In San Antonio Palopó, our team has been working behind the scenes to prepare for the upcoming smoke-free stoves and water filter installations. Before volunteers arrive, we transport all the stove materials directly to the community, delivering each piece ahead of time so that installation days can move quickly and safely. By bringing the materials in advance, we reduce the physical burden on volunteers and ensure that every family’s stove can be built efficiently in their home.

This preparation is a step we take every time we install stoves. It reflects our commitment to planning with care and respect—for the families who will receive a stove and for the volunteers who will help build them. Each delivery is part of a larger effort to create healthier homes by reducing indoor smoke and improving cooking conditions. Long before the first stove is built, the work of transformation has already begun through preparation, teamwork, and shared purpose.

In the rural highlands of Panabajal, Comalapa, cooking is not just a daily task—it is a matter of health, dignity, and survival. For many families, preparing a meal still means breathing toxic smoke for hours each day inside fragile homes. Yet, through your support, this reality can change. 

A Life Spent in Smoke – Doña Ofelia’s Story 

Doña Ofelia Pol Coló has lived in the same modest home since the day she married. Within its cracked walls, she raised her children and built a life rooted in perseverance and love. Today, although her children have families of their own, she and her husband remain—aging alongside a house that reflects decades of sacrifice. 

Her kitchen bears the weight of years of hardship. An old adobe stove, broken and barely functional, fills the room with thick smoke every time she cooks. Soot covers the walls and ceiling. For years, Doña Ofelia has endured burning eyes, chronic coughing, and constant discomfort—silent challenges she accepted as part of everyday life. 

When she learned about the Improved Cookstove Project, she felt something she hadn’t allowed herself in years: hope. 

For Doña Ofelia, a clean cookstove is not a luxury. It is the opportunity to breathe safely, cook without fear, and live her remaining years with dignity. Yet, with extremely limited household income, saving for home improvements has never been an option. Every resource is devoted to covering basic needs. 

Your support turns her hope into a real and lasting transformation. 

Last week, Team Hope — our largest service trip of the year — brought together doctors, nurses, and volunteers from around the world to serve families in Guatemala. Over the course of four days, lives were transformed through access to health care, surgery, and healthier homes.

Together, we accomplished:


• 154 life-changing surgeries

• 997 patients were seen in our medical clinics

• 126 families received smoke-free stoves and clean water filters
  

Every number represents a powerful story: a mother cooking without smoke filling her home, a parent receiving long-awaited surgery, and a family finally gaining access to safe drinking water.


We are deeply grateful to every volunteer, partner, and supporter who made this possible.