Guatemala Earthquake Recovery Project 

Oct. 19-27

	Itinerary Saturday: Greeted at the airport by Habitat Guatemala staff; dinner; stay overnight in Antigua. Sunday: Travel to San Marcos; welcome ceremony with partner families and Habitat staff; dinner. Monday-Friday: Breakfast; work from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. with lunch on-site; free time after work; dinner of traditional Guatemalan food. One afternoon the team will work alongside neighbors to rebuild a community resource. Saturday: Travel back to Antigua; experience local culture via a city tour, market visit or other activities; celebration dinner with partners; overnight in Antigua. Sunday: Depart Guatemala or begin independent travel. Accommodations Teams will stay in basic, clean, secure hotels with double-occupancy rooms. Access to hot water will be limited. Teams will eat family-style meals of traditional Guatemalan food.

Habitat for Humanity is sending three special Global Village volunteer teams this October to help rebuild San Marcos, Guatemala after last year’s devastating earthquake—and you’re invited. 

Build houses with disaster-affected families, giving them a hand up into a new home, along with the security, safety and hope that come with it.

In addition to building, get an insider’s glimpse of how disaster recovery works. Hear stories and ask questions of local government officials, NGO staff and the San Marcos community.

This GV recovery project is your opportunity to make a lasting difference in the life of a city. You will leave San Marcos better than you found it; you may leave better than you came, too.

Apply to join this team  

Our project

Build homes 
Each team will build at least two homes for earthquake-affected families. These homes will be structurally sound and better able to withstand the next earthquake or flood. 

Get an insider’s glimpse of disaster recovery 
Local government officials will show teams how the earthquake affected families and infrastructure. Habitat Guatemala staff will also show you how we partner with local organizations to respond to disasters and develop communities.

Rebuild community spaces
Join with neighbors to rebuild a community space. You’ll see your team’s efforts improve not just individual families but the whole town.

Rebuild hope
When you volunteer with Habitat instead of just sending money, you partner with the community and provide them encouragement and support. Safe, decent homes improve the life of each family, and so will the relationships you build.

About the disaster
On November 7, 2012, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit San Marcos in the western highlands of Guatemala. The damage was intense; 52 people lost their lives, 1,019 families lost their homes and nearly 1,200 additional homes saw severe damage.

What’s more, vital community resources such as schools and meeting centers were lost. The people of Guatemala are still coping with the trauma. 

Who we’re serving 
Teams will build with families who were impacted by the earthquake. Habitat Guatemala selects families according to income, readiness and performance of sweat equity, which may include construction on others’ houses or community service. 

World Habitat Day
This GV disaster recovery project is a World Habitat Day event. World Habitat Day was organized to call attention to the need for better shelter around the world and change the systems, policies and attitudes that lead to poverty housing. Your team will put housing advocacy into action. 

Program cost
US$1,970 per person. Of this cost, $1,250 is a donation to Habitat’s continuing work in Guatemala disaster recovery and global housing solutions.
(For more details about what is included in this cost, visit Global Village program cost.)

Increase your impact: Take the GV Challenge
The work won’t be finished when you go home. Tell people about your GV Recovery project and invite them to support Habitat for Humanity’s work in the field. The money your team raises will enable Habitat to continue rebuilding San Marcos and to put more families in simple, decent and structurally sound homes. We’ll even provide tools and training to make it easy. Join us in sharing our story and building homes, communities and hope.