For many years Gloria’s (54) family lived in a one-room adobe house in San Marcos. While they managed to raise their two sons, Melvin (30) and Gustavo (28), they struggled to find comfort in such a crammed space.  During a regular work route as a mail man, Gloria’s husband, Juan (55), came across a Habitat flyer at one of his destinations.  He went home that day and showed the flyer to his family and they agreed to apply for a home shortly after. Halfway through 2016, they were able to relocate into the new home and immediately felt life become brighter.

As you pass through the bamboo fence in front of the house, the first thing you notice is a small garden that makes you feel welcome right away.  “It’s nice to be able to plant in my own home” says Gloria, “Just wait until you see the avocado tree!”  And as she led us to the side of the home, I expected a medium sized tree but she pointed out to a mighty avocado tree to the left of the home.When her sons are home they are able to relax as well as study comfortably, “Now, my sons have more privacy since they each have their own room.” For Gloria it is a relief to see that her boys are now able to focus on their work and personal life.

She feels very blessed that she’s able to invite others into their home. “Life is beautiful when you can spend time with family and friends in your home” expressed Gloria when asked how she felt in the new house, “Life is short, so why fight?”

As for the volunteers that came down to help build her home she was surprised to see such a hard working group, especially the women. “I had never seen women work so hard at this kind of work before” she declared. “We are very thankful for all of your hard work,” she said to the volunteers, “keep pressing on and we hope that you receive God’s blessings for the seeds that you planted with us. “

The future for the De La Cruz family looks brighter and they will continue to work together to reach their goals in the comfort of their own home.

Magdalena Perez Chocho

At seventy-two years old, Magdalena runs her household seamlessly. She rises early, tends to her sheep and goats, and then prepares meals for her daughter, Santos (35), and her two young grandchildren, Elmer (7) and Cedelia (5). She is also responsible for cleaning the family home.

Since receiving a Healthy Home Kit from Habitat Guatemala, life has become significantly easier for Magdalena and her family. She is especially pleased that she has more time to herself. In Kaqchiquel, a local Mayan language, she explains that, “Before, the stove used a lot of wood, and we would have to search for it every single day. Now, we only have to go three times a week, which gives me much more time, now that I’m older, to rest.”

 

Reflecting on her old stove, Magdalena says that, “it was no more than a few blocks stacked together with a grill laid on top. It was in bad condition. The grill was twisted so much that you couldn’t even put food on it.” Her eyes, lungs, and skin also suffered from the burning smoke, and the choking tendrils also left the little ones with a cough. “It was everywhere, and it blackened our roof.” She points above to the ceiling, where remnants of soot dangle, an ominous reminder of what her stove used to be.

The Healthy Home Kit has also boosted Magdalena’s spirits in ways that she had never imagined. The new latrine has offered her greater privacy, dignity, and comfort. Plus, it’s closer to the house. “It’s nice to not to have to share a latrine with two other families,” Magdalena says. “Our old latrine was only a dirt floor, and a piece of cloth to cover the opening. Nothing more. There was no privacy, and it was dirty.”

Lastly, finding a clean drinking source is easier than ever. Rather than having to boil copious amounts of water, Magdalena only has to go to the stream twice a week to fetch water from the stream and put it into the water filter. “The stomach pains have disappeared,” she smiles.

Magdalena is grateful for all that the volunteers´ dedication and stamina, and she reflects on their relationship fondly. “Our family supplied the materials, but the volunteers were the ones who made them into the latrine and the stove,” she explains.  “We are very grateful for the team and with the services that they provided us. We don’t suffer anymore.”

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Sandra Chocho Yaxon

Sandra (29) and her mother-in-law, Isabel (43) have a daily ritual. Together, they will congregate in the kitchen to prepare three meals for their family of five. For a long while, Sandra says, their cooking equipment was far from ideal. The family stove, decades old, was falling apart. “There were a lot of problems with the bottom and the grill,” she explains.  “The old one was made out of dirt and was very, very small. It used way too much wood.”

She cites that the old stove posed many health problems for her family. “Because of the smoke, we had a lot of lung issues, and we always burned ourselves. It was especially dangerous with my baby, Luciano, who would grab everything.”

