The best way to describe Doña Carmen is, “she is the backbone of her family.” She lives with her twin sons, Daniel Eduardo, Ruben Eduardo and her three grandchildren, Estrella, Jimena, and Bryan, who she cares for full time. The house they were renting was poorly made and water would enter each time it rained. Doña Carmen wanted something better for her family, but with a low monthly income, finding a house with enough room for a family of six, on a small budget, was difficult.

Carmen knew about Habitat and wanted a change and with help from her older children, she was able to purchase land to build her Habitat home. The family now lives in their Habitat home, and although the house is slightly smaller than their prior rental, its clean conditions and properly insulated walls and ceiling against the rain make it all worthwhile—and there’s still enough space for everyone.

Doña Carmen fondly remembers the volunteers who came to help. “I have a lot of memories of them – how well they treated the children, how they came to put their hands to work to help my family.”

She says of the group, “may God bless them, take care of them. It was a short time that we were together, but I hope that one day they will come back to see us.”

Retalhuleu is a city where many residents know of the benefits of Habitat’s services, however few have the resources to purchase land. For the handful that do, they often need additional help completing their homes.

Edwin and his wife Clara lived in a loaned house along with their three children, Edwin II, Angel Daniel and Jose Alejandro before pursing the idea of building a house through Habitat. Edwin, is a bus conductor and Clara is a teacher.  Edwin’s job offers flexibility so he can be with the children during the afternoons. About his job, Edwin says; “I like it, I can come home at what hour I would  like, like now, meeting you all.”

The house they lived in before belonged to Edwin’s brother and he only had to pay the energy. This allowed Edwin and Clara to save money to purchase a plot of land and build their Habitat house. It was the volunteers who really made a difference toward the completion of their house. “Thank you for coming to lend a hand. We lacked a lot and you helped us to finish. If you did not raise the funds to help us, we would not have this home.” When asked how it feels to finally have a house of his own? He shares, “it feels good,” –and how do the kids feel about having a house? “ they don’t have a choice” he quips and a smile spreads across his face, “they seem to really enjoy it.”

María Rosa, María Verolia and María Ameliana (las tres Marías) are three sisters living in a small community in Chimaltenango. While María Verolia works in a nearby town, María Rosa and María Ameliana take care of the house and weave traditional clothing.

Before partnering with Habitat Guatemala to receive their smokeless stove, they used to cook on an open flame, causing them to have irritation in their eyes and respiratory diseases due to the smoke. “Before, we had to bend on our knees near the “pollo” to prepare our tortillas,” she continues; “Now, we do not have to do it any more.”

María Rosa explains how they feel with the new stove: “We feel happy now! we no longer have to use a lot of wood, just a few pieces,” she continues; “we can cook our beans, prepare some salsas to eat really fast.”

They finish by sharing a message to the volunteers: “It was a fun day! We were really happy to receive them in our house,” she continues; “May God bless you, thank you all for your support in building our stove!

Buenaventura lives with her husband Ernesto,  and their 12 children, Glendy (27), Dalila (26), Gerbert (25), Eizer (21), Nancy (20), Sulmy (18), Lesbia (16), Osman (13), Juli (11), Dorcas (9), Lester (7) and Suleika (3) in a small community in the outskirts of Chimaltenango. While Ernersto works in agriculture and is a Pastor, Buenaventura is a homemaker and weaves traditional clothes with the oldest of their girls.

Dalila (one of the oldest girls), explains how partnering with Habitat for Humanity Guatemala to implement a smokeless stove has improved aspects of their family’s daily life: “we used to cook over an open flame, it was small, so we had to be cooking everything one by one, first our tortillas, then the beans” she continues; “thanks to the new one, it is easier! We are happy, because we can prepare food for everyone at the same time.”

Dalila shares that all the family feels content with the stove and have saved wood too because it is designed to consume less wood and heat evenly.

She finishes by sharing a message to the volunteers: “Thank you for your support and for building our stove, we are happy using it now!”