Marcelo Baquín Family

Marcelo is 19 years old and lives in the department of Sololá, Guatemala. Before partnering with Habitat Guatemala to build his house, he was living with his parents and brother. He grew up in a Habitat home, and after working and saving some money, he decided to build a house of his own with his brother. He wanted to start a life of his own and achieve his goals.

Marcelo explains who he feels with his new house: “I feel very happy and content with my own house and space. I am planning on adding a big garden, a false ceiling, and paint in the future.” He continues: “I like to listen to music in my new room.”

To the volunteers he says: “Thank you all very much for you hard work, we feel really happy you were here. May God bless you.”

Felipa Martín Family

Felipa lives with her husband Pedro, and their four children, Brenda (12), Wendy (19), Pedro (9), and Esvin (5), in the department of Sololá, Guatemala.

Before building their new house, Felipa and her family used to live in her parents home. “It was really old and crowded. We did not have enough space for our children,” says Felipa. The family learned about Habitat Guatemala from one of Felipa’s aunts, who is a Habitat homeowner, and decided it was time to have a place to call their own!

Felipa explains that living at her parent’s was really difficult, “my children needed a bigger space, we were too many living there, we even started having problems with my relatives. It is really different here, now my children have more space to do their homework and play safely, without anyone telling them what to do.

“I feel really happy with my house, before I felt sad not having my own space,”  says Felipa about with her new situation.

The Martín family is planning to paint the house and to add a big garden in the future. Felipa also likes to weave textiles, and now she has plenty of space to do so.

About the volunteers she recalls: “They were really polite, shared and played a lot with my children. They miss them!,” she continues by saying: “Thank you very much for your help and support, we hope to see you again soon. This is your house.”

 

Smokeless Stove: Florencia Saso Cua

Florencia Saso lives with her husband Aurelio and their son Aureliano in a rural community in Sololá, Guatemala.

Before partnering with Habitat Guatemala to build a new smokeless stove, she used to cook on an open fire stove on the floor. Cooking that way caused several issues to her health.

Florencia explains how she feels about her new stove: “I feel happy, it has helped me a lot to improve my health,” she continues: “it also saves a lot of wood, now we only have to use one or two pieces of wood.”

She sends a message to the volunteers: “Thank you all for your kind support in building my stove. Now we can cook multiple dishes at a time. Have a Merry Christmas! May God bless you.”

 

Smokeless Stove: Lucia Xitamul

Lucia Xitamul lives with her husband and their five daughters: Cecilia, Magdalena, María, Liria and Belinda.

She used to cook on an open fire stove on the floor and suffered several eyes infections because of the smoke.

“Now I feel very happy with my new stove, because there is no more smoke inside the kitchen. All my girls and I can make tortillas and cook faster. It saves a lot of wood too,” says Lucía.

About the volunteers, she has a lot of good memories, “they helped my build the stove, took pictures and then explained how should I use the stove,” she continues, “I feel very happy with my stove! Now I keep it clean and take good care of it. Thank you all for your support and the stories you told us.”

Ezequiel Chávez Family

Ezequiel lives with his parents in his new Habitat home, in the department of Sololá, Guatemala. His mother, Bonifacia welcomed us in to their home.

Ezequiel works as a blacksmith. He found out about Habitat through a relative who is a Habitat homeowner, and soon after he started the process to build a house of his own. “We feel really happy with the new house, we even painted it already,” says Bonifacia.

She has really happy memories with the volunteers that came to help them build the house, “they worked really hard, we are very grateful with them because of the great help they gave us. I pray everyday for them,” she continues, “thank you all, may God bless you and your family and repay you for all you have done for us.”

 

Sonia Morales Family

Sonia Morales and her family live in a small village called Canoas Altas in the department of Sololá, Guatemala. Sonia lives with her children, Dina (25), Sara (23), Gladis (21), and Edwin (16). Her husband died approximately 10 years ago. Sonia sells flowers and corn, and weaves textiles with her daughters, while Edwin works in the fields.

The family learned about Habitat Guatemala from a relative who is a Habitat homeowner. Before, the Morales lived in a crowded wooden house that had a dirt floor and a leaky roof. They were able to build their new home on the same piece of land as their old home, which made the entire process much easier.

Now that they are settled, they feel safe and happy in their new space. They even have a room where they can create their weaving textiles and spend time together.

They are appreciative of the volunteers who came and supported them in their journey of building a new home. “Thank you for the great work you did here,” says Sonia, “we had a lot of fun, they shared their food and laughs with us. May you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, God bless you!”

Healthy Home Kit: Florinda Tax Family

Florinda Tax lives in the department of Sololá, Guatemala with her husband and their four children, Brenda (11), Elizabeth (7), Yolanda (6) and Carlos (4). Her husband works in agriculture while Florinda takes care of her home and family. During the day, the three girls go to school and the youngest Carlos stays at home with Florinda. “I used to cook on an old stove with a lot of smoke, but with my new stove I do not suffer anymore. We save a lot of wood too,” she says.

Florinda explains how partnering with Habitat Guatemala to implement a Healthy Home Kit has improve aspects of her family’s daily life: “The water filter has helped us a lot. The water that is delivered by a truck to our house comes dirty, and before we had to boil it. Now, we just pour it in the filter, wait, and it is ready to drink,” continues Florinda: “before, we had to share the latrine of some relatives, but now our latrine is only ours, we have much more privacy and do not have to walk a lot.”

Florinda feels very happy with her kit and sends a message to the volunteers: “Thank you all for your hard work, we shared good memories and you will always be in our hearts!”

 

Healthy Home Kits: Margarita Joj Family

Margarita Joj lives with her husband Juan, and their three children,  José (22), Ezequías (20) and Balam (15, pictured), in the department of Sololá, Guatemala. Juan works in agriculture while Margarita takes care of her home and family.

Juan explains how partnering with Habitat for Humanity Guatemala to implement a Healthy Home Kit has improved different aspects of his family’s daily life: “The stove we had before was very old and was not working well anymore. There was a lot of smoke, but our new smokeless stove doesn’t have this problem, it is working excellent! We do not have to buy a lot of wood, just a small piece lasts long,” he says.

“We feel very happy with the water filter! It works really well for me because I fill my water bottle and take it to the fields while I work. It tastes really good and fresh,“ says Juan about the water filter. About the latrine he continues: “We had an old latrine that was not useful anymore, we feel comfortable using this new one.”

Juan finishes by sharing a message to the volunteers: “It was such a help, such a support. Thank you all for your tremendous help, because you got to our house even though it was really far away. I wish you all a Merry Christmas!”