junio 2018 – Página 3 – Hábitat para la Humanidad Guatemala

Un proyecto especial para una familia única

11 junio, 2018/en Familias /por j.bailon

Cuando Jennifer Brining llegó por primera vez a Guatemala para encabezar un viaje de Hábitat para la Humanidad en Aldea Global en 2015, pronto supo que regresaría una y otra vez. Ella comenzó a tomar clases de español en Antigua Guatemala con Álvaro Morales. “Ocasionalmente hablamos sobre nuestras vidas personales”, dice Jennifer. “Le hacía preguntas sobre su familia y viceversa. Fue durante estas charlas que supe de su familia tan especial”.

Álvaro y su esposa, Lucrecia viven en Jocotenango, Sacatepéquez, son padres de cuatro hijos adultos, tres de los cuales tienen necesidades especiales y usan sillas de ruedas a causa de la falta de motricidad por Ataxia cerebelosa. Cuando Jennifer supo que la familia vivía en una casa de dos pisos y que tenían que cargar a sus hijos para subir y bajar del segundo nivel, se inspiró en buscar opciones para construir un ascensor con energía solar en el hogar.

Desde el momento en que compartió con la familia Morales, Jennifer entendió cuánto afectaría de forma positiva el ascensor con energía solar a sus vidas. “Además de los beneficios físicos para toda la familia”, dice, “les ha dado a los jóvenes una independencia que nunca tuvieron “. Jennifer Brining.

Así dio inicio el proyecto especial, en donde se unió el corazón de una voluntaria Hábitat y la necesidad de una familia por mejorar su calidad de vida, junto con ellos Hábitat propuso realizar cambios en la casa de la familia para facilitar el acceso de las sillas de ruedas de los jóvenes y a la vez buscar un donante para poder conseguir un ascensor con paneles solares para minimizar el gasto de energía; así fue como se unión la empresa Tecún, quienes apoyaron para que el ascensor se pudiera armar en Alemania.

Don Álvaro trabaja dando Clases de Español en Antigua Guatemala y es allí donde conoce a uno de nuestros voluntarios quien le habla de Hábitat ya que Hábitat no solo se dedica a construcción en general sino también a mejorar las condiciones de vida de las familias guatemaltecas.

“Gracias a nuestros hijos hemos recibido las bendiciones más grandes, ellos han sido un canal para recibir la ayuda que tanto necesitábamos para darles una mejor calidad de vida”. Lucrecia Muñoz

De parte de la familia Muñoz y de nuestra organización agradecemos a los donantes y voluntarios que hicieron posible este proyecto, por su corazón generoso y por confiar en que a través de nosotros se puede llevar esperanza a familias de Guatemala.

Gracias a Jen Brining, Trina Godfreey, Thomas Hunsdorfer, Laura Niklin, Steph Franklin, Lori Walker, Elizabeth Boden, Paul Wackenhuth, Jerry Heymans, Nancy Powell, Deanna Heon.

The Camey Family

11 junio, 2018/en Meet our families, News /por admin

«Three houses in our neighborhood were destroyed in an earthquake several years ago. Our old house was made of adobe so we were worried that we would not be safe in an earthquake.», says Jesus Rolando as he begins to explain why his family chose to build a house with Habitat for Humanity Guatemala.

There are five people in the Camey household, located near the municipality of Sololá: Jesus and Lidia, their two daughters, Karina and Sindy, and Karina’s son, five-year-old Angel. Karina works in the office of the judge in Santiago de Atitlán, another town in the region, and splits her time between there and her home. Her sister Sindy works in another region of Guatemala and comes home less often. Jesus, who is retired from the city government, and Lidia take care of Angel while his Karina is at work.

Jesus continues: «We feel very safe here. We had the house blessed by a priest. Now we have more space and everyone can decide what they want to do with their homes and how they want to arrange their furniture. And my daughter can have friends visit! We have plans for the house too. We would like to paint it, finish the bathroom, and add rain gutters .»

«It was a lovely experience to have the volunteers here.», concludes Jesus. «We enjoyed sharing our culture with them and they were very open. It is very admirable that they came here without being paid–they volunteered! They taught us a lot; they came from far away to help others. We loved being able to spend time with them and share meals and snacks.»

Fuego Volcano Relief and Recovery

4 junio, 2018/en News EN /por admin

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UPDATED: 21 JUNE, 2019 at 10:30 AM

On June 3, 2018 around 12 PM the Fuego Volcano (located 30 miles from Guatemala City) erupted, spewing ash, rocks and gas into the air. This eruption is considered to be one of the strongest from the Fuego Volcano in more than a century. Hours later, a second powerful eruption followed at 6:45 PM.

As soon as the disaster happened, Habitat for Humanity Guatemala staff contacted partner families, local volunteer committee members, and others in the area. It was verified that all partner families and staff are well, but many other Guatemalans are affected. A Red Alert Emergency was declared for the affected departments of Chimaltenango, Escuintla, and Sacatepéquez and an Orange Alert for the remaining 19 departments was also put in place by the government.

