Blog – Página 84 – Hábitat para la Humanidad Guatemala

Smokeless Stove: Rebeca Morales

29 mayo, 2019/en Meet our families, News /por admin

Doña Rebeca lives with her husband Pastor and their five girls: Selina (16), Yuri (13), Sully (10), Briseira (9) and Dailin (7) in a small community Las Lomas, Chimaltenango. While Pastor works as an independent seller to provide for their family, Doña Rebeca takes care of the home.

Before receiving a Smokeless Stove, Rebeca cooked over an open flame on the floor. Causing her and her family different respiratory diseases, headaches and red eyes because of the smoke.

Rebeca feels really happy and content with her stove, she says: “I feel very content with my stove! There is no more smoke inside my kitchen and it consumes less firewood. There is enough space for me to prepare my tortillas and the rest of my food at the same time,» she continues; «I suffered from eyes disease and they have improved a lot now.»

When asked about the day of construction, María refers: “It was a great day, all the volunteers were really nice. It was fun to share with them,” she continues; “Thank you all for your support! May God bless you. Feel welcome to come back whenever you want.”

Crisanta López Family

28 mayo, 2019/en Meet our families, News /por admin

Crisanta’s home in October 2018

Crisanta’s home in May 2019 with a fresh new coat of paint

Last year, we met Crisanta López González and six of her children – Roxana (19), Sabina (15), Juan Alberto (13), Yadira (10), Harley (7), and Taylor (6) – in San Juan Ostuncalco, a community located in the department of Quetzaltenango, in western Guatemala.

In January 2018, the lives of the López family members dramatically changed when Crisanta’s husband, Juan, passed away unexpectedly. Juan, who worked as a mason, was the family’s breadwinner. Upon his passing, Crisanta took it upon herself to provide for her children, cleaning houses and office spaces twice a week in order to put food on the table.

The whole family inhabits a three-bedroom house that had stained walls and a leaky roof. The latter forced them to all sleep in one room and share two beds amongst themselves. The López family did not have a functional latrine. Crisanta used to cook on and old stove that was in poor conditions too, causing her and the children to have respiratory diseases and red eyes.

Crisanta, Taylor, and Harley in their living room in October 2018

Crisanta and Taylor in their living room in May 2019

In light of their living conditions, Habitat Guatemala, through its Vulnerable Famillies Fund, provided the López family with a new roof, a fresh coat of paint for the walls, a Chispa stove, a water filter, and a new sanitary latrine. Improving their quality of life with a safe roof and adequate access to proper sanitation and a smoke-free environment.

Crisanta shares how her family’s daily life has improved with the products:“Now that we have a new roof, there is no more water leaking and everyone is happy! Before, when it started raining our beds got so wet that all of us had to cuddle in one to not feel cold.»

Regarding their sanitary latrine, Crisanta explains that the new one is cleaner, more comfortable and private, «I am very grateful to Habitat, because I feel that all of you are my family now.» When asked about her new Chispa stove she explains, «With our new stove we do not need to use as much firewood and there is no more smoke inside the kitchen.»

Thank you to everyone who heard Crisanta’s story and chose to support her in her journey towards improving her quality of life.

The stove that Cristanta was using during Habitat’s visit to her home in October 2018

The new Chispa stove that Crisanta is utilizing as of May 2019

Sandra Barrios Family

27 mayo, 2019/en Meet our families, News /por admin

Sandra and her three daughters, Wanda (21), Jazmin (17) and Madeline (12), are happy to be living in their new Habitat home in El Tejar, Chimaltenango. Sandra works in a retirement home as a nurse while the girls go to school. Before building their home, Sandra and her family lived in a small apartment with a relative in Jocotenango,

Sandra explains that she learned about Habitat Guatemala through the internet. After putting all the requirements in order, she decided it was time to start building a place to call her own. “The process was really fast,” says Sandra.

The joy in Sandra when asked how she feels about her new home is obvious. ”I feel happy! I always dreamt to have my own home!” she says.

The family is planning to place a fence around the house and to add an extra room for Wanda in the future. “I would also like to add a garden,” says Sandra.

Sandra and the girls treasure the memories shared with the volunteers during the week of construction. In tears, she says: “We saw in them the commitment and willingness to help. I was very surprised to learn all the things that they have do in order to come here. I am very grateful to them for coming here and giving their hearts and working so hard. It is good to know that there is more people outside the borders that are fighting and working as hard as we do here without any interest rather than to help and support other people.”

She concludes with a message to the volunteers; “May God bless you all, thank you for your big support! I encourage you to continue helping people in need.”

Healthy Home Kit: Yolanda Chumil

24 mayo, 2019/en Meet our families, News /por admin

Yolanda lives with her husband Francisco and their three children, Catherine (6), Laisa (4), and baby Juan (1) in a small community in Sololá. While Rolando works as a mason, Yolanda takes care of the children and is a home maker.

