Healthy Home Kit: Crisanta López

Last year, we met Crisanta López González and six of her children – Roxana (19), Sabina (15), Juan Alberto (13), Yadira (10), Harley (7), and Taylor (6) – in San Juan Ostuncalco, a community located in the department of Quetzaltenango, in western Guatemala.

In January 2018, the lives of the López family members dramatically changed when Crisanta’s husband, Juan, passed away unexpectedly. Juan, who worked as a mason, was the family’s breadwinner. Upon his passing, Crisanta took it upon herself to provide for her children, cleaning houses and office spaces twice a week in order to put food on the table.

The family inhabits a three-bedroom house. They did not have a functional latrine. Crisanta used to cook on and old stove that was in poor conditions too, causing her and the children to have respiratory diseases and red eyes.

In light of their living conditions, Habitat Guatemala was able to provide the López family with a Healthy Home Kit, thanks to those who donated in the memory of Erasmus. This kit which consists of a Chispa stove, a water filter, and a new sanitary latrine which improves the family’s quality of life with access to proper sanitation and a smoke-free environment.

Crisanta shares how her family’s daily life has improved with the products: “Everyone is happy!” Regarding their sanitary latrine, Crisanta explains that the new one is cleaner, more comfortable and private, “I am very grateful, because I feel that all of you are my family now.” When asked about her new Chispa stove she explains, “With our new stove we do not need to use as much firewood and there is no more smoke inside the kitchen.”

Thank you to everyone who honored Erasmus’s memory by supporting Crisanta in her journey towards improving her family’s quality of life.