One Habitat for Humanity Family’s True Story

By Asfaw Amare and Ehite Gizaw

Editor’s Note: This story is told to readers of Roofing Contractor directly from members of the Amare-Gizaw family, who became Habitat homeowners in 2009.

The members of the Amare-Gizaw family pose in front of their Habitat for Humanity home established through the hard work of volunteers and organization donors in 2009.

Becoming owners of a Habitat for Humanity home has been one of the greatest blessings our family has ever received. We immigrated to America with $500 in our pockets and hopes of the American dream in our hearts. Owning our own land and raising our family in a safe and loving home has always been central to that dream. For our family, with two of our three children having cerebral palsy, owning a space that could accommodate them was always especially important to us, but always seemed unattainable.

Our first years in the United States were characterized by our moves between multiple apartment complexes in low-income, drug-infested areas with high crime rates. The sounds of music and gunshots were often heard through the night. We all lived cramped together for almost a decade before we received the beautiful gift of a home.

When we closed on the purchase of our Habitat for Humanity home, it was as though a decade of prayers had suddenly been answered all at once. We were suddenly transported into a safe and quiet neighborhood, into a home with an expansive garden and enough rooms to house all of us. We had trouble sleeping the first few nights in the house as the noise we’d grown so accustomed to hearing throughout the night was no longer there. The silence was almost frightening.

Eventually we grew appreciative of the silence and began a new life in our home. We celebrated birthdays, Christmases, and got to know our neighbors. Unfortunately, in the fall of 2011, we found out that our oldest son, Yohenes, was diagnosed with terminal liver cirrhosis. He passed away the following June. He spent his last days and breathed his last breath in our house and we have since turned his room into our family prayer room.

Additionally, our youngest son, Yonas, graduated from high school and we celebrated his graduation from Yale University with multiple degrees in sociology and molecular, cellular, and developmental biology last May. We’ll also be celebrating his successes in our home.

This house has been one of the greatest blessings we’ve received as a family. It stands as a monument to our family and allows us to remember where we’ve been while also keeping our eyes fixed on the promise of what God has for us in the future. This home has grown with us and shaped itself to become what we’ve needed — a safe refuge, a place of mourning, and a place of celebration.

Owning a home is central to attaining the American dream and helping others to achieve their dreams is the American way.