Rosa María, an independent beauty products seller, her husband José, a tuc tuc driver, and her family are happy to be living in their new Habitat Guatemala home in the department of Sololá.  Before building their home, Rosa, José, and their children, Flavio (4) and Martha (3), lived with Jose’s parents in a small room. In their previous house, they were uncomfortable because there was not enough room for their children. “With children we needed more space, it was too crowed,” says Rosa María.

Rosa María explains that she grew up in a Habitat house with her parents. This meant that when she and José decided to build their own home, they knew Habitat Guatemala was the best place to make it a reality! “Thanks to God, Habitat give us this opportunity, and now we have our home,” says Rosa María.

When asked how she feels about her new home Rosa María exclaims, ”I feel happy and independent! here my children can play and do whatever they want,” she continues; “ We are very happy here. We can eat at the time we want too.” José adds; “We feel content and calmed in our house.”

“My husband and I are a team, I am pregnant now and I need to rest for a few months, but as a team we help each other and work to maintain our family,” says Rosa María. “We enjoy our time together as a family, the kids like to play and cycle around the house. They enjoy playing with José,” she continues, “We are a very united family.”

The family is planning to place a fence around the house and to add an extra room in the future, so they can have their own store inside their home. “José likes to sell cellphones and electronic devices, and I like to sell beauty products. We would like to have our own store in the future,” explains Rosa María.

Rosa María and José treasure the memories shared with the volunteers during the week of construction. The couple laughs & comments: “We had a great week, they worked really hard! They were always open and had a positive attitude while building our house.”

The family finishes with a message to the volunteers; “We are very grateful for your support, we will always remember you. The doors  of our home are open. Feel welcome whenever you want to come back. Thank you!”

Ruby lives with her husband Manuel and their son Manuel (6), in a small community in San Lucas Tolimán.  Manuel works as a mason and Ruby has a small grocery shop in their house.

“I used to cook on an old stove that was in bad shape; I learned about Habitat Guatemala’s Healthy Home Kit project and we decided to try it,” explains Ruby. A few months later, she is delighted with the stove. “I feel happy, it is very efficient.” Because the stove heats up easily and has a wide surface, she can simultaneously grill her tortillas and prepare beans for lunch.

Thanks to the design of the smokeless stove of Habitat for Humanity Guatemala, Ruby and her family are no longer affected from issues with smoke fumes. They used to cough and suffer from irritated eyes. Now, she can cook without any fear that her son will have health problems. Moreover, because the stove is low-consuming for firewood, Ruby doesn’t need to buy as many logs as before. The smokeless stove allows her to save some money and to spend it on other everyday expenses, especially food.

The water filter has also improved the health of her entire family. Ruby 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 Ruby’s family and is now a cleaner, healthier environment. In part, this is also due to the fact that only Ruby, her husband, and her son use it. With the previous latrine, they had to share one with around ten other relatives.

When she is asked about the group that came to help her family, a smile appears on Ruby’s face. She is proud to say that they built the stove together. “They were really nice people, they played with my son and we shared good memories.”

Above all, Ruby is grateful to the group of international volunteers that helped build her stove and latrine. “I thank the volunteers for their support and their work. All these products have been really useful for me and my family, I am very grateful to all.”