Habitat hands Eritrean family keys to new life

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This article was published 28/02/2020 (2058 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Ghabr family will finally be able to eat together.

Zekarias Ghabr, his wife Sembetu and their four children — immigrants from Eritrea via Sudan — had lived in an apartment where the kitchen area was too cramped to let six people dine at the same time.

That situation will change this weekend as the family moves from its crowded apartment to a new house that includes a spacious dining area on the second floor.

The move is possible because the family was helped by Habitat for Humanity Manitoba, an organization dedicated to providing affordable housing for first-time homebuyers.

“It’s a pleasure to hold my own house keys,” Zekarias said on Friday at his three-storey, four-bedroom home on Grove Avenue.

“As a newcomer, I didn’t have enough knowledge to handle (buying a house),” said Zekarias. “I don’t own any down payment… My only choice was to rent an apartment.”

When they arrived in 2016, Zekarias started work as a construction laborer, mostly doing concrete. He’s grateful to the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba for helping him get the job.

Zekarias works 40 hours a week, with occasional overtime. He also works about 12 hours per week at a restaurant as a dishwasher. His wife works full-time at home taking care of their children: Delina, 13; Matias, 11; Weldeyesus, 6; and Gedna, 1.

Habitat for Humanity has completed more than 415 homes since its work in Manitoba began in 1987. It plans to build 18 houses in Winnipeg in 2020.

“We work with families with a low income… somebody at the home has to have a full-time job for two years. They have to have children and they have to show a need for affordable housing,” said Michelle Pereira, the organization’s vice president. “We probably get 10 applications a day. The need is massive.”

The Ghabrs bought their home for $298,000, a value set by an independent expert. They will pay an affordable mortgage based on 27 per cent of their household gross taxable income. The mortgage terms include no down payment, and no interest for 15 years. After that time, the family should have more equity than debt in their home and will be required to get a mortgage with a traditional lender.

Zekarias also contributed sweat equity, working for 500 hours building the house alongside the organization’s volunteers and staff members.

“I learned how to work and volunteer with people,” he said.

The volunteers who helped build the house included Sherryl Koop, who came with her family members on Friday to hand the keys to the Ghabr family. She participated to honor the memory of her brother, Vern Koop, who was a long-time employee of Habitat and died a year ago this week.

“It’s very emotional,” Koop said. “[My brother] wanted people to have homes. If people have homes, they can have stabilization in their lives.”

city.desk@freepress.mb.ca