During week 6 of our Giving Tuesday campaign we discussed what we believe it means to have a home.
With a housing deficit in Guatemala of over 1.8 million homes, we work hard to provide houses for families across Guatemala because we at Habitat for Humanity Guatemala believe that everyone deserves to have a decent home.
During week 5 of our Giving Tuesday campaign we discussed the need for smokeless stoves in Guatemala.
Guatemalan families that cook over open fires are constantly breathing in smoke and consuming great amounts of firewood. Most affected are Guatemala’s most vulnerable populations because only the poorest families utilize this cooking method with women and small children, who spend more time in the home, as the ones suffering most from chronic respiratory problems and burns. Starting in 2011, Habitat Guatemala established the project Small Change, Giant Leap with the goal of installing 17,000 smokeless stoves in five years. The stoves are built from adobe blocks with a pipe to carry out the harmful smoke. The multiple-burner metal stove top allows women to dedicate more time to other tasks and to income generation. These improved stoves have other advantages too, including an easy-to-learn assembly process, and faster cooking times that can reduce firewood use by up to 50%.
Today is a day to celebrate the ability to use a sanitary toilet — and to make a commitment to bringing toilets to all those who do not have one. Today, there are 2.5 billion people who are toiletless.
Only 54% of Guatemalans have access to proper sanitation services. The remainder of the population uses poorly constructed latrines or nothing at all.
Sanitation is a clear issue considering that an estimated 85% of waste water is left untreated and often just dumped into local water sources. As part of our Clean Water Project, Habitat Guatemala’s sanitary latrines reduce contamination, while our classes educate families on maintaining healthy homes and good hygienic practices.
You can learn more about our Clean Water Project below:
You can help. Give a sanitary latrine today.
Thanks to your amazing photos that you submitted to our competition, our 2015 calendar is filled with beautiful images from your experiences! For only $15 you can ensure that each day next year is filled with joy.
Please place your order by e-mailing donor@habitatguate.org with the desired number.
Thank you!
For the fourth week of our Giving Tuesday campaign we are talking about our water filters and community gardens projects. With these programs we home to assist Guatemalan families who live in extreme poverty.
Water Filters
Over four million Guatemalans living in rural areas do not have access to potable water. And while five of the top twenty causes of death can be related to water contamination, only 3% of the population regularly uses water filters. It’s for this reason that Habitat Guatemala started the Clean Water Project, giving families in extreme poverty access to clean drinking water, and consequently, healthier lives.
Only 54% of Guatemalans have access to proper sanitation services. The remainder of the population uses poorly constructed latrines or nothing at all.
Community Gardens
Guatemala has the fourth highest rate of chronic malnutrition in the world and the highest in Latin America—reaching up to 69% in poor, rural, indigenous areas. The problem, however, is not due to a lack of calories, but rather a deficiency in essential vitamins and nutrients that come from balanced diets.
To combat this dire situation, Habitat Guatemala uses community gardens to teach families about improved gardening techniques, vegetable varieties, water management and nutrition which they can then put into practice in their own family gardens.
For the third week of our Giving Tuesday campaign we are talking about our housing communities and their ability to provide families who do not own land, with access to land rights.
Our partner families receive low-interest loans to purchase a plot of land and to build their home, while we facilitate access to utilities and services that help promote the growth of a harmonious community. Many families in Guatemala lack the resources to find and attain tenure to land on which they could build a home. To remedy this problem, Habitat Guatemala invests in tracts of land large enough to build new communities of 20 to 100 houses and develops the infrastructure and public areas necessary to create a thriving neighborhood.
To learn more, see the images below:
Avenida Las Américas, 9-50, zona 3,
Edificio Supercom Delco, 3er. nivel, Oficina 3,
Quetzaltenango, Quetzaltenango.
+502 7931-3131
donor@habitaguate.org
Carretera a San Bartolomé Becerra casa #6,
Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepéquez.
+502 7832-4436 / +502 7832-4572
guategv@habitaguate.org
© 2020 Habitat para la Humanidad ® Guatemala. | Desarrollado por iGuate.com
