Blog – Página 45 – Hábitat para la Humanidad Guatemala

María Concepción Imul – Family Gardens Project

4 enero, 2021/en Meet our families /por profiles

María lives with her husband, Diego and their three children, Rosy (15), Juan Miguel (8), and Juana (5) in the community of Calanté, Uspantán. Diego works in the city hall, while María takes care of the children, and she is also very involved in the community garden and the greenhouse.

María is part of Habitat Guatemala’s Family Gardens Project that started five years ago in the community. Now, she proudly talks about the community garden, which is filled with a variety of different vegetables. María shares how their lives have changed and their nutrition has improved.

“Before being a part of this project, our children did not receive enough food to keep them nourished. Since we started our family garden, we now have more variety and their health has improved.”

When asked about what they would like to harvest in the greenhouse, María answers: «“With the greenhouse we are going to improve even more, because we are going to be able to grow tomatoes and sweet pepper. Our community is very cold. I have tried to harvest tomatoes and peppers before, but the cold weather did not allow for them to grow. With the green house, we will no longer have to buy these products.» She continues, «We are going to improve our health, by harvesting more vegetables and without any chemicals, everything is organic. We are happy to be a part of this project»

To the donors, International Seeds Program, María would like to express, “Thank you for your support, for supporting our community that needs it very much!”

Catarina López Ajabal – Family Gardens Project

4 enero, 2021/en Meet our families /por profiles

Catarina lives with her husband Miguel, and their three children, María (9), Juan (6), and Andrés (1) in the community of Calanté, Uspantán. Miguel works in agriculture, while Catarina takes care of the children, she is also very involved in the community garden and the greenhouse.

Catarina is part of Habitat Guatemala’s Family Gardens Project that started five years ago in the community. Now, she proudly walks us through the community garden, which is filled with a variety of different vegetables. Catarina shares how their lives have changed and their nutrition has improved.

“Since we started our family garden and also by being part of the community garden. We have learned news ways to harvest different vegetables, most of what we harvest is what we eat it at home.» She continues, «»I feel happy to be a part of this project, as mentioned before, we have learned new techniques to harvest new kinds of vegetables, and different ways to prepare them for my kids, too.»

When asked about what she would like to harvest in the greenhouse, Catarina answers, “We would like to harvest tomatoes, so we do not have to buy them anymore,” she continues, “I believe that with the greenhouse we are going to have a successful tomato harvest. Before, because of the weather, we could not harvest them in our gardens. Now, the idea is to not buy them anymore.”

To the donors, International Seeds Program, Catarina would like to express, “We are very grateful for the donation to build the greenhouse! Thank you for thinking about us, for your support, because not even the mayor has done anything to help us. Thank you!”

#MyHabitatExperience – Delorean Randich

20 noviembre, 2020/en News, News EN /por profiles

My name is Delorean Randich. I am Guatemalan, married, and have two children. I’m a public accountant, with a Master’s Degree in Business Management and I am currently studying a PhD in Law. I have received different trainings in finance, cooperatives, corporate governance, risk and technology management. My background has been in insurance companies, credits and savings cooperatives, management, audit activities, and I have experience as a professor at a local university.

Why Habitat Guatemala?

I am convinced of the great potential that Habitat for Humanity Guatemala has to continue working towards the mission of providing more Guatemalan families with an adequate house through the principles of sweat equity, stewardship, training in different subjects and attention to primary needs in life. Habitat Guatemala has a solid team of strategic allies, committed to donate their willpower, time, resources, efforts and initiatives to increase the impact in the quality of life of all communities in Guatemala.

Your Habitat Experience:

I started at Habitat for Humanity Guatemala back in 2018 as a volunteer in different commissions (Finance and Auditing). Later, I became a part of the Board as the Treasurer. Being part of those commissions allowed me to witness the combination of several factors that have been successful keys in the institution’s story. Starting with always prioritizing the needs of the families, followed by social housing grants; also, the staff that is committed to serving the communities.

