The Morales Family

The first sound heard when entering Nelson and Dulia Morales’s home is cheering. In their bedroom, the local soccer game is airing on television. After scoring a quick goal, their favored team is in the lead. “It’s nice to be here, and we’re two people, without any worries,” remarks Nelson. “We can invite people over to watch the soccer game and because there is more space, we can cheer for our team as loud as we want!”

Nelson and Dulia have only lived in their Habitat for Humanity Guatemala home for a few weeks, but they have come to experience a fresh new form of freedom. Before building their home, the couple lived with Nelson’s parents for two years. However, the house had problems. “It was older,” recalls Nelson. “There were leaks coming through the roof, which caused problems.”

“It’s necessary to be independent,” adds Dulia. “We didn’t want to rely on in-laws for everything.”

Soon, the two of them began to consult moving options. However, because both Nelson and Dulia are teachers, they were worried about the costs of housing. Luckily, Nelson’s parents suggested Habitat for Humanity Guatemala for its economic flexibility. “We liked how with Habitat, you pay monthly over a long term period of time,” says Nelson. “So we went for more information at the local affiliate and decided to go for it. We wouldn’t have had our new house without Habitat Guatemala, and we’re finally starting a new dream, a new life.”

For three and a half months, the couple worked on the construction of their new home. Each day, after they finished up teaching at the local school, they were present for the building. For one week, a group of international volunteers took part. Nelson and Dulia’s faces light up when they are mentioned. “The group of volunteers came in May,” remembers Dulia. “They were friendly and collaborative. For ten days, they helped us advance on our house. We had contests to see who could build more rebar, and they won.” They laugh.

Both Nelson and Dulia are grateful for the volunteers’ hard work. “The people who came here, they are blessed with all of our hearts. Everything was pleasant and wonderful, they are also in the hearts of my family. I am grateful for the entire team. They entered so graciously, and for that, may God bless them. Wherever they may be, they will also receive our support. If you come back, we will be waiting for you.”

Their new house has been nothing short of a great improvement, and Nelson and Dulia are eager to create new memories. Dulia enjoys that there is more space and that their house is becoming one to call their own. “We plan to paint, to continue with small progressions,” she notes. “We don’t have kids yet, but they’ll be here soon!”

 

Smokeless Stoves: Santos Tuy Ajú and Juliana Palaj Cumes

Santos Tuy Ajú

“We wanted to build a new stove because of the smoke. It made us cough, and we had to go to the doctor in Sololá, which is 45 minutes away from here. Sometimes, we went, sometimes we didn’t. Sometimes, they would have medicine, sometimes, no. Sometimes, the children suffered from the smoke, and sometimes, they burned themselves.”

Santos Tuy Ajú tells her story carefully in Kaqchikel, a local Mayan dialect spoken in the Sololá department of Guatemala. Her confident posture and calm, clear voice are all indicative of the community leader that she is.

Even her family is entranced. Her two younger children, four-year-old Ivan, and seven-year-old Maura, both linger next to their stove to listen to her speak.  “What I like most about this stove,” she explains, “is that all the smoke is gone. When I light it, my work is done for me, and I can feed my family.”
Santos and her family of ten live tucked between the dense forests and hills of Sololá. Their resources are limited, especially when finding firewood to warm themselves. “We buy wood, but when it gets too expensive, we have to search for it. When we buy wood, we used up a bundle in fifteen days, and it cost us 300 Quetzales ($41.00),” Santos remarks. “Now, it lasts longer with the new stove, and whatever money we save, we use to buy clothes for our kids, plus more materials that will let them be successful in their studies.”

Through a friend, Santos came to learn about Habitat Guatemala’s Healthy Home Kit programming, which provided resources for families like hers. Santos became determined to get her entire community on board, and got in contact with the local affiliate. “We asked so many questions, because that was really important to us,” she describes. “Twenty-seven families have been supported through this project, and we are so grateful for it.”

As for the group of volunteers that assisted Santos with building her stove, she speaks of them with love. “The group that came spent a day constructing it with us. I remember them clearly. Together, we shared peaches, and corn. Our family taught them all about the corn, how to eat it, and how to make tortillas from it.” Santos then laughs. “I remember taking all the photos. We kept all of them.”

She remains grateful to their work and efforts. “May God bless you, thank you so much for coming here to support families in the community,” she says. “I hope that you continue to help families like ours, for many of them still need it. I hope that you remember us, and everything that you have done.”


