Cesar Yuman Family

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Cesar Yuman and his mother Marielena are happily living in their new Habitat home.  After renting a small house for more than eight years, they wanted to have a place of their own.“We know we are making a monthly mortgage payment, but now it is for our own house,” says Marielena.

Cesar and his brother Hugo learned about Habitat Guatemala several years ago, but did not have land to build on.  Time passed by, and when they had the opportunity to buy a piece of land, they decided to build their houses together.

Marielena expresses: “I feel really happy with this house, I sometimes look at it and wonder if it is real, if it is really ours.” In the future, they are planning on painting all the walls and adding a concrete fence in the backyard.

“All the volunteers were really kind, they all have a great heart,” Marielena continues: “May God bless you all and your families for the great job you did! we are very happy with our house.”

Hugo Yuman Family

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Hugo Yuman and his wife, Mayda, live in their new Habitat house in Chimaltenango with their two young sons, Jefferson (14) and Andrew (7). Hugo had learned about the low-interest loans that Habitat for Humanity Guatemala offers qualifying families on an advertisement four years ago, but in that time he and his wife did not have the resources to build.  Years passed by and they were able to buy a piece of land that allowed them to finally build a place to call their own!

The Yuman family used to live in a relative’s house that was in poor condition. It had a leaky roof, walls without cement plaster, and it was too small for the whole family.

“I feel really happy and satisfied, my children are also happy. The house looks large, it’s organized and feels fresh, there is not too much heat or cold,” says Hugo. In the future, they are planning to add a garden outside and ceramic tiles to the bathroom.


Hugo explains: “As a family we now enjoy eating and watching TV together.” He continues: “ I was very surprised with the work of the volunteers that came, they had a lot of energy, enthusiasm and dedication.”

“I am forever grateful with the volunteers, they helped us fulfill the dream of having our own house. May God bless them and their children. Here, you have the doors open whenever you want to come again,” says Hugo, in a message to the volunteers.

Cintia Cardona

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Cinthia  Cardona lives in Chimaltenango with her granddaughter Ashley (5). Prior to building her home she lived in a small room with her daughter. “Everybody needs their own space, I needed it to improve and feel better,” says Cinthia.

Her sister built a house with the help of  Habitat Guatemala, which is how she learned about their projects and decided to build her own house! “I feel happy, I have my own space, I can welcome everybody I want, read the Bible, listen to music…” Lucia expresses. “I am planning on adding a nice floor, and concrete fence around the house.”

“I remember the volunteers who came and worked really hard. They were really funny and they played with Ashley,” she continued.  “May God bless each one of you, in wherever you may find yourself. You are welcome here whenever you want to come back. We made some memories that will never fade away.”

Vásquez Pérez Family

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This happy family of five is living in their new Habitat house in Milpas Altas, Sacatepéquez. Before building their home, Silvia and her husband Cesar, who works as a merchant, lived in a room with his parents with not much space.

Silvia and Cesar have three children, seven-year-old Pamela, five-year-old Carmen and three-year-old Alberto. They wanted to build and have their own home, so when they heard about Habitat, they decided it was a great opportunity.  “A cousin told me about Habitat Guatemala and we started looking for more information. Thank God we have our home, it is a big achievement for us,” says Silvia.

The children, especially the youngest, Alberto,  are really happy with the house because they can play freely with their cousin Brandon who lives nearby. The Vásquez family is planning to add more rooms and a second story in the future. Silvia explains how she feels with her house: “I am really grateful with God, it is a great joy to have a place to call our own.”

“I am grateful for the volunteers who came, because without them it would have been more difficult and would have taken more time to build our house, they were really efficient and friendly. It was a great blessing to share with them, my  greetings and blessings to them,” refers Silvia about the volunteers.

 

Mónica González Family

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Mónica González is a single mother of three children, eleven-year-old José, nine-year-old Valentina and one-year-old María Elisa. Before partnering with Habitat Guatemala, she lived with her parents, sharing one room with her three children. For a few months, she rented a small apartment,  but  it was too costly and had to move back in with her parents.  When her dad gave her a piece of land, and told her about Habitat Guatemala, Mónica decided it was time for her family to have their own home.

