to meet the families, learn about the build, and find out how you can

THANK YOU!
Global Village volunteers and
Habitat for Humanity
Huron Valley
February 21 - March 1, 2015
CA NT EL ,
G U A T E M A L A
Inside: see how your
families are doing!
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ABOUT HABITAT FOR HUMANITY GUATEMALA
1,800,000
homes
Guatemala’s
housing deficit
69,000
housing solutions
constructed by
Habitat for Humanity
Guatemala
312,000
People
Habitat for Humanity
Guatemala’s impact
Habitat for Humanity Guatemala has 36 years of service
and extensive expertise in the design, placement, and
construction of social housing in Guatemala. Founded
in 1979, HFHG is the oldest and largest Habitat for
Humanity office outside of the United States. Our
annual number of housing solutions increases every
year. In order to serve families in need, HFHG offers a
range of services:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Home construction
Access to low-interest loans
Education trainings and workshops
Disaster prevention and relief
Lot purchase in community
Home improvements such as concrete flooring,
roofing, and plaster walls
• Healthy Home Kits:
• Latrines, smokeless stoves, and water filters
THE CARMELA ITZEP SAM
DE HERNANDEZ FAMILY
More Space for a
Growing Family
What happens when you love your house but
it’s too small? Give it to your son and build
another one, of course.
She looked up, thinking. “That would have been 22 or 23
years ago,” said Carmela, remembering her first Habitat for
Humanity house. A couple decades ago, Habitat Guatemala
built Carmela and Carlos a house that had three rooms to be
divided among four occupants: Carlos and Carmela, parents
of Victor Alfonso, then 4 years old, and Rosa Yesenia, then
just a baby.
But families grow. Rosa Yesenia is 22, and she has three
younger siblings: Carlos Alberto, 20; María Isabel, 18; and
Angelica Carolina, 15. Their older brother Victor is 27 and
married.
Their Habitat house was functional in its construction, but
there simply wasn’t enough space, as the family’s needs had
changed. The family conferred and decided that it was best
to build a new house and give the old one to Victor.
After one great new home experience a couple decades ago,
they knew who to talk to. They applied to Habitat a second
time, and a few months later construction was underway.
The biggest difference is that the new house features a real
bathroom, whereas the old one had a latrine outside. The
old house was built under a dated housing model, and since
then Habitat’s standards for construction have changed.
Carmela notes a few other differences as well:
“Now I have my own bathroom. The house is bigger, with a higher
ceiling,” she says. “I feel blessed and happy.”
She also remembers the Global Village crew that helped her out. She
recalls them being very amables y muy trabjadores, or friendly, and
very hard workers.
“I appreciate what they did so much,” said Carmela. “They did
everything with a full heart, and we love them in the name of God.
Thank you.”
Carmela and the family are still getting the finishing touches put on the
house. One of the difficult parts about building a house in rural areas
of Guatemala is that the national electric company doesn’t often come
around. So the new house is without electricity, but they are hoping
for electricity soon.
They have plans to paint the house, “according to God’s plans,”
and have plans to fix up the place and make it their own with
decorations. The house is currently situated around several gardens
with fruits and vegetables, which the family is proud to offer to
visitors. Carmela is proud to be comfortable again, with sufficient
space and a decent bathroom for their continually growing family.
Laughing together inbetween photos, their
jovial personalities were a perfect tribute
to how the family has stayed united even
though the chidren are growing up and
having children of their own.
THE ROSARIO ADELAIDA
PAXTOR RACANCOJ FAMILY
Space to Grow
Habitat for Humanity presented the family
with the opportunity to build something that
would afford them some added liberty: space.
Down in the valley below Cantel, there’s a multitude of
corn fields in Barrio Xejuyup. A short walk from the road,
Rosario and Domingo’s new house is tucked away in a
peaceful spot, sheltered by a tall tree and fields of 9-foothigh corn stalks. Five-year-old Sheili has room to run
around and play with the family’s dog and the neighbor kids
without restrictive property boundaries.
But their living situation used to be considerably less quaint.
In the more active “downtown” of Cantel, the couple shared
a house with three other families, including Domingo’s
mother. They had one bedroom and their own kitchen but
shared a living area and two bathrooms with all the other
families. They wanted their own place “to have more privacy
in all senses,” said Rosario. The house was in decent shape,
but Rosario, 25, and Domingo, 27, had been married for six
years and were ready to move to a home of their own.
“We wanted our own home,” said Rosario. “We are a new
family.”
“We had wanted to build our own house since we got
married,” said Domingo. “But we didn’t have a plot of land,
nor a place to build.”
The couple had many friends and family members who
knew about Habitat for Humanity, so the couple took a big step and
went through the application process, which was “easy, it took maybe
15 days.” Construction started, and a month later the house was ready.
Four months ago, Domingo, Rosario, and Sheili moved into their new
house.
The new house is complete with two bedrooms, a living room, and a
kitchen. The family currently has one bed, so they all sleep together,
but they have plans to get another.
“It makes a great difference,” said Domingo, “having a bathroom to
ourselves!”