Since Habitat Guatemala volunteers built her new stove last June, Sandra is thrilled with the results. Excitedly, she explains that, “The new one uses less wood, is easy to use, and doesn’t let off as much smoke.”

A new stove is not the only thing Sandra and Isabel have benefited from. As part of Habitat Guatemala´s Healthy Home Kit Program, they were also latrine and water filter recipients. Sandra cites that the new latrine is a great improvement. “Our old latrine was made of bamboo rods. It didn’t offer a lot of privacy and was farther away from the house,” she says. “The new one is made well. It’s dry, easy to use. There aren’t any problems with smell or with sturdiness.”

As for water? Since switching to a water filter, Sandra has noticed that her family’s health has measuredly improved. Before, all five of them suffered from daily stomach problems, mainly to using a tinaja, or a large earthenware jug that is commonly used to store liquids in rural areas of Guatemala. Sandra also doesn’t have to boil water anymore and is happy with the facility of using a filter.

When asked about the group that came to build the stove and latrine, Sandra’s face brightens. “We thank you so much for the wonderful work that you did. We hope that you continue to help serve families like ours. Thank you.”

 

Feliza Sulwi Chopen

Outside the bustling town of San Lucas Tolimán lies a smaller, quieter community. Home to 500 families, this place, named Xejuyu (pronounced “Shay-Who-You”), is inhabited by people who speak a kaleidoscopic mixture of the Maya indigenous language, Kaqchiquel, and Spanish. Here, neighbors easily recognize one another and take care of one another’s children as if they were their own.

Feliza Sulwi Chopen, mother of two students and proud owner of a Healthy Home Kit, has lived in this community her entire life. She cares for her house while her husband, Benjamin, is away working at a major farm down the road. Since she was a girl, Feliza has used a stove to support her family. “Here in Guatemala, the stove is life,” she explains.

However, like most women in Guatemala, Feliza has used an ineffective and dangerous stove for decades. When asked about her previous device, she recalls the many issues with its construction. “Our old stove was crooked, and because of that, a lot of smoke would come out and flood the house. The smoke would also stay in the house, and it was impossible to air out our rooms when that happened.” Access to clean air was also out of the question. “The stove always affected our health; we couldn’t breathe at all inside our house.”

After receiving materials to build a new stove this past May, Feliza’s family has already witnessed several positive economic and health changes. She gives us a quick financial breakdown of how the stove has impacted her life: “Since building the stove, we have cut back a lot on paying for wood. Now, we only need a little to heat up the entire grill and to cook our food. We can put three or four pots on top and cook for the entire family. For every two pieces of wood, that’s four pots of food for a whole family.” Mostly importantly, she says, “Saving money on firewood means one more piece of bread for our children.”

Feliza also notes that the water filter and latrine have contributed to a change in routine. Rather than boiling her water, she can readily access the supply in her filter and doesn’t have to worry about falling ill from waterborne diseases. She is also pleased with her family’s latrine, which is made of stone blocks and wooden beams. “Since building the latrine, we feel happier and cleaner. The air is pure, and we have a private space where there wasn’t one before.”

Matilida Tobar

Matilda Tobar lives one house down from Feliza. While her husband works in the countryside, she is in charge of caring for her seven-year-old daughter, Paola, and the newest addition to the family, baby Brenaly. Like Feliza, she spends most of the day using a stovetop to prepare tortillas and meals for her family. Matilda is overjoyed that her new stove, which was built last May by a group of volunteers, is nothing like her old one. When remembering how the previous stove functioned, she shakes her head in disbelief.

“Our old stove was tiny! You couldn’t cook anything on it. The old kind, which almost everyone uses,

produces so much smoke and burns women and kids all the time. If you ask any of the women in this community, they can show you their scars from the burns.” In addition to the exterior risks, Matilda notes the stove’s negative impact on her family’s health. “My kids were always sick; my baby had a very bad cough for a long time, and we were always at the doctor, trying to get her help. She concludes: “Bad stoves are dangerous for everyone.”

The new stove has helped her family in many more ways than she realized. “We save a little money from not having to buy so much wood. Whatever we save, we give to our kids for school. We can buy them books, uniforms, whatever they need. Everything we do is always for our children.”