Juliana Palaj Cumes

A group of neighborhood women gather around Juliana Palaj Cumes’s smokeless stove to circulate the daily gossip. Chattering in Kachikel, the women giggle at one another’s news between bites of tortillas and beans. This same collective of women helped Juliana become an owner of the very stove that they sit around.  “We came to know Habitat when doña Santos, the community leader, came to us to tell me about the projects started by Habitat Guatemala,” Juliana says. “She began a system of support in our community.”

Juliana is pleased with how everything turned out. “I like the new stove more because it saves us so much wood. We can cook lunch without having smoke everywhere.” She points to the ceiling, where long tendrils of ash still hang above her head, a reminder of what once was.

Before building her new stove, Juliana recalls experiencing great difficulties with cooking. “I used on an old stove for fifteen years. It wasted a lot of wood and produced too much smoke.” She forms tortillas as she speaks, pressing the mass of corn in her palms. “The smoke would fill up the kitchen, which bothered our eyes and caused us to cough. We went to a health center once in awhile, but when they didn’t have medicine, there was nothing that we could do, which left us sick.”

Under her elbow, Juliana’s youngest son, three-year-old Romeo, sips quietly on his atol corn drink. He shifts closer to seek the warmth of the stove. “The old stove gave me so many problems, and it used to burn me when the wood fell out of it,” she reveals.

Thankfully, the new smokeless stove has saved Juliana’s family from health problems. Furthermore, collectively, they have more time and energy than before. “With the extra time we save, my husband and children may work a bit more to earn more money for us,” she says. “Before, we used so much wood that they would return after work and realize everything that they had found a few days before had been used up. We’d say ‘where are we going to find more wood for all of us?’”

Juliana remembers building her stove with great fondness. “The construction of the stove took about half a day. My children cut the blocks beforehand. And I remember the group of volunteers still,” she beams at the memory. “I have a photo of them in my bedroom. They may always come back and are always welcome. They were so friendly, wonderful.”

Her message for them? “One day, we will meet one another once again. On behalf of my family, thank you very much for the work that you came to build the stove. The stove has made an enormous difference, thank you so much.”

Smokeless Stoves: Catalina Xoquic Cuxulic and Antonia Tuy Tuy

Catalina Xoquic Cuxulic

Catalina Xoquic Cuxulic’s kitchen hugs close to the ground, capable of only fitting two to three people at a time. The Habitat Guatemala volunteers faced some issues with her ceiling, discloses Catalina, laughing.  “They kept hitting their head on the roof!” she exclaims, pointing to the low-hanging beams. “But they were eager to get to know us and build.”

That group of volunteers were determined to assist Catalina. Their mission? To build her a new smokeless stove, which would relieve her of the daily burdens that she faced. “The volunteer group was filled with great people,” she smiles. “Thank you for coming here to help construct the stove. My daughter also uses the stove to cook and support herself. Thank you for sharing this experience with me.”

For years, Catalina had been preparing meals with nothing more than a few cement blocks topped with a precarious iron grill. Without a stable cooking device, both she and her children suffered. “My eyes hurt, I was sick because of the smoke,” she says. “My children were burning themselves all the time. It was awful.”

Catalina went to the doctor for her family’s ailments, but found the experience frustrating. “I went to the doctor about once a month, but I really don’t have time to do so. In the health center, you have to wait hours and hours for medicine.”

Luckily, Catalina discovered a solution through her family. One day, she was visiting a relative in a neighboring community who praised a Habitat Guatemala smokeless stove program that had helped her tremendously. Catalina knew that this path would be a solution; she has never looked back.

“I cut the blocks for the stove together with my family. It took about a day to do,” she says. “Then, the volunteers came.”

For the past six months, Catalina has found joy with her stove. “I like that the new stove uses less wood, that it cooks faster, that I can make tortillas,” she explains. “And I save money. Fifteen days of wood used to cost me 250 Quetzales ($35.00). Now, half of that lasts for a month. And any extra money goes to my children’s education expenses.”

Catalina is filled with gratitude for the experience. “Thank you to Habitat for Humanity Guatemala, thank you for getting in contact with me and thank you, God, for letting them build stoves and giving help with the process, educational classes through it. May you continue your work.”


Antonia Tuy Tuy

One seemingly ordinary day, Antonia Tuy Tuy made a fascinating discovery. “In Consuelos, a community a bit farther down from our own, we were working in the fields with my siblings,” she recalls. “There had been a smokeless stove built there. Through a cousin, we were told that we could work with a volunteer group that would provide us some assistance to build our own, if we were willing to cut the blocks.”

