Basilia Sacuj lives with her family in the department of Sololá, Guatemala. She and her husband Benjamin have two children, a 7-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl. While Benjamin works in the fields, Basilia weaves huipils, the traditional Maya blouse, and other items. She also takes care of the home.

“My other stove was really old.”, begins Basilia. “It made my tortillas very smoky and the flavor was awful. Now my tortillas turn out well.”

In addition to constructing a smokeless stove with the support of Habitat for Humanity Guatemala, Basilia and her family also now have their own water filter and sanitary latrine. Basilia says: “We were used to drinking water that had not been filtered, but now we get sick less often. And while before we shared a latrine with our relatives, we now have our own to use. I am happy and they are happy too!”

“It was great to have the volunteers here!”, shares Basilia. “I was happy to have them here. It was a fun time and they were so nice. And they worked well!”

Elsa Candelaria lives with her husband, Arturo, and their three children in the department of Sololá, Guatemala. Arturo works in agriculture while Elsa takes care of her home and family. The two oldest children, 14-year-old Brenda and 11-year-old Luis, are in school. Oscar, who is 3 years old, stays at home with Elsa.

Elsa explains how partnering with Habitat for Humanity Guatemala to implement a Healthy Home Kit has improved aspects of her family’s daily life: “The stove I had before was 13 years old. There was a lot of smoke, but my new smokeless stove doesn’t have this problem. And the smoke used to make my throat hurt. We also use much less wood now.”“Before I had a water filter I had to boil my water.”, continues Elsa. “That used extra wood. Now I don’t have to boil water–it is is already clean! Our new latrine is so much better too: the old one was 8 years old and had a broken door.”

Elsa finishes by sharing what it was like to have volunteers support her family: “It was such a help, such a support. They helped build the stove and latrine. It was lovely to have them; they spent time with us and we shared ideas.”

Before Orfra Saquic partnered with Habitat for Humanity Guatemala to build her home, she and her seven-year-old son lived with her family. “It is so good to have my own space!”, she exclaims. “Seven people were living in one house,” she continues. “We didn’t have much room. My son is so happy that we have our own house!”

Ofra says: “My sister also built her home with Habitat Guatemala. That’s how I learned about this opportunity! I am planning on building a patio area in front of my home as well.”

“The volunteers did good work!”, Orfa concludes. “Thank you so much for supporting us in building our house! We are very grateful.”

“Three houses in our neighborhood were destroyed in an earthquake several years ago. Our old house was made of adobe so we were worried that we would not be safe in an earthquake.”, says Jesus Rolando as he begins to explain why his family chose to build a house with Habitat for Humanity Guatemala.

There are five people in the Camey household, located near the municipality of Sololá: Jesus and Lidia, their two daughters, Karina and Sindy, and Karina’s son, five-year-old Angel. Karina works in the office of the judge in Santiago de Atitlán, another town in the region, and splits her time between there and her home. Her sister Sindy works in another region of Guatemala and comes home less often. Jesus, who is retired from the city government, and Lidia take care of Angel while his Karina is at work.

Jesus continues: “We feel very safe here. We had the house blessed by a priest. Now we have more space and everyone can decide what they want to do with their homes and how they want to arrange their furniture. And my daughter can have friends visit! We have plans for the house too. We would like to paint it, finish the bathroom, and add rain gutters .”

“It was a lovely experience to have the volunteers here.”, concludes Jesus. “We enjoyed sharing our culture with them and they were very open. It is very admirable that they came here without being paid–they volunteered! They taught us a lot; they came from far away to help others. We loved being able to spend time with them and share meals and snacks.”