Day 14: Final Home Visits Begin

Olivia: Today our team had the opportunity to visit the homes of the families who have received a stove (plancha), a new roof, a concrete floor, or all-purpose wash station thanks to your donations. We decided to divide the team into smaller groups to ensure that every family involved in the project was visited and interviewed before our time in Sibinal comes to a close. These visits are important for a number of reasons:

1.) These visits are a way for us to confirm that the families received what they were promised and that the work completed was of high quality.

2.) These visits give us the chance to meet and talk with families and gain their feedback on the work that was done in their homes. Are you satisfied with the work? How has this project benefited your family if at all? Do you have any questions, comments or concerns that you'd like to express?

4.) These visits also help form bonds with the families. We don't just want to provide a service and disappear. The connection with the families and their feedback is a vital part of this entire endeavor.

3.) These visits give us an opportunity to document the work done with photos, videos, and notes that we can then share with you - the donors and the larger public - to ensure that we have complete transparency. It's important for you know and to see that your generosity is being used in the ways we said it would be.

Today, Amado, Aldo and I were tasked with interviewing the families in the Tohaman neighborhood. In total, we visited 7 different families, four of which received concrete floors, two that received new stoves, and one family that received a new aluminum roof.

The first family interviewed was Don Tomas and his wife Adelina who received a new plancha (stove). Don Tomas was not originally part of the 25 families chosen for this project; however, because of his continuous dedication and help to our team as they worked on the homes of other families, the team thought it was appropriate that he receive a new stove as well - which he and his family greatly needed. Don Tomas works in agriculture and does other odd jobs to provide for his family.  Don Tomas told me that before this plancha, his family cooked over rocks and an open fire on the ground which was evident from the thick black crust left on the walls and ceilings of his home from the cook smoke. Don Tomas and his wife expressed their utmost gratitude and said that this new stove, equipped with a chimney, is beautiful and helps protect their lungs and eyes from the smoke. (See pics below.)

The second family visited today was Doña María. Doña María, a single mother of five, also received a plancha. Like Don Tomas, she said that she experienced a lot of suffering over her old block and fire cooking space,  for the smoke from the fire would burn her eyes and constantly bending to tend the fire would hurt her back. She said that she really likes her new stove and that it has saved her from this suffering.She sends her thanks and her prayers towards all who played a part in getting her this stove. (See pics below.)

Doña Bilma received a concrete floor and was the third family visited today. Her and husband, who also works in agriculture, have two children. Their concrete floor was big and beautiful! Doña Bilma said that this floor has changed their lives a lot. Now, her children stay clean and it's much easier to clean her home because of the lack of dust. It was also encouraging to hear that Doña Bilma and her husband were able to use the extra concrete to improve and repair their own stove. Doña Bilma and her husband also saw the new floor as an opportunity to erect a wall in their home separating their kitchen from their sleeping areas. Let me tell you, their home looked incredible and it was clear that Doña Bilma was pleased and proud of her remodeled home. (See pics below.)

Doña Evelin was the fourth family visited today and was the only family interviewed today that received a new roof. Doña Evelin and her husband,  who also works in the agricultural field, have just started their family and have one child. When asked how this new roof has changed her life, Doña Evelin responded that now she can cook and sleep sheltered from the rain and other elements. I was inspired by her motivation to continue improving her home. Thanks to your donations, Doña Evelin and her husband can now begin saving and investing in other home improvements now that they have a new roof and no longer have to worry about the damage caused by leaks. (See pics below.)

Doña Inocencia and her husband José have five children. Don José  as a campesino (farmer) and sometimes works in Mexico for additional money. Doña Inocencia and her family also received a concrete floor. Like Doña Bilma, she expressed that this concrete floor allows the children to play without fear of getting dirty or sick from the humidity. Actually,  her children were busy playing as we had the interview, happily bouncing and playing with the balls they received from our group this Christmas. Doña Inocencia also said that the new floor is also much easier to clean and sweep. Once again, a family saw this project as opportunity to continue improving their homes and lives, for Doña Inocencia chose to use the extra concrete to fortify and seal the walls of her home and to construct/improve her plancha. Not only does Doña Inocencia get to enjoy her new floor, but now she no longer has to cry from the cook smoke that burned her eyes. (See pics below.)

Doña Lidia and her family was the sixth visit of the day. She and her husband, Mario, have two little girls. Like several families before them, thanks to your donations they were also the recipients of a concrete floor. Doña Lidia said that they are very happy with their new floor because it is much warmer than the dirt floor and her home stays much cleaner, as do her children which can now play inside the home. Doña Lidia, like all the previous families, were very grateful for her new floor. She said that they don't have the kind of money needed for such a large project. Now that they no longer have to worry about the floor, they can invest the money they've been saving in a new kitchen. Doña Lidia went on to say something that touched me. She thanked us "for the opportunity to change our life." Wow. It's moments like this, that make my heart well up with emotion. A few bags of cement can substantially change a family's life. Incredible!

The seventh and final visit of the day was with Doña Miriam, a single mother of six children, with the youngest three still living in the home. Doña Miriam's home is very small and quaint. She makes a living working at a restaurant and washing other people's laundry. When asked how the concrete floor placed in her bedroom area has affected her life, she responded that it keeps her family warm and it's easier to clean. (See pics below.)

Although many of the families' responses sound repetitive, I feel it's important that each family has an opportunity to share a piece of their story and to talk about how this project may have affected them. Every single family expressed an abundance of gratitude for the work that was done to their homes and many shared desires and plans to continue improving their homes. It seems as though our little projects are having positive ripple effects among the families. I'm happy for them and wish them well with their future plans.

