Homes for Homeless Families in Guatemala

This month, with the help of a service team hailing from all corners of the USA, Nuestros Ahijados was able to build two homes and change the lives of the families that live there. Both the Mazate and Rodriguez families were living in unstable houses with broken rooves. The walls were made out of inadequate material to keep out the cold, and the upcoming winter period meant the families were at serious risk of illness; the last thing they need during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

After three days of hard work, both families had a solid, stable home with cement floors. Somewhere safe that they could call their own. The handing over ceremony got emotional as the families shared their gratitude with the Service Team that dedicated their time and resources to give the families a new start.

But, once the houses are built, that is not the end of our duty of care for the families we have supported. Our social workers regularly revisit families to check up on them and to make sure that they are still managing.

This month we had two such cases where further action was required to support our families. On visiting the Valle family, who received a house in 2013, it was apparent that their needs had grown more serious. The family consists of Alejandro and Petronila, and their three adult sons, two of whom are in wheelchairs after catching meningitis at the same time at a young age. They require constant care, which puts a strain not only on Alejandro and Petronila who can’t work at the same time, but also on the boys’ older brother, who had to give up his education to help look after them.

We assessed the family’s immediate needs and provided them with a stove to replace the broken one they previously were using. This meant that the kitchen was no longer filled with smoke when cooking, putting the lives of the family at risk. We also began to provide vegetables to the family each week so that they had enough to eat.

Another family that needed our help was the Pérez family who received a house from us in 2018. Their two-year-old son, Melvin, was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. Our Padrinos department has been supporting Melvin and his family with their appointments in UNOP, the children’s cancer ward in the Roosevelt Hospital, even going as so far as to donate their own blood. After receiving the all-clear for cancer in August, and this month his check-up confirmed that the cancer had not returned and that Melvin was completely recovered.

The gift of a home is something that completely changes the life of a family in our Project, and once a family has received a home from us they know that they can count on us whenever they have further needs.