The Sebastiana de León

Sebastiana de Le’on lives with her son Luis, a teacher, and his three children outside of Santa Cruz, Quiché. Although Sebastiana was on vacation when her home was visited, Luis proudly gave us a tour of their new Habitat home. 

Previously this family lived in a house made of walls of adobe bricks, a ceiling of tiles, and a floor of dirt. Luis explained that this home left them scared during earthquakes that occur on a regular basis, “Before we lived in fear, but now we feel more secure each time we feel the earth shake beneath us.”

After only 20 days of hard work provided by local masons, this family has a new home with three rooms. Two of these rooms are used as bedrooms while the other is a living room where Luis keeps all of his books and other teaching materials.

Luis explains that his family has been affected by the war and may never fully recover, but they are hopeful now that they are in their new home. “Now, we feel content. We can finally move forward.”