Dear Friends of Habitat,
Your generous support to Habitat for Humanity changes lives—and sometimes saves them.
When my daughters Njeri and Koi were very little, we fled Kenya to seek asylum in the United States. We arrived here with little more than memories of the violence that took away not only our home, but my children’s father.
I was willing to do whatever it took to give my girls a life where they could be safe and realize their full potential. I knew that I was facing some of the hardest work in my life. And I was grateful.
What I didn’t know was that people like you – people who support Habitat for Humanity – would join my girls and me in creating a beautiful future of hope.
The first few years we lived in the US, I worked as a nursing assistant. More than half of my paychecks went to rent one room in a 3-bedroom duplex for me and my daughters to share. The home we lived in was crowded, and my daughters got sick frequently.
In 2005, a miracle happened. I had learned about Habitat for Humanity’s program to help people build and own a home, and I reached out to them. After months of working through the process to qualify, my family was approved! I began volunteering the required 500 hours helping to build our home as well as our neighbors. We also saved money we needed for closing costs.
Then, on a beautiful day in 2006, we received the keys to our very own Habitat for Humanity home in Sonoma County.
My girls had rooms of their own. They could study in quiet. We had family meals together where we talked about our next dreams for their futures. Njeri and Koi became star students in school. They set big goals… to have careers in medicine.
Today, my little girls have made those dreams come true. They are both working to become doctors: Njeri is completing her residency in internal medicine in May 2020 and Koi is completing her pre-med under-graduate degree in May 2020 and is in the process of selecting her master’s program! I am forever thankful that our Habitat home made it possible for them to achieve their potential. Now, they are making the world a better place.
Life for all of us today is so good. I became a United States citizen. I remarried – a wonderful man named Dave. I serve as foster parent to adults with developmental disabilities. And recently, I sold our Habitat home so that another family in need could become Habitat homeowners. Now they, too, are building a new future for their children.
I hope you will join me in my support of Habitat for Humanity of Sonoma County. Please send your donation to help Habitat build more homes with families like mine.
Your gift today will create big change and so much hope, far into the future. Thank you for your continued support.
May God bless you for being a friend of Habitat.
Sincerely,
Judy, Habitat for Humanity “graduate”
PS: This year, 14 families began building their new lives in Habitat homes. In 2020, Habitat begins construction on 26 more homes with future Habitat homeowners!
Please send your gift to help those new families start creating bright futures today… Just like Habitat helped my family over 15 years ago!
DONATE TODAY!
Left: Njeri will finish her residency next year!