Patiently, Antonia asked a few more questions, took a few mental notes, and then felt committed. If her family members could prepare enough blocks to make a stove, then she would receive help building it from Habitat for Humanity Guatemala. “We work in the fields and don’t earn very much, so this was very important to us,” her daughter, Juana (40), affirms.

The new stove had been a long overdue improvement. “The old stove was about 18-20 years old,” Antonia reveals, slipping into her native Kaqchikel, a Mayan dialect. “The old grill was thick and difficult to cook with. There were a lot of problems with smoke, which made it complicated to work and cook. We had coughs and colds. We would go to the government health center, and we would wait for medicine. If there was none that day, we would have to pay extra money.”

She rubs her palms together as she speaks. “Basically, the old stove was a mess. It burned my arms when I cooked.” She turns her head and contemplates the new device with a loving look. “For that reason, the new stove has been a beautiful invention to us.”

Antonia is happy with how her new stove works. “I like how the stove is thinner, not as bulky. It heats up more, you can make tortillas with it, and multiple people can make all of their tortillas on it throughout the day. We can put a lot of pots on top.” As if in agreement with the stove’s greatness, a small cat perches on the stove, its eyes half closed in slumber.

Antonia also recalls the day that her stove was built with great fondness. “Eight volunteers came to help. They were friendly. We couldn’t communicate well amongst us, but thanks to the help of translators, we chatted a little bit.” She smiles at the memory. “We can’t travel a lot, we haven’t been very many places, but Habitat Guatemala has allowed us to gain more things, and we are grateful for the organization. And as for the volunteers, we are grateful for everything that you have done. We can’t give so much as our thanks. May God bless you for helping and supporting our family.”

Smokeless Stoves: Abelina Roquel Tuy and Marcela Guit Roquel

Abelina Roquel Tuy

“I like everything about the new stove,” exclaims Abelina Roquel Tuy. “I haven’t had any more health problems.”

Abelina can be found in the yard of her home, waving and directing her children with one hand and weaving elaborate textiles with the other. She speaks rapidly in Kaqchikel, a Mayan dialect, and her face glows with eagerness. “I thank God for the projects Habitat for Humanity Guatemala has brought to us, for all of the work that they have come to do. That has made all of the difference in how I cook.”

Asking how her new smokeless stove was built, Abelina Roquel Tuy’s face breaks out into a grin. “My children helped cut fifty blocks in one day,” she boasts proudly. “I still remember the group that came to help, they brought many blessings with them. They worked so hard when they came to help us. Each time I light this stove, I think of them.”

Abelina, her husband, José, and their five children reside in a community neighboring la Cuchilla, a turnoff that heads into the department of Sololá. Decades of living in the area has allowed them to develop strong relationships with their neighbors. Those neighbors were the ones who suggested a smokeless stove to Abelina, who for decades, had been cooking with a defunct stove. “Our old stove was made from two blocks and a few bars of iron, nothing more,” Abelina describe. “We used this way for thirty years.”

However, her neighbors had a solution, “Thanks to another woman living in the community, who had worked extensively with promoters for Habitat for Humanity Guatemala, she told me about their projects and asked if I wanted to participate, particularly with the smokeless stove,” she recalls. “That was five months ago.”

The stove also caused several problems. “The smoke was difficult for us. We had headaches, and the smoke made us cough,” she describes. “Now, we’re not affected by anything.” Abelina says that she was concerned, above all, for the wellbeing of her children. “They used to suffer so much, and I had to buy them expensive medicine. My food would come out smoky, and my children refused to eat it, because the smell was so strong.” However, that has since changed. “Now, they eat everything,” she laughs.

Fuel has become more efficient for Abelina and her family. Living in a remote area can be difficult at times. “We usually buy wood, although on occasion, we’ll burn corn stalks from the fields. Before, half of a bundle of wood lasted a week, and it cost us 100Q ($13.00),” says Abelina.

However, the smokeless stove consumes less, and it has allowed Abelina to save a significant “Now, it’s half of that. We spend 50Q a week, although now, we can also just buy pieces for 1Q each, and that lasts us a week. We can buy extra food with what we save.”


Marcela Guit Roquel

“We got along well and had a lot in common. We wanted to communicate, but we didn’t speak the same language. But it was good, because we were able to share moments where we connected together here on the patio. I loved their spirit.”

