The Arias Hernandez Family
Just a few months before her first child was born, Sandra (22) was living in Ciudad Vieja, Sacatepequez which is about an hour away from where her husband’s home. Jose (27) lived in San Pedro, las Huertas next to Antigua Guatemala with his family where he grew up. They had recently married they were still figuring out where to settle. For a moment, they were not living together since from the time they met to the time their son was born they were still living in their parent’s home. Meanwhile, Sandra would commute from her home to Jose’s every day and this journey was very long and tiring. “Sometimes, I would walk all the way because the buses were really full,” said Sandra, “I just wanted my child to be safe.” Lilia, her mother in-law, realized that the couple was going through these difficulties; she gave her son a piece of land for them to build a home.
Maria Desire, one of Lilia’s older daughters, had previously built her home through Habitat so she knew how Habitat worked. When Sandra and Jose had gathered the paperwork for the land cleared, they decided to apply for a home right away. Almost immediately after the paperwork was processed, the construction of their home begun. By December 23rd of 2017, they had moved into their new home. They are very pleased to know that the land is being used well, since far too many times, people own plenty of land with nothing but a lot of sand.
And as for the future plans for their new home, they have already planted a few flowers for their garden and they hope to paint it to bring more life into their space.
They are now able to enjoy their new life in a new home and best of all, a safe place for them to grow as a family and enjoy their time together. “Thank you for doing a labor that not many others do,” says Lilia. They are very grateful to the team that came down and the will never forget how hardworking they are.
Starting life together doesn’t have to be such a struggle and working with Habitat Guatemala has made things easier for many families including the Arias’ Family.
