The Selvin Perez Family

Every night, Selvin Perez, comes home to his own place. He’s often beat after a long evening of work as a restaurant chef. It feels good to come home to a place that has plenty of room, a comfortable entertainment center, and his own bedroom. The house also has a high ceiling to counter Retalhuleu’s inescapable heat, a simple construction technique to maintain a fresh interior temperature.

Before Selvin partnered with Habitat Guatemala, he was living with his mom in her house. Selvin recalls that they were “squeezed together,” which often caused family problems between his siblings and other family members that also lived there.

When he applied, Selvin was thinking about the future. He’s 23, and has a girlfriend who will probably become a fiancé before too long. He knew that in a few years, he would probably want to live with the love of his life, and he didn’t want her to move into his mom’s place with him.

Now that Selvin is in his new place, he’s got privacy that he never had before – after all, he’s currently got four rooms to himself! “I don’t have to worry about anything here,” he says.

He also remembers the volunteer group that came to help him with the construction. “Many thanks to all of you. Now, I’m overcoming my obstacles day by day. All my greetings to you,” he says.

But the new place has also had an unexpected effect on Selvin – he says he’s become more respsonible. It feels good to make monthly payments on a place that’s his, and it inspires him to keep working. “I feel satisfied here,” he says.