Floridalma, her husband, Armando and their children, Eder (20), Emerson (18), Candelaria (16), Sandy (14) and Junior Wilfredo (10) have lived for 26 years in their current house. They recently received a Habitat Healthy Home Kit.

The kit includes a water filter, a smokeless stove and a latrine for the family. Prior to her Habitat stove, Floridalma cooked on a small stove. “There was a lot of smoke and it caused a lot of coughing” Floridama says of the effect of the smoke from her old stove to her body. With this stove, “it saves wood, it saves time, the food cooks more quickly because this stove is much larger. Now while I make my tortillas, I can put the majority of my other food to cook as well,» says Floridalma. When asked her favorite thing to cook, Floridalma says, “the thing I cook most are vegetables.”

She also shares about the water filter. “There is a lot of difference. This is the only water we drink and the taste is different.” “How so?” we asked, “I think the taste is better and this water is much cooler,” she says. Of the family’s new latrine, Floridalma says “it is in the same place as the other one but this one is brand new.”

Floridalma remembers well the volunteers and the experience of building together. “I liked their way of being, they were very kind” she said. To the group she specifically sends this message, “I’m very grateful for all that you helped me with because here I lacked plenty. I’m grateful to you.”

Herlinda, her husband Santos and their three children, Alvina (10), Andy (8), and Edison ( 2) live in Solola. The family rented a home for many years before moving to their current home, built adjoint to her brother-in-law’s home. Herlinda’s home is made of blocks, it is much improved from their prior home, and it allows the family to save money to one day build a home of their own.

Just recently, the family received a healthy home kit from Habitat. Prior to her new stove, Herlinda cooked on a bote, a wood small stove with a grill. “Before I could only cook one thing at a time because there was little space. Now everything cooks much faster.” She continues, “with the stove before, it took a long time. I would cook the tortillas, add another piece of wood, cook my coffee add another piece of wood and after each one, I’d add another wood.” “Now, I can cook my coffee, tortillas, frijoles and my soup with just two or three pieces of wood.”

Herlinda says another downside to her old stove was the affect it had on her health. “Before I would cough a lot. I often felt like I was choking and after cooking, I would have a headache. A lot of tears were cried using the old stove,” Herlinda shared. “Right now, this new stove is much better because there is not any smoke. It heats everything—my coffee, soup, all my tortillas, and all of the smoke leaves the kitchen,” she says.

Herlinda also received a  water filter and a latrine as part of her Healthy Home kit. With her new water filter, Herlinda says “the water that we drink now is healthier. Before we would catch water from outside and it sometimes had trash in it. Now the water we drink and is safer.” “What difference has the latrine made in your lives?” We asked Herlinda. “The difference is now we have one,” she says. “Before we would have to bother my brother-in-law to use their bathroom. Now we do not have to bother anyone. Our lives are much better.”

Herlinda remembers the group of volunteers who came to build very well. “When they came to build my stove they were very happy. Everyone came together here on the patio, we had lunch together and we were happy.  I always remember the day that they came, because my family came as well and it was a very joyous time.”

“I am grateful to them for this help, we are sincerely grateful from our hearts. We hope that God would bless you for offering this help because this help has benefited us. Now we don’t bother anyone, now the things we have are our own” Herlinda says.

Veronica, Eliseo and their six children Emilio (23) Alex (20) Mildred (19) Anna (16) Angelica (12) and Adolfo (6) live in Solola. Eliseo works in the mountains on a coffee farm, while Veronica is a homemaker and weaver.

The family have lived in their current house for 19 years. Just recently, the family had a positive change that preceded their encounter with Habitat. “Our house before was made of zinc sheets and 3 years ago, my siblings came to build me this house” Veronica says. The house that her siblings constructed is made of wood and is much more structurally sound than the prior house she told us. “I’m so glad and grateful for this house, because we did not have the kind of money to do this. And now I have this little house” A few months later, Veronica and Eliseo learned about Habitat, that they could receive help building a stove, a latrine and provide them with a water filter too.

“I had a grill stove, but it was a very small one. When my son got married, we gifted him the stove as their wedding present.” The family went back to using a traditional pollo stove to cook their meals. “With the new one, we spend all day cooking. In the morning, for lunch and in the evening, and at each meal we make our tortillas, and it uses a lot less wood, so we wanted this one, and thanks to God, it works very well, now I use even less wood,» says Verónica. When asked what her favorite thing to cook is, she answers: “frijoles, nishtamal and tortillas.”

With the latrine, she says “Before it was quite something for me because before I did not have a latrine. If everyone was here, we had to wait to enter each one into the house to use the bathroom,” she explained. The family had a small container that they would use and then discard outside. «The new one functions very well,” she adds.

Veronica also shares the improvement caused by the water filter. “Before I did not filter the water, we had access to potable water for the community but it was not so close, my children since they were young went to fetch water.”

Of the experience building, Veronica says, “My spouse and my children helped us, each one of my family placed a little part of this work. It was nice to do this work with everyone.” To the volunteers, Veronica says, “Thank you for doing this for us. We are content, the latrine and the stove, how they made it is exactly how it looks, and it looks excellent. Thank you for doing this for us.”