Doña Esteban is a homemaker and lives in the village of El Rejon Sumpango. Her husband, Macario is a farmer and together they have two sons, Flavio and Anibal. After living in their current home for 33 years, Doña Esteban received her first smokeless stove, thanks to those who came to build, just 8 months ago.

Before her current stove, Doña Esteban cooked on an adobe stove that she used inside her house. The new stove has changed her life because it removes smoke from the house and economizes their wood use. With the stove, she says, her frijoles turn out very beautiful, The stove heats food evenly and cooks the food more quickly.

She learned about the project through Doña Margarita, a community leader within El Rejon Sumpango, and let Doña Esteban her know she had seen the stove that others in her community now had and saw benefit in having a smokeless stove for her own family. “Thanks to her, she connected us to Habitat and in just a few months, the volunteers came to help us build a stove.” “Thank you to everyone who came to give us such a gift, our family life is better now because you came.”

Doña Roselia is proud of the newly constructed home Habitat built for her. She and her husband are guardians to their grandchildren, Manuel (21), Sonia (15) and Jose Manuel (14). Two years ago, the family traveled one hour each way to their current city of Parramos where their grandchildren went go to school.

The family rented and lived in a house much closer to the town for the following year before deciding to build their own house. Their reasons were security and safety. They had lived in an unsafe part of Guatemala’s capital city and decided to move to Parramos. Once they were there, Doña Roselia and her husband wanted to leave their grandchildren with a secure place to live should anything happen to either of them as they age. “And thanks to God, we have a good roof over our heads. What we have now, is our own.” “Here I own my land – thanks to Habitat for opening the doors for our home because here I don’t have to leave, I don’t have to rent. I have my own home.”

When asked about the volunteers Doña Roselia shares, “it was such a happy moment that they came to help us.” “They gave us a very good experience. I care about them and they care about us. They were very hardworking and were very loving—very good people, all of them” Roselia shares.

Roselia also sends her heartfelt thanks, “I send my blessings that if you want to come, the doors to our home are open to you.”

Maria Ruthilia along with her husband Marvin Danilo and their three children, Marvin (14), Vivian (10) and Axel (2) live in a small community in Chimaltenango. Before partnering with Habitat Guatemala to receive a smokeless stove, Maria used to cook over an open flame “pollo”. The smoke affected her and “whenever it rained, the fire was hard to maintain, especially when there was wind.” “Now it doesn’t matter if it rains, the fire is in one place and it’s protected.” “We also use very little wood now.”

Her favorite thing to cook with the new stove is frijoles, “because it’s what we eat the most,” she says, “I can make 3 or 4 things at once and still have room to make my coffee or atol (a hot traditional drink).”

To the volunteers that helped to construct her stove, Maria Ruthilia sends this message, “honestly I will never forget them because I am so grateful. They came to build and I feel like I have won something. Thanks to God we are doing well now.”

Maino Gálvez, his wife Sandra and daughters Dulce (24) y Sabrina (26) live in El Tejar, Chimaltenango. Sandra is a homemaker and Maino is a mechanic. Their eldest daughter, Dulce recently started a ministry “Changing the Generations” along with her husband. Their second daughter, Sabrina is a worship leader at the church. She writes, sings and plays both the piano and guitar.

Before living in their current house, they lived about one mile away. “We wanted more space for our family,” Sandra says. In their old house there wasn’t enough room for the family and with two adult children, they knew their daughters also needed space. “This house is a great joy and great blessing. We prayed a lot for a house and thanks to God now we have it.”

They’re especially grateful to the volunteers who came to build the house and they remember the group very well!

It’s the outside space of their house that has become a favorite for Maino and Sandra and they are especially grateful for the space they now have for a garden. Plants and flowers fill the front entrance to the home, and they hope to add more in the future. To the group who came to help them build they send thanks and gratitude for the change in their lives to now have their own home.