Brenda and Nehemias live with their two daughters Deborah (3) and Rebecca (6 months) in the village of Cantel, Quetzaltenango. Brenda sells cosmetic products and takes care of the home and Nehemias is a tailor, who specializes in traditional indigenous wear.

Before building their home, the couple lived in one bedroom in Brenda’s mother’s home.  There was little space to walk in the room and with a second baby on the way, the couple knew they needed a place of their own. Brenda’s mom gifted them a plot of land behind her home where they could build a house and they consider her a special part of the process, “we wouldn’t be here without her.”

“How do you feel having your own house?” we asked, “Relieved,” says Brenda. In the new house, they are content, “ we have our kitchen and enough space in the living room where Deborah can run around – even now when it rains for example, she has space to play inside.”

In the future the couple would like to create an addition for another bedroom and a place for a garden. “We have a bit of a garden that we’re already growing. When the volunteers were here, they gifted us flowers and trees. Roses in white, yellow and dark red and peach, pear and laurel trees.”

To the group, Brenda and Nehemias share their heartfelt thank you—“we’re so grateful for the help that you came and gave—it helped a lot.” During the time of the build, Brenda was almost due for delivery with Rebecca. “I couldn’t lift anything, and they arrived to help without conditions or reservations—they just came and helped and it’s something I’ll never forget because they came to help us succeed.” Of the entire process from start to finish, Brenda and Nehemias had this to share: “When you make major life decisions there is always fear. Habitat gave us the courage to make this decision, and when the volunteers came, it gave us encouragement to continue. We’re so happy we did this and will always carry you in our heart.”

Julio (45), Rosa Maria (38), Edgar (36), Martarelli  (33), and Daniel (27) are siblings. They are five of their parents eight children who live together in the rural town of Cantel, Quetzaltenango.

When they were children, their parents taught each of them to weave and now they all have this ability that sustains their livelihood. Daniel and Martarelli work in a Cooperative, while Julio, Edgar and Rosa work from home to create new pieces of fabric for sale. They’ve been doing this for many years and find that by working together, they are more productive and profitable.

Nineteen years ago, their parents moved into a 3-bedroom adobe home. When both parents passed, the home was left to all eight siblings. They’ve lived in and maintained the house since, living two or three in each bedroom until just recently when Daniel petitioned for the family to pool together and build a new house. The new house would be an addition to the existing house that would make their communal living more comfortable and give each person a chance to have their own room. The result is a brand-new Habitat home connected to their family’s existing house and the family love it – the old and the new, side by side.

Julio lives in the old part of the house and the remaining four siblings, Rosa Maria, Edgar, Martarelli and Daniel have their rooms in the new part of the house.

When asked about the volunteers, Julio shared that they were great volunteers, worked hard and had a great attitude.

José agreed, ‘that they were joyful, always smiling and shared this sentiment, “it wasn’t important to them our differences but it was important to them to help—and because of this, we all got along really well.”

Their message to the group is this “the fruit of your labor is what we have—that our family can enjoy. Thank you for all that you paid to come a long way to help other families without knowing them—it’s a great thing what you did. We are very grateful to you for this help, Daniel is always saying what a great place we have and live in now. It was a beautiful experience.”

Elena, her husband German and their four-year-old son, German Jr. have moved into their newly built Habitat home just a month and a half ago. German is a policeman and Elena is currently a homemaker.

The family has wanted a home of their own for several years. Elena shared with us, “we wanted a home of our own because we wanted a space for our son to grow that was ours and where we would not spend all our funds on rent.” Her favorite thing about the new house is “everything”  Elena says, “it took just one month to built the house and we are very happy with how it looks now,” the couple even have plans to paint the house once they save a bit more money to do so.

Elena has many memories of the volunteers, saying, “they were very kind. I remember from the first moment that they were very caring. When they left, I was very sad, they are very good people.” The family send this heartfelt message, to the group that came to help them: “thanks to your help, the house went up quickly and we hope and wish you so much success. I talk to my husband about how grateful I am. My son also remembers you always and asks about you. I hope that God blesses you and that you know that we always carry you in our hearts.”