Healthy Home Kit: Sandra Ramírez

Sandra lives with her husband Max, and their three boys Anderson(12), José Antonio (7), and two year old baby Estuardo in a small community in San Lucas Tolimán. While Ronaldo works as a mason, Sandra is a home maker.

As part of our Healthy Home Kit, families receive a smokeless stove, a sanitary latrine and a water filter, these products help them improve their health by giving them adequate access to proper sanitation, potable water and a smoke-free environment.

Sandra shares how implementing a smokeless stove has improved aspects of their family’s daily life: “I had a stove before, but it was in poor condition, it had cracks causing the smoke to be all around my kitchen,” she continues; “my new stove makes me feel proud and content, because it is working very well, there’s no more smoke inside my kitchen!”

Previously, Sandra and her family had to share the same latrine with her mother in law and more relatives.
Regarding their water filter, Sandra explains that they used to drink water directly from the sink. “Now my kids can drink clean water, without getting stomach aches,” says Sandra.

She finishes with a message to the volunteers; “I am grateful to the volunteers that came to help us built our stove and latrine, may God bless you!”

 

 

Healthy Home Kit: Ruby Pérez

Ruby lives with her husband Manuel and their son Manuel (6), in a small community in San Lucas Tolimán.  Manuel works as a mason and Ruby has a small grocery shop in their house.

“I used to cook on an old stove that was in bad shape; I learned about Habitat Guatemala’s Healthy Home Kit project and we decided to try it,” explains Ruby. A few months later, she is delighted with the stove. “I feel happy, it is very efficient.” Because the stove heats up easily and has a wide surface, she can simultaneously grill her tortillas and prepare beans for lunch.

Thanks to the design of the smokeless stove of Habitat for Humanity Guatemala, Ruby and her family are no longer affected from issues with smoke fumes. They used to cough and suffer from irritated eyes. Now, she can cook without any fear that her son will have health problems. Moreover, because the stove is low-consuming for firewood, Ruby doesn’t need to buy as many logs as before. The smokeless stove allows her to save some money and to spend it on other everyday expenses, especially food.

The water filter has also improved the health of her entire family. Ruby notes that her family no longer suffers from stomach pains. She also has found that the taste of the water is different, but better.

In addition, the latrine has improved living conditions for Ruby’s family and is now a cleaner, healthier environment. In part, this is also due to the fact that only Ruby, her husband, and her son use it. With the previous latrine, they had to share one with around ten other relatives.

When she is asked about the group that came to help her family, a smile appears on Ruby’s face. She is proud to say that they built the stove together. “They were really nice people, they played with my son and we shared good memories.”

Above all, Ruby is grateful to the group of international volunteers that helped build her stove and latrine. “I thank the volunteers for their support and their work. All these products have been really useful for me and my family, I am very grateful to all.”

 

Healthy Home Kit: Bertha Pérez

Bertha lives with her husband, Ronaldo, and their children Osmar (18), Juan (17), Nehemías (14), Gisela (11) and Bertha (6) in a small community in San Lucas Tolimán. While Ronaldo works in agriculture, Bertha is a home maker.

As part of our Healthy Home Kit, families receive a smokeless stove, a sanitary latrine and a water filter, these products help them improve their health by giving them adequate access to proper sanitation, potable water and a smoke-free environment.

Bertha shares how implementing a smokeless stove has improved aspects of their family’s daily life, “I had a stove before, but my elder son got married and we decided to leave it with them, so I had to start cooking over an open flame,” she continues, “now, with the new one I feel much better and happy. We can save wood too!”

Previously, Bertha and her family had an old latrine, more than 20 years old, that was in poor condition.  Now the new one is cleaner and more comfortable. Regarding their water filter, Bertha explains that they used to drink water directly from the sink. Now, the kids can come inside and drink it from the filter without any problems, it is fresh and clean with no more bad flavors.

She finishes with a message to the volunteers; “It was a great day! They worked really fast and hard, and we shared lunch together,” she continues; “thank you for your support in building my kit, may God bless you and take good care of you.”

Tithe Tour 2019

Each year, members from the International Resource Development team take two weeks to visit different corners of the United States to thank Habitat affiliates for their tithing support. 

Our hope with these trips is to connect the affiliates closely to the work going on in Guatemala and to give them tangible numbers about how their tithe is supporting the work going on in Guatemala.

This year, Celia (Donor Relations Officer), Victor (National Director), and Makensie (Director of International Resource Development) visited the Southeast corner of the U.S.

We want to thank each tithe parter that welcomed us. Lets continue joining our efforts to impact more Guatemalan families!

Healthy Home Kit: Filomena Cuj

Filomena lives with her husband Nicolás, and her sons, William and Nixón, in a small community in Sololá. While Nicolás works in agriculture, Filomena is a homemaker.