On a damp and overcast day, Marcela Guit Roquel tells anecdotes while warming herself by her new Habitat for Humanity Guatemala smokeless stove. A small puppy curls up under her seat, its eyes reflecting the orange light of the coals. The people that she describes are the group of international volunteers, who helped her build the new stove.   “It took a day to construct,” she says. “The group, they are great people. I still have photos of them on my phone that I took of them.”

Marcela expresses how sitting by her stove is a new luxury, one that she had never known before. “I was cooking the ground,” she recollects in Kaqchikel, a local Mayan dialect distinctive of Sololá in Guatemala. “I didn’t have a grill, and a lot of smoke leaked out of it. It affected me most with my eyes and burned me because of the heat. I bought medicines in the community, but because of the distance, I couldn’t go a lot.”

The new stove has made all the difference by transforming Marcela’s life, providing her with numerous benefits. “I like that I can cook everything at the same time and that it heats up faster,” she says.  “I also don’t have to look for wood as much. With the extra time, I have greater flexibility in going to market and buying food.”

In conclusion, Marcela expresses that she has nothing but gratitude in her heart. “Thank you. I am very grateful to Habitat, to the volunteers. Thanks to them, I have left all of my problems and the smoke behind. I have no more words to say aside from thank you.”

The Cuy Family

On a rainy Wednesday afternoon, Amelia Cuy is filled with joy. Sitting with her hands quietly folded in her lap, her eyes shine as she speaks with confidence about her newest acquisition: a Habitat for Humanity Guatemala home. “With the house, we are all grateful, with God, with the help that the organization gave us, because without them, we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to build it,” she says. “And we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet new people. I carry them in my mind and in my heart.”

In her new kitchen, a Canadian flag drapes over the windowsill, a lingering memory of the international volunteers that spent one week building her home. Amelia knows that they are a special group of people that she will not soon forget. “We got along well with the group. They were happy, and what I liked is that I met new people each day,” she recollects. “They supported us greatly, and I am grateful to them for helping me build my own house.”

Two days ago, Amelia, her husband Gerardo, and their two-year-old son, Israel, began the move. Before, they were living with Amelia’s parents, Froilan and Roselia, as well as her six siblings, a few hundred meters up the road. However, their situation was less than ideal. “There was a room for all of us, and definitely not enough space,” describes Amelia. “We were looking to have a new house of our own, and for that reason, we moved.”

Little by little, Amelia’s family has been helping her relocate. Echoes of voices and scrapes of furniture on the floor permeate through her home. The first stages of a water filter sit on the front wall, on their way to being assembled and placed permanently in the kitchen. “We are just starting out and moving in,” Amelia says, meandering through clusters of furniture in boxes. “We want to put down a garden, paint the walls, and in the future, decorate a room for the baby. Still finding places to put one thing versus another thing.”

However, she embraces the changes that her new home has already brought her. “I’m very happy here. We have more space and our own daily routine. Above all, here I feel happy to have my house and something to call my own.”

From the very beginning, Amelia’s parents have supported her throughout the journey. “My parents had told me that there was an organization that supported families with affordable housing,” she says gratefully. “I didn’t have a job at the time, so my parents stepped in with their support, and we pay everything together.”

As for the team that supported her, Amelia is grateful. “I’m well and happy in the new house,” she says. “Thank you for the support. We love you a lot, and we are waiting for you to return. Our door is always open.”

Smokeless Stoves: Eufemenia Gomez and María Tomás

Eufemenia Gomez

Eufemenia took her first breath of clean air when she was eighty-six years old. The momentous occasion took place a few weeks after the construction of her Habitat Guatemala smokeless stove, after the the bricks had dried and the foundation was sturdy. She placed a handful of sticks inside the mouth of the stove, just like she had learned from her educational training session, and lit the first flame.

“It was then, and now that I realize that I can make my tortillas peacefully,” she says quietly. “I have always lived on my little piece of land, and this little stove has taken away all of the smoke so that I can cook better.”

Eufemenia knows that because she is older, walking has become harder for her, and some tasks take a bit longer. However, she is satisfied that preparing meals has become an unexpectedly easy and pleasant task, unburdened by spending precious economic resources on firewood. “I spend two Quetzales (30 cents) on a handful of wood, now,” she remarks.

