Healthy Home Kit – Graciela Pérez de Girón

Graciela lives with her husband Gerson, Abimael (19) Romeo (15), Eliazar (11) in a small community in Sololá.  While Gerson works in agriculture, Graciela is a homemaker.

“I used to cook on an old stove for over 18 years that was in poor conditions. It was old and the smoke spread inside the kitchen; We learned about Habitat Guatemala’s Healthy Home Kit project, and decided to take this opportunity,” explains Graciela. A few months later, she is content with the stove. “I feel happy with it. It gives me enough space to cook all of my dishes at once. It does not consume a lot of firewood,” she continues, “I enjoy cooking pasta with tomato sauce and cheese.”

Thanks to Habitat for Humanity Guatemala, Graciela and her family are no longer affected from issues created by smoke. Furthermore, because the stove consumes less firewood, Graciela does not need to buy as many logs as before.

The water filter has also improved their family’s health. Before, Graciela needed to boil the water for consumption. Now, they no longer suffer from stomachaches and it does not tastes like chlorine. In addition, the latrine has improved their living conditions and is now a cleaner, healthier and a more private environment for them.  The family’s old latrine, was near their rooms, and it was very uncomfortable and unhealthy.

When asked about the group that came to help her family, Graciela responds; “They were really friendly, worked hard and we felt very happy working with them.” She continues, “Thank you all! We are very grateful for your support. Now, my tortillas are no longer brown because of the smoke. On behalf of my family, we send you many greetings and blessings.”