As part of our Healthy Home Kit, families receive a smokeless stove, a sanitary latrine and a water filter, these products help them improve their health by giving them adequate access to proper sanitation, potable water and a smoke free environment.

Filomena shares how implementing a smokeless stove has improved aspects of their family’s daily life: “I used to cook on an old small stove which I owned for more than twenty years,” she continues; “Now the new one is very big, gives me enough room to cook and saves wood.”

When asked how she feel with her new stove, she answers: “I feel very content with it, it is working really well.”

Previously, the family had a latrine that was in poor conditions, which was covered just with nylon. “Our new latrine is prettier, we have more privacy and is more comfortable.”

Regarding their water filter, Filomena explains that they used to drink water directly from the sink, and sometimes she used to boiled it but it became more contaminated, but with the new one it is safer and tastes better.

She finishes by sending a message to the volunteers: “Thank you all for your support in building my kit, we had a good day sharing with you.”

Healthy Home Kit: Aracely Pérez

Seferino lives with his wife Aracely and their eight children: Astrid (16), Gerson (14), Heydi (11), Fatima (10), Karla (9), Jorge (6), Jayro (4) and baby Melanie (1), in a small community in Sololá. While Seferino works in agriculture, Aracely owns a tortilla shop, leaving Astrid, their eldest daughter, to help take care of the younger children.

As part of our Healthy Home Kit, families receive a smokeless stove, a sanitary latrine and a water filter, these products help them improve their health by giving them adequate access to proper sanitation, potable water and a smoke-free environment.

Seferino shares how implementing a smokeless stove has improved aspects of their family’s daily life: “My wife used to cook on an old stove for more than ten years that consumed a lot of wood and was old too,” he continues; “ We can see the difference now, because there is no more smoke inside our kitchen, and we no longer use a lot wood, just a few pieces.”

When asked how they feel with their new stove, he answers, “We feel very content! The old stove was very tall, the new one is a little shorter, so we sit around it, it keeps us warm and it has enough space to cook all our meals at the same time.”

We also visited Aracely in her tortilla shop and asked how she feels with their products: “I feel happy! it was of big help for my family to receive the products.”

Previously, Seferino and his family had an old latrine that was in poor conditions. “Our new latrine is better, my children can use it without any problems.”

Regarding their water filter, Seferino explains that they used to drink water directly from the sink and save it in pots, but it became more contaminated. “Sometimes we boiled the water, yes our children used to get diarrhea but we used to give them different traditional medicines to make them feel better, he continues “now our health has improved a lot, our children are no longer sick, all of them take their water bottles to school.”

He finishes by sharing memories about the day of construction and with a message to the volunteers; “It was a very fun day, they came with joy and played with my children!” he continues, “May God bless you all and your families, we are grateful for your support. We always get really happy when we receive visits here!” Aracely adds: “Thank you all, may your lives be filled with blessings.”

Healthy Home Kit: Juana Tuy

Doña Juana is a grandmother living on her own in a small room, next to her son’s house in a community within Sololá.

As part of our Healthy Home Kit, families receive a smokeless stove, a sanitary latrine and a water filter, these products help them improve their health by giving them adequate access to proper sanitation, potable water and a smoke-free environment.

Juana shares how implementing a smokeless stove has improved aspects of her family’s daily life: “I used to cook over an open flame on the floor, causing my eyes to be irritated,” she continues, “ I feel happy with the new stove, there is no more smoke inside my room, and my eyes are getting better, I can cook my tortillas whenever I get hungry too.”

Before, Doña Juana was able to build a new latrine as part of the kit, she had an old one in poor conditions, covered by nylon. “The new one is way better!” María exclaims,“It is easier to clean and more comfortable.”

When asked about her water filter, Juana explains that she used to drink water directly from the sink. “It is easier to drink from the filter now, I can save water too, because we do not have too much water.”

She finishes by sharing a message to the volunteers: “Maltiox! (thank you) Thanks to all the volunteers and God for your support. Thank you for coming to my house and building these products for me.”

Smokeless Stove: Rosalía Yaxón

Rosalía lives with her three children, Jackelyn (8) Jennifer (6), Jorge (2) and her aunt’s family in a small community in Chimaltenango. Rosalía’s husband has recently died, and she weaves traditional women clothes to make a living and support her children.

Before receiving her smokeless stove, Rosalía used to cook on an old stove that was in bad conditions and did not permit the smoke to go outside the kitchen, causing her and her children respiratory diseases.

Rosalía’s reality has change a lot since her stove was built, “I feel  content with it, now I do not need to buy wood so often because I only use two pieces or less to cook all my food.”

She finishes with a message to the volunteers: “Thank you all for your support in building my stove, may God bless you.”