“It’s more to our liking, more comfortable, more peaceful,” said
Rosario. “We have our own key, we come and go as we please, we can
remodel and fix the house, all of that! It feels much better, we are happy
here.”
During the build process, a group from Global Village came to help
out for a week. The couple remembers them with a lot of cariño, or
fondness, and Domingo said that “they were happy, they worked in a
great way.” Rosario added, “They were very friendly and we all made
happy friendships. They tried to communicate with us and get to know
us, too.”
They also had a message specifically for the group: “We have a lot to
thank you all for, thanks for offering us moral support, and we will
always be appreciative of you all.”
Currently the house doesn’t have electricity because they are waiting on
the national power company to come in and put up a new power line
to their house. Aside from getting power, they are planning to paint the
house a “coffee” color, and plant a garden in the front, with “every type
of flower,” said Rosario, smiling.
The family’s living room
The house
is in a really
beautiful and
calm spot,
tucked away
among corn
fields in a
fertile valley.
THE MARIA JOSEFA
SACALXOT ESTRADA DE
GARCIA FAMILY
Security for a Growing
Family
María once lived in fear that her walls would
fall down in the case of another earthquake.
Now, there’s a weight off her shoulders.
María has a big family. There’s María, 45; her husband
Gabino who works at a shoe store, 51; and her kids,
Leonardo García, 24; Edgar Ubaldo, 20; Líjia Beatriz, 17;
Bayron Osbeli, 15; Gabis Griselda, 12; and Jairo Erlindo, 8.
Between the eight of them and an extended family member,
there were two rooms to share in their old house. The
kitchen was hardly big enough to cook for so many, and it
wasn’t even inside. But aside from sacrificing their privacy
in a tiny house close to a busy street, María’s family had to
deal with the house’s security. The adobe walls were made
from “tierra,” or dirt, and had aged long enough to absorb
an unsafe amount of humidity. When adobe walls become
saturated with water, their sturdiness significantly weakens,
and often causes residents to have a fear or an unsettling
feeling. For María, that feeling ran rife when she thought
about the family’s security.
“I was nervous for an earthquake,” said María. “It was a little
sad to live there. The adobe wasn’t secure.”
The rest of the house was falling apart too. It welcomed
visitors with wooden door in a state of disrepair, a dirt floor,
and if anybody had to use the restroom, their latrine was
outside, around the corner, in the cold. Hanging things on
the walls was pretty much out of the question – the wall
would have crumbled with any attempt at nailing something into it.
The living situation was rugged and insecure - María knew it had to
change. She tried to look into other houses and plots of land but they
were expensive and the bank was only offering a high interest rate. Her
father and brothers had homes constructed by Habitat for Humanity,
so she decided to give it a try. She applied, and the whole application
process only took a month. Twenty days of construction later, there
was a brand new house awaiting her arrival.
During the construction, a brigade from Global Village came to help
build the house. María remembers them fondly: “They were very
friendly, and they helped us greatly.” She also had a message for the
group: “God bless you and thank you so much for everything you
did with us. We wish you the best wherever you are, and God bless
you because the truth is that you are our friends, very gracious and
cooperative.”
The family just moved in during the last week of August. The new
house has a cement floor – a big upgrade from the dirt floor of their
old house! It features two bedrooms that are considerably bigger than
the old ones, a new bathroom that’s accessible without a moment in
the rain, and insulated ceilings in the bedrooms. And the house has
windows, which is a novelty given the old house had none. Really the
only commonality between the old and new house is that they both
overlook a beautiful valley – something María doesn’t take for granted.
María is an embroiderer, and the new house offers her a clean space
to embroider without worrying about getting her artwork ruined on a
dirt floor or adobe walls.
María has plans to continue growing flowers in the front yard, and she
wants to paint the house a “melon” color. She has attended a Habitat
training where she learned about her house and how Habitat works
exactly. They still have to move the rest of their stuff from the old
house, but they’re making the transition in due time. She’s proud to be
a new homeowner, and relieved that she has a sense of security that she
didn’t have before.
The unforgettable view from the family’s street
We can still use YOUR HELP!
Get to know Habitat Guatemala even better at habitatguate.org
BE AN AMBASSADOR
The most important and effective way to help is by simply letting others know
about your contribution to Habitat Guatemala. Whether making a donation or
building a house, please share your thoughts, stories, and photos with family and
friends. Use this presentation to raise awareness about the work we are doing to
provide adequate housing solutions to over 69,000 (and counting)
Guatemalan families.
DONATE
In order to assist even more families, our program depends on external support.
Every loan repaid by partner families is returned to our Rotating Fund, used to
build even more homes. While we are very proud of this sustainability, Habitat is
constantly expanding and exploring new opportunities to partner with families.
With support from our donors, the Rotating Fund can continue sustaining our
necessary work to serve families in need.
Donate online: habitat.org/donate
BUILD WITH US
Are you thinking about making another Global Village trip,
leading your own team, or even coming for the first time? Please
contact guategv@habitatguate.org for more information.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR helping change lives
we couldn’t do it without you
stay connected!
Habitat for
Humanity Guatemala
@HFHGuatemala
habitatguate.org/eng