Sherly lives with her husband, Deily, and their three children, Gabriela (8), Genesis (6) and Lia (3), in their new Habitat home in Valle de las Flores Habitat Housing Community in Escuintla. Deily is currently working as a mason, while Sherly is a homemaker and a full time mom.

The Castillo family 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, the family lived in different shelters, with family members and then rented a small metal sheet house for almost seven months along her mother in law. That is when they received the visit from Habitat Staff telling them about the project. After a few months they started to build a new home for themselves.

Nine months have passed since the family moved into their home in Valle de las Flores. When asked about how they feel with their new home, Sherly says; ”I feel happy, thanks to God. We like the weather here, it is nice and cool.”

The family feels that they have already adapted to the housing community. They enjoy going to the nearby field to watch everyone play soccer. Sherly shares that their life has changed for the better. She likes that the house is bigger and more comfortable in comparison to where they lived before.

The family has many memories of the construction process, and the volunteers and donors that helped them. “There were a lot of people that came to help us build, ” says Sherly.

She finishes with a message to all of the donors and volunteers; “We are very grateful to Habitat for including us in this project. Thank you very much for all of the support that you have given us. We are very grateful.”

José lives with his wife Martha and their granddaughter Jimena (17) in their new Habitat home in Valle de las Flores Habitat Housing Community in Escuintla.

The Pereira family 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, El Barrio 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.

José is blind and he used to work with cattle on a farm near San Miguel los Lotes, but after the tragedy happened, he lost his job. Now he is looking for a new job near Valle de las Flores. “Everyone who knows me, knows about my sight limitations, but they also know that I am well prepared in my profession and hopefully I will find a new job soon,” says José.

A few months have passed since the family moved into their new Habitat home. The months following the tragedy they were living in different shelters, and with family members. Marta, in tears, shares her memories of that tragic day; “That day I heard people screaming to go out and run, I remember telling my sister to leave me there because I could not run anymore. If I was going to die, I wanted to die with all of my family. I gathered strength and we jumped in a car that took us out of there, all covered in ashes.” She continues; “The days and months after where even harder. We had to sleep on the floor in shelters, little by little people started bringing us food, blankets and clothes. When it rained, the water entered and flooded everything, it was very very hard.”

After going through all of the difficult times, hope knocked on their door when they were offered a home. “The day we found out that we were going to receive a house, I said to Jose ‘God did not forget about us’. It was a day of joy,” says Marta.

When asked about how they feel living in their new home, they answer; “We feel content! Thanks to God, to the donors and Habitat for helping us obtain this home.”

The weather and privacy is what José, Marta and Jimena, enjoy most about their home. “It is very different to have your own space and privacy. We are happy and comfortable here. We feel calm, at peace,” says Marta.

To the donors and volunteers, José would like to send the following message; “First of all, thanks to God. Habitat for creating this project. Thanks to the donors for making this possible.” Marta adds; “From the bottom of our hearts, thanks to everyone who supported us, may God bless you.”

Dominga Maribel lives in Solola with her husband, Samuel and their three children Milton (14), Jocelyn (10) and Cynthia (2). Her family recently received a Habitat smokeless stove when a group of volunteers built a stove in her home, and another in the home of her mother-in-law, Simona, nearby.

Dominga says “I feel happy, I had one before, but it was very old and deteriorating and let out a lot of smoke that stained the roof and walls; now, we are doing very well with this new stove.” The family supports their livelihood by working in the home and in the fields. “I’m a homemaker, I care for my children, clean and cook for my family. My husband works in the fields and sometimes for a clothes factory. When the owner gives us clothes, we work together here in the home to decorate the clothes or iron them for the factory,” she says.

Dominga has fond memories of the volunteers who came to help the family construct their stove. “They were very kind. Even though not everyone spoke Spanish well, still we got along very well, my daughter remembers them and asks about them.”

To the group of volunteers Dominga says, “I am very grateful to them. They gave their heart in the work. It is a blessing that they came to work together with us. I do not have the words how to thank you but I know that in the heavens, there is One who always helps and protects. I always pray and ask God to help you, to protect you. We are very happy to have this stove and we hope one day we will get to see you all again.”

Juana, Santos, their daughter Maria Estella (8) and Juana’s father, Cristobal live in rural Solola.

The family’s kitchen is a small room opposite the house and living space. Here, the family’s kittens like to congregate and enjoy the warmth radiating from the family’s newly built Habitat stove. Santos shared with us, “it works very well, it heats very well and saves wood. We use two or three pieces now and before we used much more.”

The family of four expressed their sincere gratitude for their stove saying, “Thank you all for the team that came and worked, we are very grateful to you all. We use the stove and remember the time we had working with you.” Santos smiles after saying this and adds, “I send my hellos, we are so grateful to you for coming and for you being here with us.”