The Bran Figueroa family earned their home by working sweat-equity hours through the Housing Program.
A healthy and secure living environment is vital to a child’s long-term success in school. And yet, many of the families we serve live in homes made of cornstalk, sheet metal, and dirt floors. The floors lead to parasitic diseases and diarrhea, which is a leading cause of death for infants in Guatemala. Open cooking fires cause respiratory diseases, a leading cause of death for all ages. In addition, homes are often perched on steep hillsides, at risk of sliding away when the rainy season starts.
Common Hope provides opportunities for families to earn homes that are clean, dry, and safe. This includes a concrete floor that reduces parasites by more than 75 percent, and a vented stove that uses one-third the firewood and routes harmful smoke out of the home. Families can also earn a latrine, retaining wall, and utilities like water and electricity. In the last six years, 196 families have built new homes with our support, 198 have built stoves, and many more have earned improvements like latrines, retaining walls, and utilities.
