María elena tajín – Foley – John Dubois

María Elena, lives with her husband José, , and their four children, Celia (15), Luis (13), Leslie (12) and Andrea (3) in a small community called el Rajón, Chimaltenango. María takes care of the home and occasionally goes with Ramiro to work in the fields.

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

When we visited the family, María and José were working in the fields, so, Leslie welcomed us to chat. Before partnering up with Habitat Guatemala to receive her kit, María used to cook on an old stove that was in poor conditions for over 6 years. Leslie says, “with the old stove, the smoke stayed inside, you can see that all the roof is stained, the smoke made us feel sick too.”

Leslie expresses that the family feels content with their stove, “We feel content with the new stove, the smoke goes outside now. And the best is that it saves wood, we do not need to go to the mountain to get it so often.”

Before receiving their new latrine, the family had one built with adobe and sticks in poor conditions. “The new one feels much comfortable, the water does not leak and its safer,” says Leslie.  Things are going great with their water filter too, now they can drink potable water and not get sick.

Leslie finishes by sharing a message to the volunteers; “All of the volunteers were really nice, they prayed for us. Sadly I was in school and did not have the chance to meet them, but my family told me about them,” she continues, “I want to thank them all for their support and wish them all the best.”