03/25/2026
It is a seemingly small act but it had a substantial impact on the life of one Bendicion family. It's also something that happens from time to time and it always surprises us and warms our hearts. A friend of Sam's (Bonnie Tuman Grassey Scholarship Fund) heard about her February trip to Guatemala and was moved to send along a generous sum of cash to help one of the families. We were so touched by this sweet donation.
Turns out, when visiting one of Bonnie's scholarship kid's homes, we noticed that the stovepipe had rusted out, significantly reducing the benefit of venting toxic smoke outdoors. Because we had been given this money, we arranged for the stovepipe to be replaced right away (see photos below) (read below to learn more about the importance of these stoves). Remaining funds were used to provide two families with desperately needed food baskets to help supplement their food needs for the month.
So grateful to kind friends.
-------------------------------
More ways to help students and their families
Poor Guatemalans traditionally cook their meals in makeshift woodburning stoves (see photo below) or on open fires in their homes. These stoves have no chimneys forcing the families to cook and live in the smoke and carbon monoxide produced by the wood fires. AND, women and children spend more time in the home (then men) and thus are subject to greater exposure leading to devastating respiratory problems and severe burns. At especially high risk are children under the age of 5, for whom acute respiratory infection is the leading cause of death.
A safe alternative to open fires is an Onil stove (pictured below). These Onil stoves use chimneys to push the smoke outside improving the indoor air quality. From a health perspective,
these stoves dramatically reduce the incidence of respiratory illness and other health problems. And the stoves are much safer for young children as the cook surface is raised well out of reach of little hands.
An ancillary benefit is that Onil stoves cook more efficiently using significantly less wood (~70% less) -- which is a huge benefit, especially for women and girls, as wood gathering absorbs a great deal of their time and energy. This allows more time in school and time to earn wages.
Each stove costs $180, completely outside the realm of possibility for our families. Beyond education, an Onil stove is a powerful way to impact a family's well-being. If you're interested in providing stoves for our families, visit our website: http://www.underthesamemoon.org/donate-2
There is so much to be done in Alotenango, and the rest of the world. We appreciate your caring about this place that touches our hearts.
