Wendy and her family live in their new Habitat home in the Luis Samayoa Housing Communtiny, Usumatlán, Zacapa. Wendy lives with her three years old José Pablo and her husband Jorge, who works as a local merchant.

Before partnering with Habitat Guatemala the López family was living in Guatemala City with her in-laws, and traveled during the weekends to her parent’s house, were they shared a small room.

They learned about Habitat Guatemala from different people in their neighborhood, “I used to hear about Habitat and all the work that they were doing building houses and I wished to have one house for our own for a long time, until we finally made it true,” says Wendy.

“I feel very happy, it is our gift to our baby when he grows up.”  says Wendy about how she feels about her home. The family is planning to paint the house, add tiles and an iron gate in the future. They are also planning to have another baby!

Regarding her experience with the volunteers she says, “I was amazed with all the hard work they did. I am very grateful with them, thank you all for your support. I invite you to keep on helping”. She continues, “nowadays it is not easy to have your own house. You being part of this dream come true is a blessing.”

Ana lives with her husband Rigoberto, their son Santiago,  Ana’s sister Evelyn and her niece Génesis in their new Habitat home in the Luis Samayoa Housing Community, in Usumatlán, Zacapa. While her husband works as a mason and her sister works in her own store, Ana takes care of the children and the house.

Before partnering with Habitat Guatemala, Ana and her family lived with her mother in law and then rented for two years.  The need of having their own space to be a family made them decide it was time to gain their independence.  “When you are renting you have to pay and pay but you know that it is not going to be yours. Now, we know that we are paying for something that belongs to us,” says Ana.

Ana explains how they feel because of their new house: “I feel happy, calm and safe”, she continues; “our kids like to play around the house we also go out in the front street to play. “There is no place like home!”

When asked about the construction and celebration with the Global Village volunteers, Ana remarks: “The volunteers were really nice, they worked really hard and played with our kids. Thank you very much for all your support. We miss you here and hope to see you all soon!”

 

María Sis lives with her husband, and five children in the department of Sololá, Guatemala. Her husband works in agriculture, while she takes care of the house.

By partnering with Habitat for Humanity Guatemala, Victoria and her family now have their own smokeless stove. Before, she cooked on an old stove in poor condition. María explains that with her new stove, she now saves a lot of wood and can buy more food with that money saved. “I feel happy with my stove, it is pretty,”

“Thank you all for coming and help me build my stove. Have a Merry Christmas,” she says to the volunteers.

Catarina Zapeta lives with her husband Juan and their seven children in the department of Sololá, Guatemala.

By partnering with Habitat for Humanity Guatemala, Victoria and her family now have their own smokeless stove, sanitary latrine, and water filter.

Catarina and Juan explained that before receiving the new stove, they used to cook on an open fire stove that made them sick and made it hard to cook. They also had to use a lot of wood. “Our new stove is really good, we are happy because it is safe and it does not use a lot of wood, we have more space to cook too,” says Catarina.

About the latrine, Juan explains that before “we had to share one with two more families,” but now they feel good because they have their own privacy. With the water filter, they do not get sick anymore and the children are feeling better.

When asked about the volunteers, Catarina and Juan have positive memories. “Thank you for coming here and building with us. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!”