“It is beautiful to have a house, and it’s exciting to have something of our own.” Upon saying those words, Douglas pauses, as if having a second thought. He rises up from the stool in his kitchen and enters his bedroom. We can hear him digging around in his closet. When he finally emerges, he is carrying several small objects in his hands. Upon closer examination, we see three pairs of shoes.

“These belong to my daughter,” he beams. “I love buying her shoes.”

Douglas stands out from his Colony neighbors. He is originally from Guatemala City, but relocated when he met his wife, Clara, to Usumatlan. They lived with Clara’s parents for four years before finding an alternative house option that worked for them.

Joining the Amway neighborhood was more seamless than Douglas anticipated. “My wife told me about the Colony and made me a proposition. I would go and see if it would work for us. If I didn’t like it, we didn’t have to move there. If I did, we would apply.” He laughs. “Well, here is the result.”

Living amongst other Habitat for Humanity participants has changed Douglas’s life for the better. “I like how everyone looks out for one another. Everyone is warm and patient. That’s so different from what I grew up with.”

The best part of his newly changed life? Finally spending time with his daughter. “Before, I was working six days a week and missing out on a lot of things. But I found a new job down the street as an assistant manager, and work there is more flexible. Now, I have more time with my daughter. I only work three to four days a week, and the rest of the time I can spend with her.”

“I wanted to move because instead of paying someone else, I pay for me and Marjory. And I know that the money is going to something special.”

These are the first sentences that Frenely (25) confides to us. She is shy around newcomers. However, she immediately brightens when her five-year-old daughter, Marjory, enters the room. The two of them are peas in a pod and spend many afternoons singing and dancing in the kitchen, like mothers and daughters do.

This scene, although relatively new for them, has already had an enormous impact on their little family. As a single mom, Frenely worked for nearly a year running a small food stall to save up and apply for a Habitat House that she knew would be perfect for just the two of them. “We were renting in Usumatlan in a Habitat house that looked exactly like this.” She points to the kitchen, bedrooms, and back towards the bathroom.

When asked about how it feels to have a home at least, she smiles. “It feels to good. I feel comfortable here.” There have been other benefits that home ownership has granted her. Frenely cites that past domestic relationships have not allowed her as much freedom. “If I need something, I can go and get it myself, without answering to anyone,” she says. “I love the comfort and stability that a house brings. If I want to go out, I can go out. If I want to stay, I can stay. The time doesn’t matter, and no one controls me or my daughter.”

As for her plans for the house, Frenely is looking forward to the Christmas holidays. She hopes to add a bit more to the house by putting down a floor and sewing some curtains. With Marjory by her side, anything is possible.

For as long as she can remember, twenty-year-old Yoselin Marleny Flores Pineda has been connected with Habitat for Humanity Guatemala. She and her sister grew up in her mother, Rita’s house, which was built by a volunteer Habitat group twelve years ago.  When it came time for Yoselin and her two-year-old daughter, Gisela, to move, she knew just who to contact. “My mom’s house was getting a little bit too small for all of us,» she says. “Because I have a daughter now, I wanted her to grow up with more space. It feels wonderful to be able to provide a house for her.”

The change has been rapid, but positive. For the past few months, Yoselin has worked tirelessly to make the new house, which is down the street from where she grew up, feel like home. Rita has helped take care of Gisela in the meantime. “We finished construction in March and moved in this past May after we were done painting.” Yoselin and Rita look at one another and laugh at the memory. They gesture to the walls, which are covered in vibrant floral patterns. “My sister is an artist, and she was really excited to put her art on the walls. I love all sorts of color, so I let her go ahead and be creative with it.”

Yoselin shows us each room, which has been painted a bright shade of green, pink, purple, or blue. Her house also breathes a love of flowers; several different kinds have been planted in front of the house. Many more pots are scattered throughout the kitchen and living room. When Gisela naps, she sleeps under a floral curtain.

“It’s calming here,” Yoselin says.  “I can be on my own, but I can still see my mother, and she can still see her granddaughter. We can both be independent, but also together.”