When she isn’t busy weaving, Simbiona Chulca Cajcaj (37) spends most of her day cooking meals for her husband and two daughters. Her house is split into two spaces; one room perches on the top of a hill while the other room slopes downward. In this space, she has prepared hot meals for over twenty years.

Simbiona’s previous stove stands in the corner, a quiet reminder for what used to be. “Our other stove was old, about twenty years or so. And it was small. It didn’t have a lot of problems, but there was always smoke coming out of it and filling the room.”

Her kitchen is now smoke-free, allowing her six-year-old daughter, Selena, to focus on her homework without being bothered by the fumes. Simbiona reflects that since building the stove, their household no longer has to spend a fortune on firewood. “Instead, we can give more food to our children so that they can grow and develop.”

Simbiona has a special message for the international group that came to help build her stove: “We send you our warmest greetings and hugs. May you continue with a happy life, thank you for the stove. You have given us so much support with this project.”

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!”

After seven years of living in a rented house, Jaqueline and her husband, Lenin, knew that it was time to move into a house of their own when their landlord decided to raise the rent. Her father in-law encouraged them to find assistance in order to build their home. They went to work and searched around a few organizations, which had all too many requirements in order to apply. Because Lenin is a self employed mechanic, they did not have a solid proof of income to prove that they could pay off a loan. During this search, however, their perseverance paid off, because while visiting one of these organizations, one of the workers recommended her to talk to Habitat Guatemala.

They wasted no time. After learning that they were able to meet the requirements for a Habitat home, Jacqueline and Lenin submitted the application and were approved a month later. With great relief, they were able to move into their home during the month of December only four months after they applied.  Their previous landlord had always been very demanding and rarely gave them flexibility with monthly payments; a common problem for many self employed families. Now with a steady home, Lenin is able to focus on his work, and they can finally breathe knowing that they are paying for their own home and purchase furniture without worrying where they will go.

Having a new home has brought great stability to their life, and more importantly, a safe place for their daughters,Adriana (6) and Hilary(5) to live. Located right next to their old house there was a small cantina where drunken men constantly lurked about. “I don’t miss our old home,” Adriana said to her mother a few weeks after moving. This removed Jaqueline’s concern that their daughters wouldn’t feel comfortable in a new place. Now, they are free to study, play, and enjoy Ceci, a Beagle pup, and the newest addition to the family.

With respect tot he team that came down to build, Jaqueline couldn’t believe how hard the women worked during the process. Because she had never seen another  woman work like that before, let along a foreign woman, the experience broke all of her misconceptions of a “man’s job.”She said, “I ask God to bless you in every way for the willingness to help as well as the effort that you put into the building of our home.”

As for the future plans of their home; the family has already begun the construction of a second floor where they will have a room for both of their daughters and a large room for themselves. None of this could have been possible without the help of willing people, Habitat Guatemala, and the virtue of perseverance.