In the future they are planning to add tiles to the floor and paint the house. Both Isabel and Fidela enjoy to rest in the hammocks in the hallway during the afternoon.

About their time spent with the volunteers they recall, “ It was very hard for them because they had to dig trenches and the ground here is very sticky and hard to work with, but they still managed to keep on working, it was a fun week with all of them.”

“Thank you all for giving your time and effort to support us. Please, feel welcome to visit us whenever you want to come back” – Isabel and Fidela.