I enjoyed meeting with the families.  Their hospitality and warm welcomes made me feel less like a stranger and more like a new friend. Actually, six out of the seven families offered us refreshments upon entering their homes. So if you see pictures of us with bulging pockets filled with cans of juice or soda, you know why! It became a laughing point between us and the families as we added to our collection of refreshments with each visit. I wish I had the ability and the time to talk longer with the families. My Spanish is quite poor, and my friend Aldo's English is limited. So while Aldo could have asked more in-depth or personalized questions, he wouldn't have been able to translate the families' responses to me in English. We did the best that we could though. I just hope the families know that the time spent with them, although brief, was meaningful to me and that our team genuinely cares about their families' well-being and happiness. Goal for 2017: learn more Spanish! Thank you for reading and know that there are many people here in Sibinal who are sending you prayers, blessings, good thoughts and wishes for the way you've helped their families.

Shirley: First day of the year yay! As we are getting close to an end here in Sibinal for this time around, we did home visits to make sure the families got what was promised to them. Since it is the first day of the year, a lot of families (for my case) weren't home because of various reasons like market day in Tacana, church, the election of new leaders of different organizations within the communities, etc. Me and another member of the group here visited four families but unfortunately we didn't have very much luck. We did though find the daughter of Doña Julia Berduo, Beatriz Roblero. This home got a concrete floor in their living space and a plancha. I was able to talk to Beatriz but she was a little shy and didn't say much back. I asked what was the source of income in the home for her, the four children that live there, and Doña Julia and she said they have to travel to Tapachula, Mexico and do domestic work like housekeeping. Mexico isn't far from Sibinal. It's just a couple miles away in the other side of volcano Tacana. It's tough still to have to travel over there to able to support the family over here. Beatriz said that she's very thankful for the donations given so that this project can be done and help her and her family because before the items being given to her, she said a lot of smoke got in the kitchen which was very hard on the lungs of the kids and the adults living there as well. With the concrete floor, she says it is a lot easier to keep clean which helps keep the dust out. She is very thankful for the kind donations and very happy with the new plancha and concrete floor.

Below are pictures of the old stove and new stove. Also pictures of the new concrete floor. 

Emily: today we split up into three groups as there were sixteen more families we had to verify for work. i was with franco and we were able to tackle four families and move aluminium roofs. one of the families we interviewed was rosa. her parents weren't home but she kindly gave us a tour of her home. she is eighteen years old and had to stop going to school because her parents couldn't afford. i asked her if she felt any resentment towards her parents and she said at first she did. she didn't feel it was fair, but as time went on, so did she. mind you again that she is eighteen years old. her level of maturity is beyond her age. the family received a cement floor for their bedroom. rosa said it helps a lot with their health because they are not breathing in dust every day. it's a lot much cooler on the hot days as well. we also visited one family where their stove did not meet our standards. it was done very poorly. it had multiple chips and the chimney didn't even reach outside of the kitchen. we notified the construction worker (it is necessary to hire a professional since stoves are specialised), and he failed to show up to the meeting. we decided to hire more outside work to fix it and then we will monitor the work very closely. we have a couple more days here and i can't wait to share my experiences in person with you all. besos, emily.

Franco: As we get ready to wrap up our humanitarian efforts here in Sibinal, San Marcos, Guatemala, it is our priority to ensure all of the families get exactly what they were promised. As we made most of the final home visits and assessed the work done with the help of people skilled in construction we found one home with a poorly built stove. As Emily stated above, Project HELLO takes pride in making sure we deliver quality items. Always quality over quantity. 

Below are pictures of the poorly built stove we found in one of the homes we inspected. 

Both teams quickly took action and notified the worker who built this stove. We also set up a secondary plan of action to have a different construction worker assess the stove to decide whether it needs to be tore down and restarted from scratch or if it is possible to fix it as is. Again, we do not tolerate mediocre work for several reasons: 

1. The people in Sibinal deserve the right to receive quality and durable items as promised.

2. Donors have entrusted us with their hard earned money, thus we have a commitment to the people       of Sibinal as much as we do to the donors in the US.  

As of now the stove will be tore down and restarted tomorrow morning. The construction worker responsible for the poorly built stove is being held accountable and will not be paid for his labor. 

Emily and I visited several families today. Don Aristeo Diaz and his wife Anna Luisa Diaz have five talented children. Don Diaz works as an ice-cream man in Tapachula, Mexico during the week. This means he is gone five days out of the week away from his family. His children mentioned how much they miss their dad. Doña Diaz frustratingly stated how hard it is for her husband to find work here in Sibinal. Even working in Mexico they struggle to make ends meet. 

Both were grateful for the donations brought from the US to help them with a new cement floor for their home. Don Diaz and his wife have also saved enough money to build a new wooden wall around a part of their home. What amazed me most about the Diaz family was their fortitude and motivation to push forward regardless of the adversities they face. This is evidenced by their children's behavior. For example, their eldest son is an amateur artist and likes embroidery. 

Below are pictures of the Diaz family new floor and some of their son's art work. 

The next family we visited was the Perez family. Although they were away when we came around to verify the work we spoke to their 24 year old daughter Mariela. We found her outside washing her family's clothes on a slab of stone. We asked for her permission to inspect the work that had been done in her house and had the opportunity to know a little more about Mariela and her family. 

Mariela spoke to us about her father struggling to make ends meet by working as a farmer. She said her dream was to leave Sibinal and live in Guatemala City where she could find steady employment. She was thankful for the new stove and cement floor but seemed disconnected. Her eyes would light up whenever she spoke of leaving Sibinal. Below are pictures of her family's new stove and cement floor thanks to your donations.