It was Eufemenia’s late husband who introduced to her to the idea of building a smokeless stove. He had heard that Habitat for Humanity Guatemala was passing through their village of Jordan and suggested that their family get involved.

For years, Eufemenia had never had a stove to call her own, rather, depending on her daughter-in-law to share hers. Once her daughter-in-law left to begin her own family and took the stove with her, Eufemenia was left alone. For years, she hunched over a flame bordered by two blocks and a thin piece of metal to hold her pots. “My eyes were terrible,” she recalls. “I had everything. Cough, cold. I would go to the doctor, but I can’t walk very well. And the medicines were too expensive.”

Determined to make a change, she signed up for the smokeless stove program and soon got her family involved. For eight days, two of her adult sons helped her cut blocks by hand. Then, a group of international volunteers arrived to assemble it.

“Those who were here offered their help,” she says. “They were kind to me, and they shared a bit of food that they had. I am proud to have this stove, and this pride I cannot only carry on my own. They should share it, too.”


María Tomás

Maria spent six months in the hospital, connected to machines and medications. Her family struggled to pay for her treatment. Now back at home, Maria no longer has to worry about her health circumstances. Her old cooking pit had been filled up. A new smokeless stove, guaranteeing greater health and safety, currently stands in its place.

“For fifteen years, I was cooking in the ground, with a few blocks,” she says. “It was very difficult for me.”

María Tomás and her six children live in a house perched on the sloping hills of el Jordan, a small community of about sixty families located outside of Chimaltenango. There is no running water or official road. Access to basic public services is nearly out of the question, including medical facilities. As Maria spent long years cooking over an open flame, the method inflicted great harm on her body. “Because of the smoke, I went to the emergency room, and they did x-rays of my lungs, my bones, and they said that they’ve been damaged,” she reveals.

“I still go to the doctor, but without money, I can’t,” she reveals. “The pills make me feel better, but when they’re gone, they’re gone, and I feel terrible. However, I’m happy that all the smoke goes outside and that I can cook more corn for my children.”

María’s family works selling goods to distributers in the area, including corn, beans, sugar, rice, and milk. In their community of Jordan, food is difficult to come by, and the business in general has not been as profitable. However, María no longer needs to worry so much about the costs of wood, which fluctuate in price.

Before, she spent $7 a week on wood. Now, she spends half of that. “If it wasn’t for Habitat for Humanity Guatemala, this would have never happened.” She sweeps her hand towards her stove. “With the extra money, I can give more food to my children, I can keep them in school.”

She remembers the group of volunteers who built her stove with great fondness. “The group was friendly, and good people. We shared snacks together. I feel for them, because I couldn’t give them anything, no money or anything. But they were so kind to me.” More than anything, she expresses that she feels blessed to have a stove that no longer hurts her. “I am grateful to them, for all of the work that they did. The stove is working well, thank God.”

Smokeless Stoves: Sandra Velasco Camon and Germana Ambrosio

Sandra Velasco Camon

To reach Sandra Velasco Camon’s house can be precarious and requires great patience. First is the two-hour drive in the backcountry of Chimaltenango. After follows a twenty-minute walk down a steep pass that is overshadowed by rearing mountains that nearly block out the sky. The landscape is dry, dust caking the gravel path and filling the air. Those unaccustomed to the trek may easily slip and fall.

By living in remote conditions, Sandra recognizes that resources can be difficult to come by. For years, she especially struggled with meal preparation. Between buying food, finding wood, and cooking, much of her day was occupied by strained attempts to feed her family. “I was cooking with a sheet of metal and a few blocks, plus, wasting too much firewood,” Sandra says. “It was difficult.”

Despite her efforts, she recalls how debilitating her previous stove left her. The smoke would burn her eyes, and the falling wood pieces seared her skin. “I couldn’t work or do anything,” she says. “I would have these pounding headaches, and I couldn’t go to the doctor.”

However, for the past five months, the circumstances have reversed. Since building a new smokeless stove with Habitat for Humanity Guatemala volunteers, Sandra’s health has improved dramatically. The headaches no longer plague her, and she can work without preoccupations. “The stove heats up quickly, and I feel so much better having it,” she remarks. “I like that it doesn’t use a lot of wood. With just a little bit, I can cook everything. I can make tortillas very easily.”

She now uses a handful of wood, which will last her two days. In the time that she saves by not looking for firewood, Sandra can be a grandmother. In that time, she plays with her rambunctious three-year-old grandchild, Alex. “The stove is working like it should,” she smiles. “It gives me more time.”

