Aracely is a single mother of two boys,  Anthony (19) and Rodrigo (10). Due to the lack of job opportunities in Cantel, Quetzaltenango, Aracely and her boys had to move to Guatemala City to live with a relative, but during weekends and holidays they can now come back to their community to enjoy their new Habitat home and a place to call their own.

Doña Celestina (Aracely’s mom) explains how hard it is for her daughter to work and provide her children with education while making a living in Guatemala city. They also travel during weekends and holidays to visit the rest of the family and enjoy quality time in their home.  Before partnering with Habitat Guatemala, they used to live in her parents’ house which did not have enough space for all of them.

Due to all the inconvenience and wishing for a space for her and her children to grow up and have privacy and safety, Aracely decided it was time to invest in a house for their future with the support of Habitat Guatemala.

Aracely’s mom explains how her daughter feels regarding her home; “Now I am happy to have my own house, something to leave to my kids,” In the future, they are planning to add a garden and paint the walls.

Regarding the week of construction with the volunteers, Doña Celestina says; “It was a fun week! They worked really hard, even though it rained, we shared lots of good memories,” she continues, “We are grateful for your support, may God bless you. Remember that the doors of our house are open for you always!”

María lives with her husband Raymundo and their seven children, José (19), María (17), María Mercedes (15), Dany (12), María Guadalupe (11), Brian (5) and Marvin (2) in a small community in Chimaltenango. While María is a homemaker, Raymundo works in the fields and the older kids go to school.

Before receiving her smokeless stove, María used to cook over an open flame that caused her several respiratory diseases and eye irritation. “The smoke was very dense and it made me suffer a lot,” she says.

María’s reality has change a lot since her stove was built; “I feel happy with it!! It is working great and no more smoke.  It is big, I can prepare my tortillas and the rest of the meals at the same time, she continues; “it also saves a lot of wood, I do not need to buy a lot now.”

When asked about the day of construction, María says: “We had a good day! They had lunch here with us,” she continues; “May God bless all the volunteers that keep on helping us, I am very grateful for my stove.”

Doña Blanca lives with her husband Cesar and their four children, Kimberly (13), Cesar (11), Luis (8) and Jennifer (6) in a small community in Chimaltenango. While Cesar works in the fields, Blanca takes care of the children and the house.

Before receiving her smokeless stove, Blanca used to cook over an open flame “pollo”. The smoke caused her to have red eyes and respiratory diseases.

When asked how she feels with her new stove, Blanca responds: “I feel happy with my stove! It is also our table, all the family gathers around to eat now and it is working great.”

Blanca and her family have good memories of the time shared with the volunteers, “We were really happy that day, they built our stove and had lunch with us,” she continues; “I am grateful to all of you for your support.»