In this holiday season, it is easy to get carried away in the pageantry and warm feelings of the season. It’s a time to be close to family and friends. It’s a time to celebrate and party. But it’s also important to take a moment and count your blessings. I know I’m incredibly lucky to have such close family, opportunity for food, a roof over my head, and a community I am able to call home. I have a career that I enjoy and an opportunity to do good things.
I’m also blessed to be able to share amazing stories and help explain what Habitat is to so many people across our great state. Below are some stories of three amazing families in Spokane came to Washington State to start a new life. When we’re in Olympia with legislators, on a worksite helping to build (or repair) a home for a family, or in a Habitat Store somewhere in Washington, it’s stories like these that keep me going. Consider helping us tell the story through a donation to Habitat for Humanity of Washington State or signing up for our newsletter and helping us in our advocacy work.
Avorkliyah Brown-Awuah:
Bright and Dorcas started their lives in Ghana, West Africa. Dorcas first immigrated to the United States to further her education. Three years later, Bright and their daughter were able to join her. Bright began working at a manufacturing plant and Dorcas was attending EWU to become an ESL teacher. They desperately wanted to buy a home of their own but were unable to do so while living on Bright’s salary alone. Friends of theirs told them about the Habitat for Humanity-Spokane homeownership program.
Once accepted Bright relayed, “I see myself in the Habitat community. I’m excited to be a part of Habitat because of the faith and the love together.”
Cue-Hernandez Family:
Duka Cue-Hernandez was born in Bhutan, but due to a revolution, she and her family moved to a refugee camp in Nepal, where they lived in grass huts without running water or electricity for the next 16 years. When she was 17, she and her sister applied for refugee resettlement and were placed in the United States. After moving to Spokane, Duka got a job at the Davenport Hotel. There, she met her future husband, Omar, who had immigrated from Cuba. Unable to find a permanent residence, Omar, Duka and their two children moved from house to house, sometimes living in friends’ garages. Their lives were changed when they were accepted in the Habitat for Humanity-Spokane program. To them, owning their own home “brings new beginnings to our life and hope for our dreams.”
Scholz Family:
Ron, originally from Spokane, and Sofie met in Cambodia, Sofie’s home country. Excited to start a family together, they moved back to Spokane where they eventually were married and had 3 children. With Ron’s income in sales, they struggled to find a safe home for their children to grow up in. They lived in a 2-bedroom apartment, where they had problems with black mold and rampant criminal activity. They applied for the Habitat-Spokane program after learning about it at church. To Ron and Sofie, owning a home is an investment in their future. While working on their sweat equity hours, Ron and Sofie met most of their new neighbors-to-be, and were thrilled with the diverse and beautiful neighborhood they would be raising their children in.