Ana lives with her niece, Stephany (6) in their new Habitat home in Valle de las Flores Habitat Housing Community in Escuintla. Ana works as a fruit seller in different markets around Escuintla and Chimaltenango, while Stephany goes to school.

She 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, Ana and Stephany lived in several shelters until they found out about the program and received a visit from Habitat Staff. After a few months they started to build a new home for themselves.

 

Now, they are starting a new life in their new home. When asked about how she feels, Ana says, ”I feel very happy and content, at peace.” In the future, she is planning to add a big garden and a fence around to have more privacy.

Ana shares that she enjoys the weather the most; “it isn’t hot inside, rather its cool and enjoyable.”

She has many memories of the construction process, and the volunteers and donors that helped them. “It was a fun experience, we built together and carried all of the materials,” says Ana.

Ana finishes with a message to all of the donors and volunteers, “Thank you all for your support. I might not be able to repay you, but God will.”

Ruthilia is living in her new Habitat home in Valle de las Flores Habitat Housing Community in Escuintla

She 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.

Nine months have passed since she moved into their home in Valle de las Flores. When asked about how she feels about her new home, Ruthilia says; ”I feel happy to have a home now.” In the future she is planning to add a fence around the house.

Ruthilia enjoys to spend time in her house and she explains; “It feels really different to have my own space.”

She has many memories about the construction of her home, and all of the volunteers and donors that helped them, “A lot of people came to build with us, me and my family came to build too.”

She finishes with a message to all of the donors and volunteers; “Thank you. Thanks for your support. If it was not for you, I still would not have my own house.”

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.”