The Montufar Cruz Family

Stepping into the Montufar’s home, you feel welcome right away. Decorations celebrating the birth of their newest son are still displayed, and they have no plans of taking them off anytime soon. Their fish tank is full, and their kitchen is well stocked with everything they need to make tasty meals.

For two long years, Jorge Mario and Lourdes rented a small piece of land. They lived in tiny house made from half adobe and half tin. One day, after church, Jorge Mario was talking to one of the church members,who happened to work for Habitat Guatemala. They visited his home that night to see the different housing designs. Since he had some of the models there, the Montufars’ decided which one of the homes that they wanted to apply for that night.
They never expected for the process to be so easy, and they didn’t have to wait long for their home to be built. This past January, they had already settled in.

“It is very satisfying to own your own home and to have a place that is safe for my family,” says Mario. “We moved around for a few years, and it is very comforting to have a steady place of our own instead.”  Even though their home is not as close to their son’s school, they feel at peace in the new place and have a good place for him to grow up.

As Jorge Mario works to provide for his family, Lourdes also works hard to raise their two sons Mario David (6) and their newborn, Samuel. They have already made their place into their own and are planning to add a garage to work in on some projects.

To the group that helped them build the home is very special to them and will never forget all of the support throughout the process. To them, Lourdes says, “Thank you for everything that you thought us.” And from Mario: “Keep up the hard work because by the way you worked together you showed us that there are no limits to what teamwork can accomplish!”