“One wants to be independent, and when your children start growing they need a place to call their own too,” says Mónica.

She explains how she feels about her house: “I am very happy. This home is a great blessing for me. It’s easy to think that as a single mother you can’t have these opportunities. The process was really easy and fast, and now I have my own house to live in and take care of.”

The González family is planning on adding a garden and another room in the future. She also says: “on Sundays we play soccer and fly kites with my kids. I am at ease because I know they are in a safe place where they feel free.”

Mónica has a picture of the group of volunteers in her living room and has very fond memories of them.  “They were friendly and strong, they worked very hard and it was fun too,” she says, sending a message to the group: “Thank you for all your effort and your love, because you help people you do not know without thinking twice.”

Smokeless Stoves: María Griselda

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María Griselda and her family live in El Rosaria, a small community in the department of Chimaltenango, Guatemala. She and her husband live in their home with four of their children and four grandchildren. They have several other grown children who live in their own homes nearby. While María’s husband and sons work in the fields growing crops for exportation, she and her daughters sell beans and corn, take care of the home, and cook food for their family.

María talks about her stove, saying: “It’s excellent, it’s a great help, it’s a good stove! I save a lot of wood.” Gesturing to the three burners on the stove, María talks about how she can cook multiple dishes at the same time. Pointing to the front burner and then the back burner, María says: “Here, I can make corn or beans. And here, I can make tortillas! This helps me a lot. ”

Marta and Elbia with 1-year-old Helen and 4-year-old Carlos

María finishes by explaining that now, because of the chimney that is part of the smokeless stove design, her kitchen does not fill with smoke when she cooks. “Before we used so much more wood and there was so much smoke. Not anymore!”, she says happily.

Smokeless Stoves: The Socoy Family

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The Socoy family lives in El Rosario, a small community in the department of Chimaltenango, Guatemala. Marta takes care of the home while her husband, Santiago, works in the fields growing crops to export to the United States. Including children and grandchildren, there are 8 people in the Socoy household. Marta and her daughters cook for the entire family on the new smokeless stove they built by partnering with Habitat for Humanity Guatemala.

“I cooked on a metal grill before.” says Marta. “I like my new stove I don’t burn my arms when I cook anymore. And there is a lot less smoke. We built a new kitchen and built the new stove in here and now the kitchen isn’t smoky when we cook!” Santiago agrees Marta, saying: “It is so good that the new stove doesn’t fill the kitchen with smoke.”

“We also use a lot less wood.”, Marta finishes. “We buy our wood and now we buy less.”

Santiago and his daughter Delmil

Smokeless Stoves: María Alejandra

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“Gracias a Diós la estufa funciona bien!” says María Alejandra about the new smokeless stove she now uses. Translated to English, this means, “Thanks to God, my stove works well!” She continues: “It works well with a little bit of wood and now I cook in fresh air!” María says that she takes good care of her stove, which means that it will function well for years to come. “Every 15 days I clean out the stove and I wash all the burners too.”

María Alejandra and her husband, who works in the nearby fields growing crops, have four children who are 9, 7, 5 and 2. Her two oldest children attend school, while she cares for the younger ones. “Right now we don’t have our own home.”, says María. Because of this, they live with María’s parents and three siblings, who also work in the fields.

In El Rejón, Habitat Guatemala works with a local volunteer named Margarita to find families in need of a new stove, lead trainings on how to build and maintain the stoves, and learn about what the needs of the community are so that future projects can be planned to continue improving life in El Rejón. This is how María family accessed their smokeless stove.

María laughs as she talks about the process of building her stove was like: “I told my husband I wanted a stove! He did the work and built the adobe blocks; it was easy for me! Sometimes people say we will have an opportunity and it doesn’t happen. Thanks to God this did!”

Opportunities

National Office

Avenida Las Américas, 9-50, zona 3,
Edificio Supercom Delco, 3er. nivel, Oficina 3,
Quetzaltenango, Quetzaltenango.
+502 7931-3131
donor@habitaguate.org

Global Village Office

Carretera a San Bartolomé Becerra casa #6,
Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepéquez.
+502 7832-4436 / +502 7832-4572
guategv@habitaguate.org

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