Germana

Building Germana's Home

Germana’s Story:

Germana is a wife, mother and grandmother and was our main contact for this housing project. She is a devout Catholic who to this day continues to thank God for the provision of her home. Also in the household is her husband as well as their two children, a son and daughter, and one grandson. Her daughter’s name is Hilda and her grandson is José Luis.

Construction on Germana’s new home began in January 2012. The project duration was three months and was completed that March.

Prior to construction, Germana had a home made of cornstalks. It was a two room home, with one room as the kitchen and the other a bedroom for all those living in the house. Germana’s new home includes four rooms, a bathroom and a patio. One of the rooms is a kitchen and the other three bedrooms.

Our Guatemalan administration was very excited about this project and really felt that the Lord directed us to this family. The family’s property is situated right in the middle of Tizate and we were thrilled to continue providing housing right within the community itself.

The Rest of the Story:

In January of 2012 when this house was built, we received a short-term team that came to install a playground at the school. In the end the team was larger than anticipated and we were able to contribute a number of them to be labourers at the house site. One family that was part of the trip actually donated the funds necessary to build Germana’s house in honour of a family member who had recently passed. It was incredibly meaningful for this family to contribute to this house in memory of their mother and grandmother.

The short-term team participated alongside of our Guatemalan crew in tearing down the former corn stalk rooms (incredibly, a corn stalk home can be disassembled in a matter of a few hours) and during their stay with us, they assisted in levelling the site, digging trenches and laying the foundation. Another short-term team continued with the work in February of that year.

Upon completion of her home, Germana invited the construction team and the GSO administration for a sumptuous lunch of pepián, a delicious cultural dish.