09/03/2026
to a powerful day of building alongside a homeowner and her family in Guatemala.
The homeowner told us that her home is shared with her sister, their four children, and their parents. Before construction could begin, the family had already carried every cinder block, piece of rebar, and 80-pound bag of concrete nearly a quarter mile down a narrow dirt path to the build site.
Habitat Guatemala provides the building materials, but delivery vehicles can only reach the nearest road. From there, the family moves everything by hand. No forklift. No carts. Every supply carried down the path, one heavy load at a time. It was a tremendous contribution before the first volunteer even arrived.
That spirit of partnership continued throughout the day. Aunts, uncles, cousins, and children gathered to watch and work alongside us. Even the kids formed a bucket brigade, carrying rocks away from the site. The youngest family member there was just three months old.
When we finished digging out the space for the new room, the homeowner cried. She was proud of what she had accomplished, and deeply moved that her parents were there to witness it.
This is what building together looks like: a family’s determination, an extended family’s support, and many hands working toward a place everyone can call home.
