Down the road to Cantel, up the road to Estancia, and down a half-paved road, there’s a village called Chiriquiac. Down a gravel road, past the corn and cabbage fields, and down a little dirt path, there’s a brand new house in the tranquility of the countryside.

Irmin Itzep Sacalxot, 28, and his wife Dominga Carmelina Juix Coti, 25, are the happy young owners of the new house. As the couple sits down to talk, Dominga’s dress sparkles under the light of the window. She wears an ornate traditional dress – a sign of her Quiché heritage. Irmin quietly arranges the chairs to make everyone comfortable in his new home.

“Before,” he says, “we were living with Dominga’s mother in her home.” The previous living arrangements weren’t ideal. They were living with the in-laws in an adobe home, a situation that caused the young couple to feel dependent and cramped.

“We were already our own family,” says Irmin. “We wanted to make ourselves independent.”

The couple didn’t have a lot of income. Irmin works as a barista at a small coffee shop in the city of Xela, and Dominga makes beautiful embroideries with her sewing machine to bring in a little extra cash. Either way, the young couple didn’t have the means to be able to pay for an entire house, so Habitat Guatemala was their best option for acquiring their own place.

During the construction of their house, a group of volunteers from Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley came down to lend a hand. “We are really thankful for their support,” says Irmin. “They did a ton of work. We’re really content here, and we are thankful to God. It is a fortune to have had this support.”

Their contentness in their new house is evident. Everything inside and outside their house is well-arranged and obviously taken care of with proud hands. Finally, the young couple is living the peaceful life they deserve.

Twenty years ago, Olga was 12 years old. Her parents partnered with Habitat Guatemala to construct one of the first Habitat homes in Guatemala.

Fast-forward twenty years, and 32-year-old Olga is the strong mother of a daughter and twin boys. She was living all that time in her mother’s home, which was well-kept with pride. But with at least 9 people in the mix, things were cramped.

So to relieve the space issue, Olga decided to partner with Habitat Guatemala, just like her mother did 20 years prior.

“Now, we bring in the TV and watch together,” says Olga. “Before, we couldn’t do that. You just can’t when everybody wants to do their own thing. There was no space. Now, it’s really spacious.”

And that same pride that her mother took in her home has been passed down, all the way to Olga’s 11-year-old daughter Dallana. “She says, ‘this is my room, this is my door,’” explains Olga. “Before, she left her clothes scattered around her room. Now, everything’s all organized.”

The new house also features something that the architects have done specially in Retalhuleu. Around the house, one meter from the ground, there is a sort of “splash zone” that, because of Reu’s rainy climate, prevents water from penetrating the concrete. It makes the home last longer, and insures the integrity of the building.

Olga is very thankful for the volunteer team and sends her warmest wishes and greetings.

Olga and her family are happy to be in their new place, happy for the opportunity to create something of their own. With the help of Habitat Guatemala, they’ve been able to succeed in creating their own space, and they’ve been inspired to think about what changes they’d like to continue making in the future.

One of the twins couldn’t muster staying awake during a boring grown-up conversation.