“I used to share an old stove with my mother in law; both of us learned about Habitat Guatemala’s Healthy Home Kit project and decided to apply,” explains Yolanda. A few months later, she is happy with her new stove. “I feel happy. It is working perfectly and it does not consume much wood. It gives me enough space to cook my tortillas and beans at the same time.”

Thanks to the design of the smokeless stove of Habitat for Humanity Guatemala, Yolanda and her family are no longer affected by the smoke that used to be in their kitchen. They used to cough and suffer from irritated eyes. Now, she can cook without any fear that her children will have health problems. Moreover, because the stove consumes a small amount of firewood, she does not need to buy as many logs as before.

The water filter has also improved the health of her entire family. Yolanda notes that her family no longer suffers from stomach pains. She also has found that the taste of the water has improved.

In addition, the latrine has improved living conditions for Yolanda’s family. Now they have a cleaner, healthier and more private place to go to the bathroom. In part, this is also due to the fact that only Yolanda, her husband, and their children use it. With the previous latrine, they had to share it with other relatives since they are living in the same complex.

When asked about the group that came to help her family, a smile appears on Marcelina’s face, “It was a fun day! The volunteers made us laugh and shared time with my kids.”

Yolanda is grateful to the group of volunteers that helped build her stove and latrine, “Thank you for your support. We feel very happy with our products, we send greetings to all of them.”

Healthy Home Kit: María Tol

24 mayo, 2019/en Meet our families, News /por admin

María lives with her husband Juan and their eight children, María (20), Hortensia (19), Juan (12), Amy (19) Cristobal (8) Andrea (6) Sandra (4) and Consuelo (3) small community in Sololá. While Rolando works as a mason, María takes care of the children and weaves traditional clothes.

“I used to cook on an old stove that had crakes in it for almost twenty years; I learned about Habitat Guatemala’s Healthy Home Kit project and decided to apply,” explains María. A few months later she is delighted with the stove, “I feel happy with my stove! No more headaches or smoke inside our kitchen now.”

Thanks to the design of the smokeless stove of Habitat for Humanity Guatemala, María and her family are no longer affected by smoke in their kitchen. They used to suffer from irritated eyes and headaches. Now, she can cook without any fear that her children will burn themselves. Furthermore, because the stove consumes less firewood, María does not need to buy or walk long distance to get as many logs as before.

The water filter has also improved the health of her entire family. María notes that her family no longer suffers from stomach pains and diarrhea . She also has found that the taste of the water has improved.

In addition, the latrine has improved living conditions for her family and now they have a cleaner, healthier and more private environment. The previous latrine was in poor conditions.

When asked about their time with the group that came to help her family, María smiles and shares; “We felt very happy to receive the volunteers and our kit. We were waiting for them and exited to receive volunteers in our home.”

Overall, María is grateful to the group of international volunteers that helped build her stove and latrine. “Thank you for your support. We sent greetings to them. Tiox! (thank you in Kaqchikel).”

Healthy Home Kit: Marcelina Buchan

24 mayo, 2019/en Meet our families, News /por admin

Marcelina lives with her husband Rolando, and their four girls, Sindy (10), Ana (7), Tomasa (4) and Violeta (4 months) in a small community in Sololá. While Rolando works as a mason, Marcelina takes care of the children and weaves traditional clothes.

“I used to cook over an open flame on the floor; I learned about Habitat Guatemala’s Healthy Home Kit project, talked to my husband and we decided to try it,” explains Marcelina. A few months later, she is happy with the stove. “I feel content. The stove is working great and it does not consume a lot of firewood. It heats up quickly and gives me enough space to cook all of my meals.”

Thanks to Habitat for Humanity Guatemala, Marcelina and her family are no longer affected from issues created by smoke. They used to cough and suffer from irritated eyes. Now, she can cook without any fear that her girls will have health problems. Moreover, because the stove consumes less firewood, Marcelina does not need to buy as many logs as before.

The water filter has also improved the health of her entire family. Marcelina notes that her family no longer suffers from stomach pains. She also has found that the taste of the water is different, but better.

In addition, the latrine has improved living conditions for Marcelina’s family and is now a cleaner, healthier and a more private environment. In part, this is also due to the fact that only Marcelina, her husband, and their girls use it. With the previous latrine, they had to share it with other relatives.

When asked about the group that came to help her family, a smile appears on Marcelina’s face, “I felt very happy about the day we spent with the volunteers, we had a good time.”

Above all, Ruby is grateful to the group of international volunteers that helped build her stove and latrine, “Tiox! (thank you in Kaqchikel) Thank you for your support, your big hearts and for coming to visit us. We are happy with these products. May God bless you.”