Habitat for Humanity Guatemala

Non profit organization
Visit website
(+502) 7931-3131

Habitat for Humanity Guatemala helps low–income families improve their living conditions by building new homes and housing communities, stabilizing and improving existing houses, and offering affordable housing solutions such as smokeless stoves, water filters and basic sanitation services.

Women, Men, Girls, Boys, Indigenous peoples, Elderly, Disabled
Education, Water and sanitation, Construction, Development/Community infrastructure, Housing, Volunteer/Sustainable travel

Table of contents

Organizational contacts & locations

Contacts
Makensie Brown
Director of International Resource Development
(+502) 4740-6732
Locations
Avenida Las Américas, 9-50, zona 3, Edificio Supercom Delco, 3er. nivel, Oficina 3, 
Quetzaltenango, 
Quetzaltenango, 
09001

Mission, vision & values

Mission

Seeking to put God’s love into action, Habitat for Humanity Guatemala brings people together to build homes, communities and hope.

Vision

Our vision is that all families in Guatemala inhabit an adequate home.

Values
We value integrity, honesty, respect, solidarity, individual responsibility, stewardship, inclusiveness, ethical leadership, sweat equity, and advocacy.

Products, services, and programs

Products

We offer 12 different housing designs of which can be built with affordable monthly mortgage payments. In addition, Habitat Guatemala's products include: water filters, sanitary latrines, smokeless stoves, and other home improvements.

Services

Habitat Guatemala provides the service of supplying affordable housing in which families pay an economic mortgage payment on a monthly basis. In certain cases, when families are extremely vulnerable and do not have resources available, Habitat Guatemala will subsidize (either partially or entirely) a housing solution. The logistical components that are necessary when building a house (legal processes regarding land on which one will build, hiring of mason(s), supervision of construction, etc.) are provided by Habitat Guatemala.

Programs

Habitat Guatemala has programs such as that of our Extreme Poverty program, which was created to support families living in either poverty or extreme poverty with a partially subsidized solution. This program implements a smokeless stove, a sanitary latrine, and a water filter in households across Guatemala, improving the quality of life of families and supplying them with knowledge that can serve as a stepping stone towards continually improving their living conditions.

Organizational detail

Founded: 
1979
Number of employees: 
50+
Funding: 
Private donations, Corporate donations, Private grants, Sale of products and/or services, Fundraising
Primary issue(s) / need(s) addressed

Guatemala has a housing deficit of more than 2.1 million homes (qualitative and quantitatively) and for that reason Habitat Guatemala focuses in the area of social home construction and improvements.

Impact, adaptations & objectives

Impact to date

Habitat Guatemala was founded in 1979 as a response to the 1976 earthquake that occurred in Guatemala and left one in every six people without a home. Since then, the organization has implemented over 117,000 housing solutions for Guatemalan families in need.

In 2010, the Extreme Poverty Focus Program was implemented in order to support families that are not able to afford a mortgage. This has widened Habitat Guatemala’s impact greatly, by providing water filters, smokeless stoves, latrines, and other home improvements to families. To date, Habitat Guatemala's solutions have positively impacted more than 700,000 individuals.

Impact measuring

Habitat Guatemala's impact is measured through a series of indicators that are determined through a process of monitoring and evaluation. Health indicators (lack of gastrointestinal disease, respiratory illness, malnutrition, etc.), partner family feedback (level of satisfaction with their Habitat Guatemala product), and interactive workshops (with educational components) are ways that Habitat Guatemala is able to ensure that a quality product is positively impacting the lives of the partner families.

Organizational adaptations: 
Size and/or structure, Key offerings, Location, Target issue
Organizational adaptation details

Size and/or structure

Habitat Guatemala has grown to more than 250 employees that work in all 22 departments of Guatemala.

Key offerings

During our 40 years of existence in Guatemala, the products and services that we provide to families has adapted to the need that has presented itself. What originally started as offering the construction of one style of home has grown to offering 12 different designs that can be adapted to the different climates and contexts in Guatemala as well as the specific interests of the family. Furthermore, products such as the Healthy Home Kit (water filter, smokeless stove and sanitary latrine) are partially subsidized solutions that were created to support individuals living in poverty or extreme poverty.

Target issue

During the last decade Habitat Guatemala has focused more in communal projects, providing them with access to basic services (for example, rain water catchment systems, water distribution systems, biodigestor/waste water management solutions, etc).

Short term objectives

Growth / Impact 

Habitat Guatemala's objectives for 2020 consist of implementing 12,450 housing solutions, impacting more than 74,000 individuals with access to an adequate place to call home. These solutions will consist of 2,350 new home constructions, 2,000 home improvements, and 8,100 Attention to Extreme Poverty products (water filter, latrine, smokeless stove, etc.).

Quality

To remain the same.

Long term objectives

Growth 

We plan to grow working alongside our community and leaders.

Quality

We will use local resources for the generation of an income and to create employment opportunities while implementing the practice of forest conservation and promoting community development.

Impact 

Habitat Guatemala's long term objectives are to have a more sustainable impact. This will be done through the empowerment of leaders and communities, forming entrepreneurships focused on the construction of stoves that are built with the Habitat model.