Habitat for Humanity – North Central Georgia Helps Refugee Family Build House

Habitat for Humanity – North Central Georgia Helps Refugee Family Build House

GAINESVILLE, GA (May 5, 2017) – Habitat for Humanity – North Central Georgia celebrated the hammering of the first nails for the house built in partnership with the Aung family in Gainesville on Saturday, April 29th. The house, which is located on Sawnee Way in Gainesville, GA, will provide the family the stability and safety that they have been seeking.

The photo features the Aung family, Gary Nichols (InterDev), Paige Fouts (Verizon Telematics), and Brian Murphy (DataScan), all hammering in nails on the house.

Several generous sponsors and volunteer groups make the construction of this home possible, including Cisco, Wells Fargo, Garrard Construction, MarketSource, Solvay Polymers, Datascan Technologies, United Way of Forsyth County, Lowe’s, Verizon Telematics, and InterDev. Habitat for Humanity National Women Build Week is May 6-14, and a team of Lowe’s Heroes will work on the house on May 13th as a part of this initiative.

The Aung family has surmounted many obstacles to make their American dream a reality. In 2005, Aung and Tu Zar Aung fled Burma, their native land, to escape religious persecution and political unrest. After living for 5 years in a 10-square foot room in Malaysia provided through the United Nations Refugee Program, the couple immigrated to the United States in 2010. The couple has since had two boys, Myint (4) and Blessing (21 months), and they have been looking for a safe place for their sons to grow and thrive. Aung has worked for Tyson Foods in Cumming for more than 5 years, and they have been saving diligently to own their own home. They believe that their long and difficult journey and many sacrifices were worth it to create a better life for their family. The Aungs expressed their sincere gratitude to all of the sponsors and volunteers for their support.

“Seeing the Aung family, we are reminded that everyone’s story is different. We at Habitat – North Central Georgia are privileged to work alongside the Aungs as they build their future, gaining stability and self-reliance through their new home,” said Jennifer Garrard, Director of Resource Development for Habitat – North Central Georgia.

Construction on the Aungs’ home is scheduled to be complete in August.

About Habitat for Humanity - North Central Georgia

Habitat for Humanity - North Central Georgia is a non-profit, Christian housing ministry that builds simple, decent homes for purchase by low- to moderate-income families who demonstrate a capacity for responsible homeownership. Since its inception in 1995, Habitat-NCG has completed 291 homes, serving over 1,075 family members in North Fulton, Cherokee and Forsyth/Dawson counties. Each family is required to attend six educational classes and perform 200-300 sweat equity hours. Families earn between 30% and 60% of the Atlanta area median income and purchase their homes from Habitat which provides them with a 30-year, no-interest loan. Family members work side by side with the volunteers, sponsors, and Habitat staff to build their homes. These families not only get to experience the pride of homeownership but they also know that their lives will be changed forever. In addition to new home construction, Habitat North Central Georgia started a home repair program in 2014. To date, 29 repair projects have been completed serving veterans and seniors. For more information on Habitat for Humanity-North Central Georgia, please visit www.habitat-ncg.org.