Since early September, I have had the honor of serving as the National Director of Habitat Guatemala. When holding this position it is important to consider all of the perspectives and points of view surrounding the organization – starting with local committees, affiliates, national offices, and strategic allies, who are day by day, serving families.

What do you like the most about your position?

At Habitat Guatemala we are facing several challenging horizons. The main difficulty consists of extending a variety of housing solutions in accordance with new development opportunities of families. Such challenges will be addressed with a holistic approach, involving all the factors surrounding Habitat, in order to establish a sustainable management throughout time. Ultimately, this will ensure the increasing impact in housing, improvement of living conditions, and in technical governance of the housing solutions offered by Habitat: to make them affordable and accessible to those who have the primary need of an adequate house.

A message to the donors and volunteers

2020 has been a complicated year, challenging above all. A time in which families worldwide have lived never imagined circumstances. However, it has also been a time of reflection, and to think of new ways of living and overcoming. In 2020, many families who already had the need of adequate housing were even more affected because of the economic crisis, employment loss, and impact of several natural disasters. The hope, the ideal to count on a safe house, and an adequate quality of life is still alive in each family. In its mission and vision, Habitat for Humanity Guatemala seeks to promote decent housing for Guatemalan families through a unique model based on the love of God through the actions of donors and volunteers, and by providing housing with a social focus, with an added value based on better construction practices, mutual aid and education.

On behalf of Habitat Guatemala, I want to extend our deep appreciation to all of the support that you have dedicated to the families and communities of Guatemala, which is reflected in the smiles, joy, health and prosperity of each home. We invite you to continue supporting our efforts, through donations and volunteering, together, knowing that there is a lot more to be done in the housing development subject in the country. May God bless you!

Juntos construimos nuestro sueño

20 noviembre, 2020/en Familias /por lgalvez

Ruth vive junto a su hijo, Diego Alejandro en su vivienda Hábitat en San Benito, Petén, trabaja en una firma de abogados, mientras Diego pasa el día en casa de sus abuelos.

“Vivíamos en casa de mis papás, hasta que un día decidí construir mi propia casa, ya era el momento y necesitábamos nuestro espacio con Diego,” comenta Ruth.

Ella se enteró de los programas de Hábitat a través de un compañero de trabajo, quien le explicó el proceso. Luego de hacer algunas averiguaciones, decidió que era momento de invertir en una vivienda, un espacio solo para ellos dos. “Mi motivación principal fue tener un hogar para mi hijo,” menciona Ruth.

Al preguntarle cómo se siente con su nueva casa, Ruth responde: “¡Me siento muy feliz cada vez que entro a mi casa! El ver que cada esfuerzo que realizas tiene sus recompensas es muy reconfortante. Decidí mudarme el 8 de marzo (Día internacional de la Mujer), porque quería que fuera un día especial e importante.”

Tanto Ruth como Diego disfrutan su tiempo juntos, entre risas nos comenta, “Nos gusta jugar y pintar, me gusta darle siempre las herramientas necesarias para que Diego sea feliz y tenga un buen desarrollo.”

Casas Híbridas, por una vida más segura

20 noviembre, 2020/en Familias /por lgalvez

Florencia Socop, junto a sus cinco hijos: Rosaura, Milsia, Isamael, Aroldo y Josué son los orgullosos dueños de una vivienda híbrida, en el municipio de Las Canoas Altas, San Andrés Sematabaj, Sololá. Milsia es madre soltera, trabaja haciendo limpieza en distintas viviendas del sector. Sus hijos mayores trabajan en el campo y sus hijos menores van a la escuela.

Florencia y su familia son parte de nuestro proyecto de casas Híbridas, este programa da acceso a familias de escasos recursos a una vivienda adecuada. Dicha vivienda es parcialmente subsidiada, compuesta de dos cuartos, construida con una mezcla de materiales tradicionales como: blocks de adobe, blocks de cemento y madera.

Antes de construir su vivienda, Florencia nos comenta “vivía en una casa de lámina, compartiendo todos un solo cuarto, estaba construida con láminas nada más, sentíamos mucho frío durante el invierno y mucho calor en el verano, las láminas se encontraban en mal estado, con orificios por donde el viento entraba y nos mantenía enfermos”.

