SMOKE-FILLED HOMES CAUSE SICKNESS

More than 75% of Guatemala’s 15.8 million people use firewood as their fuel source.

Most cook over open fires in one-room shacks. Constant smoke-inhalation from poor ventilation puts families—especially women and children—at risk for pneumonia, emphysema, lung cancer, bronchitis and heart disease.

IMPROVED STOVES SAVE LIVES

Your gift of $150 provides a custom-built cooking stove with proper galvanized pipe ventilation. Trained volunteers will construct the stoves with cement blocks, fire-bricks filled with sand and pumice for insulation. The stoves are far more heat-efficient, reducing firewood use by 50% to 70% and preserving more of the native forests.

Though the stoves might seem rudimentary by modern standards, they are a huge step forward for these deeply grateful Guatemalan families.