News – Page 39 – Hábitat para la Humanidad Guatemala

Aracely Colop Family

16 May, 2019/in Meet our families, News /by admin

Aracely is a single mother of two boys, Anthony (19) and Rodrigo (10). Due to the lack of job opportunities in Cantel, Quetzaltenango, Aracely and her boys had to move to Guatemala City to live with a relative, but during weekends and holidays they can now come back to their community to enjoy their new Habitat home and a place to call their own.

Doña Celestina (Aracely’s mom) explains how hard it is for her daughter to work and provide her children with education while making a living in Guatemala city. They also travel during weekends and holidays to visit the rest of the family and enjoy quality time in their home. Before partnering with Habitat Guatemala, they used to live in her parents’ house which did not have enough space for all of them.

Due to all the inconvenience and wishing for a space for her and her children to grow up and have privacy and safety, Aracely decided it was time to invest in a house for their future with the support of Habitat Guatemala.

Aracely’s mom explains how her daughter feels regarding her home; “Now I am happy to have my own house, something to leave to my kids,” In the future, they are planning to add a garden and paint the walls.

Regarding the week of construction with the volunteers, Doña Celestina says; “It was a fun week! They worked really hard, even though it rained, we shared lots of good memories,” she continues, “We are grateful for your support, may God bless you. Remember that the doors of our house are open for you always!”

Carmen de León Family

16 May, 2019/in Meet our families, News /by admin

Doña Carmen, her husband Fredy, and their two daughters Alixa (17), Fatima (14) are now living in their new Habitat home in the department of Chimaltenango. Fredy works as a salesman and Doña Carmen works in the Municipality of Guatemala City.

Before partnering with Habitat Guatemala, the family rented a house for over 22 years. And after learning about our programs through a friend, they decided it was time to build something to call their own.

When asked about how they feel with their home, Carmencita responds: “We feel happy and grateful to God and Habitat for this opportunity,” Fredy adds: “We are content, we can do whatever we want here, even our dogs are happy and free. It is calmer and relaxing in here.”

As a family they share good quality time in the house, “during the day it is hard because everybody is going in and out the house, but at night we all share dinner together and chat,” says Fredy.

Unfortunately Carmen, has found out that she has cancer and she has recently gone through chemotherapy, but she feels positive because now she has a safe place to recover!

Doña Carmen and her daughter smile while they remember the week of construction with the volunteers: “It was a fun week, they worked with good will,” she adds “they were really strong too!

Fredy shares that the volunteers put a coin inside the concrete mix for good luck and their daughters still wonder where it would be.

Doña Carmen shares in tears a message for the volunteers: “May all of you receive a big hug and our sincere gratitude for your support.”

Smokeless Stove: María Mutzutz

16 May, 2019/in Meet our families, News /by admin

María lives with her husband Raymundo and their seven children, José (19), María (17), María Mercedes (15), Dany (12), María Guadalupe (11), Brian (5) and Marvin (2) in a small community in Chimaltenango. While María is a homemaker, Raymundo works in the fields and the older kids go to school.

Before receiving her smokeless stove, María used to cook over an open flame that caused her several respiratory diseases and eye irritation. “The smoke was very dense and it made me suffer a lot,” she says.

María’s reality has change a lot since her stove was built; “I feel happy with it!! It is working great and no more smoke. It is big, I can prepare my tortillas and the rest of the meals at the same time, she continues; “it also saves a lot of wood, I do not need to buy a lot now.”

When asked about the day of construction, María says: “We had a good day! They had lunch here with us,” she continues; “May God bless all the volunteers that keep on helping us, I am very grateful for my stove.”

Smokeless Stove: Silvia Chocón

16 May, 2019/in Meet our families, News /by admin

Silvia lives with her husband Edwin and their son Darwin (5) in a small community in Chimaltenango. Edwin works in the fields and Silvia takes good care of Darwin and the house chores.

Before receiving her smokeless stove, Silvia used to cook over an open flame, that made it uncomfortable for her.