Un día, Florencia recibió la visita del personal de Hábitat Guatemala para conocer las condiciones en las que estaban viviendo. “Me sorprendí mucho porque todo sucedió muy rápido. En un par de meses, ya estábamos construyendo nuestra casa junto a mis hijos. El construir los blocks de adobe fue difícil al principio, luego se nos hizo mucho más fácil, este proceso nos unió más como familia, y también ¡estuvo muy divertido!” nos comparte Florencia.

Al preguntarle cómo se siente con su nueva vivienda, Florencia sonríe y responde: “Nos sentimos muy muy felices y agradecidos de tener una nueva casa, ¡nuestra casa! Ahora podemos vivir en paz junto a mis hijos, sin preocuparnos por tener que pasar frío, como madre soltera, ha sido un camino muy difícil, me sentía muy sola, pero Hábitat llegó a apoyarme y eso me hizo sentir que ya no estoy sola en este camino.”

Respuesta a las Tormentas Tropicales ETA e IOTA

5 noviembre, 2020/en Noticias /por lgalvez

Actualización 27 de noviembre:

El huracán IOTA (tormenta de categoría 4) azotó Centroamérica el lunes 16 de noviembre de 2020, trayendo vientos catastróficos y una marejada ciclónica potencialmente mortal.

La llegada de IOTA se produce cuando la región no se ha empezado a recuperar de la tormenta ETA, que tocó tierra el 5 de noviembre con vientos de más 150 km/h, provocando inundaciones y deslizamientos de tierra en toda la región dejando fuertes daños y muertes.

El presidente Alejandro Giammattei ha declarado Alerta Nacional y Estado de Emergencia en nueve departamentos: Petén, Quiché, Alta Verapaz, Izabal, Chiquimula, Zacapa, Jutiapa, El Progreso y Santa Rosa.

Fotografías: Prensa Libre y Conred

Números actuales:

Número de víctimas mortales: 60
Número de heridos: 30
Personas desaparecidas: 100
Número de personas afectadas: 2,406,405
Número de personas damnificadas: 1,766,205
Número de personas en albergues: 265,457

Número de Viviendas con daño 76,615

Datos oficiales: CONRED

Como respuesta a este desastre natural, Hábitat Guatemala apoyará con distintas a las familias afectadas:

Kit de Alimentos (275 quetzales )

Este kit proporcionará a las familias los alimentos básicos necesarios para una familia de 5 personas durante dos semanas, consta de los siguientes elementos:

5 libras de frijol
5 libras de arroz
10 libras de harina de maíz
5 libras de pasta
5 libras de azúcar
1 botella de Aceite para cocina
1 libra de sal
3 libras de atol en polvo

Bono para necesidades básicas (400 quetzales)

Estos vales se distribuirán a las familias más afectadas, para hacer frente a la pérdida de ingresos económicos, para el pago de servicios básicos o alquiler.

Se les dará prioridad a las familias cuyas viviendas hayan sido declaradas inhabitables por las constantes lluvias, así como a las que se encuentren en albergues temporales.

Kit de higiene (560 quinientos sesenta quetzales)

Artículos básicos que cubren las necesidades de higiene personal y del hogar. El kit protegerá a las familias de posibles infecciones, además de proporcionar agua potable mediante el uso de un Filtro Purificador para Agua.

Cada kit consta de los siguientes elementos:

Filtro Purificador para Agua
1 caja de guantes desechables
1 litro de desinfectante para manos
10 Mascarillas
1 galón de Cloro
1 galón de jabón para manos
1 kilo de detergente para ropa

Hábitat Guatemala también estará siguiendo el daño de la tormenta a medida que avanza para determinar nuestros próximos pasos con respecto a la reconstrucción o reparación de viviendas.

Gracias a su apoyo, serviremos a las familias necesitadas durante estos tiempos difíciles.

Dona

Latest News