FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – 10 family members, a 5-bedroom home, 5 applications—and today, they celebrate as the 86th family to be selected into the Lake Agassiz Habitat for Humanity Program.
Youngest child of 8, Zacharikalif, expresses—“I’m feeling really happy, I hope I get my own room.”
“I’m feeling great and excited,” says Summaya, the 3rd youngest.
The Ahmeds celebrate the official groundbreaking of their new home—one that took many years of dedication and determination. Abdi and Halima share 8 children and lived in a small 3-bedroom apartment. In the middle of winter, they were forced by the courts to move out of their apartment and find a bigger place because they had too many people.
Father Abdi Ahmed shares, “I get a 3-bedroom and the next time they said you cannot live here more than, you know, more people, you have to get more rooms.”
After searching, they found a 5-bedroom rental home, but it took more than it gave—over 50% of their income now goes toward housing, making it difficult to keep up with other needs like healthy food, school supplies, and medical expenses.
“If I could use one word to describe Abdi and Halima it would be persistent. They demonstrate this because they did not give up on their dreams for a better life, even after applying 4 times to our program and getting accepted on the 5th,” says a Habitat for Humanity employee.
After 5 applications, the Ahmeds can finally work towards a home to call their own.
Pete Christopher, Resource Development and Marketing Manager, says, “So Habitat is a purchase program, we are not their landlords. We go out and seek donations to help build the home, but they contribute hundreds of hours of sweat equity. This family will have to contribute over 500 hours of sweat equity, and that can be building on this home, building on other homes that we work on, working on our ReStore.
In about a year, this new plot of land will be a new home. Until then, they will dig their way to a new beginning.”
