little by little

tobacco drying

Lucky and her son

I traveled a full day to arrive in Rio Hondo, in the Oriente of Guatemala, where it is overwhelmingly hot and dry. The landscape changed dramatically from the fertile, patch-worked hills of the Highlands that I now call home to the “montanas secas” (dry mountains) that remind me of another home in Southern California. The typical clothes worn by women in the highlands don’t colorfully paint the landscape nor does the impressive array of fruits and vegetables. The kindness of the people in this area is genuine, the cheese and milk delicious, the melons abundant and a sweet bread called “quesadilla” not to be missed.

This trip was different than my normal routine and unfolded in quite a remarkable way.

A group of volunteers is coming to help build in less than a week and Habitat needs to send them photos and info on the families they will be working with. I oriented myself to the new questions, since this was “a before you live in your house” interview and not after. Confusing after only a week on the job!

I had heard about “La Colonia” or the colony, a type of housing development done by Habitat, but had never seen one. I arrived at the colony, where the new homes were going to be built, and immediately thought, who would really want to live in a place like this? All the houses are exactly the same and close together. I definitely prejudged and made assumptions.

Earlier in the week, when I was doing my first interviews, it became clear that a family member had given all the new homeowners, except for one, their land. It was unsettling and made me wonder how people in this country got a home if they didn’t have land.

Introducing ……”La Colonia”         (applause please, un aplauso por favor)

How it works: Habitat buys a large plot of land with the intent to build houses close together and form a community. By purchasing the land in one lump piece, they are able to offer families a plot to build on for less than 50% of what land would normally cost them. For the first time, it becomes affordable to own a home and the land it sits on.

Due in 4 days!

The old saying, “you can’t judge a book by its cover”, true again.

While waiting for the families to arrive, I walked in the colony that was built the year before and skeptically looked around. I was invited inside a home and given a tour by a smiley, proud homeowner. After talking to her and seeing how happy she was to be living in the colony, I started thinking; maybe this place has some good things going for it.

In the course of the afternoon, I interviewed 12 families. Their stories were genuine testimonies to perseverance, moving forward in life, raising your self-esteem, and creating a better and calmer home for the sake of their children. Without the colony, they could have never afforded their own land and home, at the same time.

One single mother, who goes by Lucky, had been keeping the dream alive, of home ownership, for decades and she will move out of her mother’s home for the first time ever. Another woman’s husband died 5 years ago and she is finally able to move out of her in-laws home after 19 years. A couple, pregnant with their first child, is excited to start their family in their OWN home.

Rene in front of his nearly built home

I was filled to the brim with utter joy from the stories but still had one family left. Rene (25) and his brother, Rony (23) were abandoned by their parents, at ages 7 and 5, and spent most of their lives moving around, from one place to the next, sometimes with extended family. Rene, now a teacher, worked hard to make his way through school and managed to keep his dream alive. Rene said, “Owning my own home it is my biggest dream. I am on a good path and little by little I am changing my life and making it better.”  Rene and Rony are a reminder that people all over the world are manifesting their dreams.

The temperature is rising and I have photos and reports to get ready. It makes me happy to pass on the stories, so the volunteers know the families are worthy of the time and energy they are putting forth. Two weeks from now, those 12 families will be waking up in their new homes and staring their days, but things will be just a little bit different. Little by little, change is possible.

Peace in Egypt.