CURRENT NUMBERS

Number of fatalities: 201
Number of injuries: 27
Missing persons: 229
Number of individuals affected: 1,714,387
Number of evacuees: 12,823
Number of individuals in temporary shelters: 8,866

During Stage 1, local Habitat Guatemala offices and volunteers collected medicine and supplies for survivors. In total we were able to attend 90 families with a kit consisting of dry goods, hygienic products, medicine, etc.

Out of the 12,000 individuals evacuated from their homes only an estimated 8,000 individuals sought shelter in the official government shelters, meaning that 4,000 individuals turned to family members or friends for a transitional space to live. In order to provide these families with a comfortable and adequate space, Habitat Guatemala determined that several Habitat products would help improve their living conditions. After surveying approximately 180 families who were living in such situations, products were distributed as follows:

WATER FILTERS

95% of the water in Guatemala is contaminated and this natural disaster only exacerbated the difficulty to obtain clean drinking water. To date Habitat Guatemala has delivered 62 water filters to host families in the areas of Escuintla and Alotenango.

CHISPA STOVES

Due to the presence of additional inhabitants in the host families’ homes, Habitat Guatemala deemed it necessary to provide additional tools to ease the preparation of meals. A Chispa stoves reduce wood use by approximately 50%, and also reduces smoke inhalation. To date Habitat Guatemala has delivered 48 Chispa stoves in the areas of Escuintla and Alotenango.

ECONOMIC VOUCHERS

Because many individuals lost their source of income/source of employment, Habitat Guatemala decided to provide both the host families and the affected families with a $75 voucher to support them with basic living expenses: food, hygienic products, rent, etc. To date Habitat Guatemala has delivered 268 economic vouchers in the areas of Escuintla and Alotenango.

MERCY CORPS SUPPORT

With the help of Mercy Corps, Habitat Guatemala was also able to distribute the following products: 15 water tanks, 11 pilas (outdoor washing stations), and 210 cooking sets (plates, silverware, pots & pans).

Currently, Habitat Guatemala is in the stage of reconstructing homes for families who lost everything in the natural disaster. Although Habitat for Humanity’s typical structure consists of families making affordable mortgage payments, this catastrophe has compelled us to provide affected families with completely subsidized solutions. You can support us in the following way:

$14,000: LAND TITLE & PERMANENT HOUSING

Because land ownership is a requirement for Habitat homeowners in Guatemala, we have supported affected families by purchasing lots in an area called Valle de Las Flores in Palin, Escuintla. This area includes access to all basic services (water, drainage, electricity) and schools, job employment opportunities, and public transportation. The homes that will be constructed in this area consist of 49 square meters, 3 rooms, and a bathroom.

On December 12th, 2018 the first 16 homes were inaugurated. With these homes, 16 families were able to spend the holidays in their safe new space, just six months after a tragedy that dramatically altered their lives.

The second set of 17 homes was inaugurated on April 11th. And the final set of 7 homes was inaugurated on June 27th. Providing more families with a safe space to start a new life. To support families as they transition into their new homes, we have provided different workshops on community harmony, financial education, and disaster response.

Habitat Guatemala is grateful for the support our response efforts have received, and we hope to continue providing additional families with permanent housing solutions as funding allows.

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Comunidades saludables – Elena Juan Miguel

1 junio, 2018/en Familias /por j.bailon

Regresó a Guatemala a los 7 años de edad, después de que su familia junto a la comunidad de San Miguel Acatán Huehuetenango emigraran a Chiapas, México durante el conflicto armado.

Parte de las familias regresaron y se asentaron en lo que hoy es San Vicente Paul, Guanagazapa en Escuintla, les llevó tiempo adaptarse nuevamente sobre todo por las condiciones deplorables en las que se encontraba en ese momento la Finca.

Desde que era pequeña Elena cocinaba junto a su mamá a fuego abierto lo que durante mucho tiempo le provocó enrojecimiento en los ojos y quemaduras, además de inhalar el humo que se encerraba en la casa.

Hoy, Elena está casada y tiene dos hijos, ella es ama de casa y en ocasiones hace morrales de crochet para vender y así aportar ingresos para apoyar a su esposo quien se dedica a la agricultura en siembras de maíz y frijol.

Se levanta temprano para empezar el arreglo del hogar, baña a los niños y luego prepara los alimentos para el almuerzo de la familia, por eso es tan importante el espacio donde realiza esta actividad.

“Estamos conscientes que este apoyo cuesta dinero y por eso estamos agradecidos, ya que no es fácil salir a ganarse el pan de cada día”.- Elena Juan Miguel

El COCODE de la comunidad en una de las reuniones que realizan hizo el anuncio que se realizaría un proyecto de estufas mejoradas y aprovecharon la oportunidad para aplicar y fue así como inició el cambio en su vida después de haber pedido a Dios por una ayuda como la nuestra.

Hoy no sufre de quemaduras por cocinar a fuego abierto, no se le enrojecen los ojos, tampoco enfermedades respiratorias por el humo que se encierra en la casa, además economiza en el consumo de leña.

https://www.habitatguate.org/contactenos/