Christmas Comes Early for Three Habitat Families in Woodstock

The Nnakwu, Hruby and Uk families were overjoyed last Saturday when they received the keys to their new homes located in the Villages of Park Creek. These homes were the 34th, 35th, and 36th built by Habitat North Central Georgia in the Woodstock neighborhood. This was also the fourth Ecumenical build in Cherokee County in 2015 and Habitat was fortunate to have many returning faith sponsors help to build the new homes. In addition to the local churches, several businesses joined in to help providing both financial support and volunteer labor.

Habitat partnered with the Nnakwu family on the first home. Gordon and Uchechi Nnakwu immigrated to the United States from Nigeria in 2008. They have three children, Chizaram (15), Uchechukwu (13) and Chituru (5). Gordon works as a certified nursing assistant and Uchechi works part-time in the home healthcare industry.

“It is the American dream to own a home,” said Gordon Nnakwu at the ceremony. “Thank you to Habitat for providing shelter for my family. We are truly blessed. And thank you to all of the sponsors who helped build our home.” The Nnakwu family is pleased to have had the following sponsors support their build; Alcon, Alpharetta First United Methodist Church, Ingenico, Northminster Presbyterian Church, Saint Brigid Catholic Church, Saint James United Methodist Church and Saint Michael the Archangel Knights of Columbus.

The second partner family is Katie Hruby who has a 15 year old son, Alec. The two have lived in both Canton and Woodstock for many years. Katie is employed by the Cherokee County School System and works as a lunch room manager. Katie also helps take care of her mother who has Alzheimer’s and just recently moved into a memory care facility. The new Habitat home will allow Katie to be closer to her mother’s care facility so she can visit her regularly.

“All of you have made a difference in our lives,” said Katie Hruby. “This is the most wonderful thing that has happened to me and my son and we can’t wait to move into our new home.” The sponsors for the Hruby home were; Cherokee Association of Realtors, Mount Pisgah United Methodist Church, Redwood Wealth Management, LLC, Roswell Presbyterian Church, Saint David’s Episcopal Church, Saint Peter Chanel Catholic Church, Schneider Electric and Verizon Wireless.

The Uk family partnered with Habitat on the third home. No Lian and his wife, Nei, are refugees from Burma. They fled to Malaysia when they felt they could no longer live in a country with so many human rights violations. They lived in Malaysia, homeless, for five years before coming to the United States. The couple has three children; Christopher (16), Run Mawi (6) and Anthony (3). No Lian Uk has been employed by Tyson Foods for the last four years. The sponsors for the Uk family’s home were; E*TRADE Financial, Thrivent Financial, Roswell United Methodist Church, Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church and Saint Aidan’s Episcopal Church.

Habitat for Humanity-North Central Georgia is a non-profit, Christian housing ministry that builds affordable homes for purchase by low-income families who demonstrate the capacity for responsible homeownership. Since its inception in 1995, Habitat-NCG has completed 277 homes serving an estimated 1,000 family members in the North Fulton area and Cherokee, Dawson and Forsyth Counties. Habitat-NCG does not give away its homes. Partner families, who earn 30% to 60% of the Atlanta area median income, purchase their homes at or near appraised value utilizing 30-year no-interest financing provided by Habitat. In addition, each partner family is required to attend educational classes and perform 200-300 hours of construction “sweat equity.” Family members work side by side with the volunteers, sponsors, and Habitat staff to build their homes. Habitat-NCG’s slogan is “A Hand Up, Not a Handout.” For more information concerning Habitat for Humanity-North Central Georgia, please visit www.habitat-ncg.org.