Sandra recalls the group of volunteers that helped build her stove positively and is happy with the help that they provided her. “They were friendly, and they worked together to support me,” she says. “I am grateful to them. I give them my blessings and my gratitude.”


Germana Ambrosio

“In March, they came to build it,” remembers Germana Ambrosio. Standing in the middle of her kitchen, Germana is surrounded by strings of paper party decorations that flutter in the gentle breeze. “These decorations were brought by the group of volunteers when we had our good-bye celebration,” she comments, reaching up to touch one of the colorful triangles. “They remind me of them.”

Germana speaks of the day that a group of Habitat for Humanity Guatemala volunteers arrived at her home to build her smokeless stove. She recalls the experience fondly, and it remains fresh in her memory even five months later. “It took about half a day to build the new stove,” she says. “And the group was so friendly, hardworking. We got along well, and we were so content.”

For years, Germana longed to find a better cooking option that would help feed her family of seven. Previously, she had used a comal, or a heavy rounded metal sheet that can be balanced over a small fire. While comales are suitable for making tortillas, they can be unsteady, and in many cases, extremely dangerous.  “There was always so much smoke,” she comments. “It affected me in every way you can think of. My eyes hurt, I had headaches and a cough, and I burned myself a lot.” Germana went to the doctor several times. However, her treatment was inconsistent. “Sometimes, they gave me medicines for free. Sometimes, I had to pay a lot of money. It was very difficult for me.”

However, since the stove’s construction, Germana notes that there have been several positive changes. First, her health has improved dramatically. Another major difference is the amount of time that she spends looking for wood. “Before, I would look for wood about five times a week for two to three hours at a time,” she counts. “But now, I only look two times a week.” With the extra time, Germana can prop up her feet and relax. “I love it!” she laughs.

Another advancement has been with how quickly she cooks. “The stove is working well. It heats up quickly, and I can put everything on it at once. Tortillas, coffee, everything is easy now. I feel so excited to have this in my house.”

As for the group that she met, Germana is grateful for their hard work. “Thank you for supporting my family.”

The Umul Locom Family

Eddy and Marleny are two peas in a pod, compatible in spirit and ambition. The young couple is consistently on the move. Together, they opened a joint Internet service provider and café, which administers different services (and snacks) to their small community located outside of the town of Godinez in Sololá.

Leading a busy lifestyle has its benefits and disadvantages. Independence, Eddy notes, is crucial for them. However, he and Marleny struggled to find it for awhile. “We were living with my parents in a little house. My parents, my brother, his wife, were all living under the same roof,” he recalls. In addition to the cramped quarters, Eddy notes that the house was in bad shape. “It was old and the roof leaked. There were gaps in the walls, which caused dust, wind, and rain to enter. It was difficult, especially in the summer, where everything was dirty.”

For two years, Eddy and Marleny lived in that little house. “There was no privacy, and we liked watching television at night. However, this caused problems, because my parents go to bed early and disliked the noise.”

Weary by their circumstances, Eddy and Marleny started to seriously consider other living options. “A few years back, my dad gave us some information about Habitat Guatemala,” he explains. “We went to the office in Panajachel to see the payment plans and the different models. We spent a month getting all of the paperwork together, like getting the land and help with the construction. It took 15 days to receive confirmation.”

Soon after, Eddy and Marleny began building their home. “We were both around for the construction. The group that came were friendly and hardworking more than anything. They were always helping. When they found out about Marleny’s business, they were super excited and were especially fond of the ice cream that she sold.” He laughs at the memory. “We talked, worked together. We would go visit my wife at the store. Repeat.”

Two months after moving into their new home, Eddy expresses that he is happy with the changes. “It feels beautiful to have our own house, different. I had always imagined the privacy and everything, and I have so many dreams of what I want us to do here. It’s a dream that has become a reality.”

Having a space to call their own has also afforded them new opportunities to keep them in sync with a busy lifestyle. In addition to running their family business, Marleny is also studying tourism and administration. Three days a week, she attends the local university in Panajachel, but can return to peace and quiet to study. “The house helps with costs, too, like transportation to the university, food. It’s easier to get her degree that way,” says Eddy.

As for the team of international volunteers who dedicated their time to help build Eddy and Marleny’s house, Eddy has a special message for them. “If you could visit us, the house is built. I hope that you all can come. You are so special to us, and you have been a great help for the building of this house.”