A community Comes Together to Build Three Habitat Homes

Habitat for Humanity - North Central Georgia held a dedication Ceremony for three families last Saturday at the Villages of Park Creek neighborhood in Woodstock.  Community members, sponsors and family members attended the ceremony to celebrate the completion of the three homes.  It was a beautiful morning, and everyone in attendance was overwhelmed with the gratitude expressed by the three families.  “This is truly a blessing for my family,” stated Ms. Kalombo.  “I finally have a place to call home where I can raise my sons.”  The three families will be able to move into their new homes in time to celebrated the holidays.

The first home was built in partnership with Omaboyowa Fregene who came to the United States in 2010 from her native Nigeria.  Ms. Fregene’s mother immigrated in 1996, and she was thrilled to be able to join her after so many years apart.  Ms. Fregene’s fiancé is still in Nigeria, but hopes to join her very soon.  They have two young children; Oluwa (4) and Olawatamilore (2).  In Nigeria, Ms. Fregee earned a degree in Business Administration.  Since arriving to the United States, she has been working in the home healthcare field.  Ms. Fregen’s home is being sponsored by Schneider Electric, along with several community organizations and businesses including; access management Group, AmeriFleet Transportation, Cherokee Association of Realtors, the Joe E. Johnston Foundation, Kimberly Clark, LexisNexis, Liberty Mutual, OCI Enterprises, Ryder and State Farm.

Habitat partnered with the Dahou family on the second home.  Benyounces and his wife, Zineb, are from Morocco and immigrated in 2009.  They have two young children; Nourelhouda (6) and Mohamed (2).  They came to the United States in hopes of providing a better life and education for their children.  Since their arrival, both have been working for a local supermarket.  The Dahou family’s home is being sponsored by Enercon, Goodman Networks, New York Life and Wells Fargo.

Habitat partnered with Bijoux Kalombo on the third home.  Ms. Kalombo is a mother of two sets of twins; Brian and Brandon (7), and Jason and Jeremy (5).  She is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo and has been in the United States for the last 10 years.  She is currently living with her mother, and is very excited about owning her own home and being able to provide a stable environment for her four sons.  Ms. Kalombo has worked as a teacher at a local daycare center for the last four years.  Ms. Kalombo’s house is Habitat North Central Georgia’s first “Women Build.”  The home was sponsored by Verizon wireless along with several other community organizations and businesses, including; The Abney Foundation, AutoTrader.com, Infor, Roswell Woman’s Club and hands of Christ.  In addition, women in the community participated as sponsors on the home both individually and in groups and helped to build the home as well.  “We are thrilled at the wonderful response we have had to our first ”Women Build” home,” stated Colleen Fogarty, Habitat North Central Georgia Development Director.  “The energy and enthusiasm has been tremendous and we are excited about all of the individual ladies who volunteered to help build this home.”

Pictured are:  Ms. Kalombo with her four sons, Brian, Jason, Jeremy and Brandon at the dedication ceremony.

Habitat for humanity - North Central Georgia is a non-profit, Christian housing ministry that builds simple decent homes for purchase by low income families who demonstrate a capacity for responsible homeownership.  Since its inception 1995, 259 homes have been completed and over 1000 family members have been served 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.  hese families not only get to experience the pride of homeownership but they also know that their lives will be changed forever.  For more information on Habitat for Humanity -North Central Georgia, please visit www.habitat-ncg.org