Rebuild Homes in Guatemala after Volcano Disaster

Over the past few months, there’s been lots of excitement in Valle de las Flores, where Habitat Guatemala has been building homes for families affected by last year’s Fuego Volcano disaster. In December, we held a ceremony to inaugurate the first set of 16 houses, which was an exciting event filled with joy and emotion as our partner families received the keys to their new homes.

Since December, the families have been settling in their community, parents have started new jobs, and children have begun attending new schools. Throughout the transition, Habitat Guatemala’s partner families have bonded together in solidarity to support one another as they move on from the tragedy of last year.

Sherly, a mother of three living in her new Habitat home, has became involved with the local parent teacher organization and has supported other mothers in enrolling their children in school. Bernardo and his wife have opened up a little convenience store and have also been providing lunches for the masons working on the next phase of houses.

In total, Habitat Guatemala plans to build 42 homes as part of our reconstruction efforts. The next 13 homes will be completed by the end of February, and the final 13 are planned for mid-April. A few weeks ago, all 42 partner families came together, to meet one another and begin to form their own community. As many of the families have mutual friends and connections, given the proximity of where they were living before, there is an overall feeling that Valle de las Flores will be a happy new place to call home.