Our Families
Habitat partner families come from all walks of life and have the same goal of owning a healthy, energy-efficient, affordable home in a safe neighborhood. Once selected as a partner family, each family completes sweat equity hours working on build sites and attends classes which are part of our homeowner education curriculum to help prepare them to be successful homeowners. We are currently building for these families:
Hunter Family- Detroit Ave., Harrison Township (Fort McKinley)
After years of renting a cramped duplex, Yalonda Hunter is ready to become a first-time homeowner. Her family has suffered break-ins and thefts in the past, so Yalonda is excited to purchase a home in a safe and comfortable environment where they can thrive.
Yalonda had applied to Habitat many years ago and never thought that she might ever meet the requirements after being turned down the first time. With the encouragement of a friend and Habitat partner family, Yalonda applied again and was selected in September, 2010. Her four children are all looking forward to having more space. The teenagers all love to play games outside, but they have a very small yard.
Yalonda has enjoyed earning her sweat equity hours with the help of friends and family. She feels more confident about the work that goes into maintaining a home now that she has helped build several of them. She also appreciates the lessons she has learned in her budgeting classes. "My home is going to come first. I'm ready to be the best homeowner I can be," Yalonda says.
Sign up to volunteer and help build our home
Majack Family- Steele Ave., Dayton (Twin Towers)
Francis Majack's dream is to have a good life with his family, to get an education and to help others. He is currently working on making his dream come true.
Francis, his wife Panom Mading and their children immigrated to the United States in 2006 to begin a new life after escaping war-torn Sudan and finding temporary asylum in Ethiopia. While Francis was in an Ethiopian refugee camp, he worked in construction, learned how to speak English and decided to move his family to the United States.
Francis and Panom currently live in a small and unsafe rental house with their five children Kiir, Majack, Miakol, Akol, and Deng and Francis's 17-year-old brother, Santino Kiir. There is not enough room to adequately house the large family; the walls are crumbling and the electrical outlets are throwing sparks. Their landlord lives in Canada so maintenance problems are not always quickly and adequately addressed.
Since joining the Habitat program, Francis lost his job due to severe health problems so Panom has been working in housekeeping to support the family. Thankfully, Francis's health is improving and he is looking forward to getting back to work.
Sign up to volunteer and help build our home
Chan Family- Alaska Ave., Dayton (Old North Dayton)
Ring Chan and his wife, Nyanbol Chol, look forward to the day when they can call a house their home. After leaving their home to escape the Civil War in Sudan in 1999, Ring and Nyanbol spent time in Egypt while waiting to move to the United States. When they first arrived in the U.S., they lived in Atlanta until they heard Dayton is a good place to raise a family.
Ring and Nyanbol moved to Dayton five years ago, but the family has outgrown their small two-bedroom apartment in Moraine. Their three energetic children have nowhere nearby to play except for a strip of grass next to the parking lot. Besides having more space and a safe yard, the family also craves the independence that comes with homeownership. "I want my own property, so that I won't lose my money in rent to a landlord," Ring says.