Now, with her new stove she says: “The new stove has helped me a lot, it is safer. There is no more smoke inside,” she continues, “and most important, it saves wood and gives me enough time to cook all my meals at the same time.”

Silvia still remembers the day that the volunteers came to build her stove, “It was a fun day! They were really nice” she continues, “Thank you for your support, I encourage you to keep on helping all the families in need.”

Smokeless Stove: Blanca Ixlá

16 May, 2019/in Meet our families, News /by admin

Doña Blanca lives with her husband Cesar and their four children, Kimberly (13), Cesar (11), Luis (8) and Jennifer (6) in a small community in Chimaltenango. While Cesar works in the fields, Blanca takes care of the children and the house.

Before receiving her smokeless stove, Blanca used to cook over an open flame “pollo”. The smoke caused her to have red eyes and respiratory diseases.

When asked how she feels with her new stove, Blanca responds: “I feel happy with my stove! It is also our table, all the family gathers around to eat now and it is working great.”

Blanca and her family have good memories of the time shared with the volunteers, “We were really happy that day, they built our stove and had lunch with us,” she continues; “I am grateful to all of you for your support.”

De León López Family

14 May, 2019/in Meet our families, News /by admin

Melvin, Edith and their two children, Daniela (8) and David (4) are living in their new Habitat house in the department of Quetzaltenango. Before partnering with Habitat Guatemala, Melvin, who works as a mechanic and his family lived in a small room with his mother for ten years.

They learned about Habitat Guatemala at a local hardware store that promotes our work. After thinking about it a lot, they decided it was a great opportunity to finally have a house of their own. “Now we have much more space to play with my children, and they enjoy it a lot,” explains Edith.

The de León family is planning to add a second storage and a garden to their house in their future, “I feel really happy, cause now we know this house is ours.” refers Edith.

Edith treasures all the good times they spent with the volunteers, “I am really grateful for their support and friendship, they shared memories with my children in a very special way.”

Gricelda Solis Family

14 May, 2019/in Meet our families, News /by admin

Gricelda Anabella and her husband Klismus came across Habitat at the recommendation of a neighbor. Now they live in their own home with their two children, Gerardo Gabriel (6) and Dailey (4). Klismus is a security guard while Gricelda is a homemaker.

Gricelda and her family rented one-bedroom within another family’s home, where they lived together. When her neighbor mentioned Habitat, the family moved to live with her brother so they could save for a portion of land. With the help of Habitat, they have now built their own home.

When asked, how she feels having her own house, Gricelda smiles and says, “We feel good, we feel happy to have our own space.” Gricelda even has room for her sewing machine, where she sews clothes including a dress and an apron. Having a home has definitely changed their lives, she says, “Especially for the kids, here, they’re laughing, running, screaming but in the other house, they couldn’t do the same.”

About the volunteers, Gricelda proudly displays photos of the volunteers who came to construct her home in her living room, a reminder of the help they had along the way. Their goal is to add a second story one day.

Oscar García Family

14 May, 2019/in Meet our families, News /by admin

Oscar, Maria and their 3 children (ages 16, 14 and 9) live just outside the town of La Esperanza. Oscar is a builder, constructing houses and Maria is a homemaker.

Before moving to their Habitat home, the family lived in a small home nearby. Maria had heard about Habitat from several others in her community who’d also built their homes through the organization. She personally went to the office to find out more and start the process to build a new home for their family. From the time the paperwork was completed to the first day of building was just 2 months.

When asked, how she feels to be in her own home, Maria responds, “More than anything it’s nice to be outside of the city, here, we have our privacy and there’s a lot less noise.” Just outside the house, there is farmland, a view of the mountains, and a small garden Maria tends each day. “We’re more comfortable, each one of the children have their own rooms, it’s really a nice feeling.”

f the volunteers, she remembers how much they worked, how quickly they put up the walls, and that they were very friendly.” For the group of volunteers, Maria had this message, “We’re very grateful—thank you to you all for your help – may God bless you for the time that you came to work with us”

Regarding future plans for the home, “yes” she says with a smile on her face, in the future, “we’d like to expand the kitchen so we can fit the whole family!”