Keys unlock smiles at Habitat site

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This article was published 15/12/2023 (677 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two families opened their doors to a new future as they received keys for their newly built homes from Habitat for Humanity Manitoba during a key ceremony on Friday.

One of these families is Girmay Engeda, his wife Mulu, and their four children. Joined by family and friends, Engeda’s children had wide smiles as the keys were handed over to them.

“It’s a kind of joy because (all) of the processes I passed through were very hard. But with God’s power and with God’s mercy, we have a house,” Engeda said.

He left his home country of Eritrea in 2000, due to political strife.

“It’s a kind of joy because (all) of the processes I passed through were very hard. But with God’s power and with God’s mercy, we have a house.”–Girmay Engeda

“There were no formal rights and no democracy for the people. We had no elections,” Engeda said.

Engeda went to Khartoum, Sudan, and stayed in a refugee camp. There he met his wife, Mula, who was born in Ethiopia.

While in Khartoum, Engeda found it difficult to find work and he couldn’t become a citizen because he wasn’t Muslim.

However, in 2014, a woman — who was connected to Engeda’s church — sponsored him and his family to move to Canada.

When he arrived in Winnipeg, Engeda found work as a janitor and lived in a downtown apartment with his family.

In 2018, Engeda became a Canadian citizen and feels privileged to vote in elections — something he couldn’t do when he lived in Eritrea.

“I was very glad, and I (was) very happy because I didn’t get (the same) rights in my country,” he said.

Engeda first applied for a Habitat home four years ago, but he was denied. However, when he applied a second time, he was finally approved. During the building process, Engeda worked 500 hours on the site.

Since 1987, Habitat for Humanity Manitoba has helped more than 500 families get a home. The non-profit said 76 per cent of new homeowners report an improvement in family health.

Stable and safe housing also provided benefits for the children in the home, with new Habitat homeowners seeing improvements in their children’s confidence and educational performance.

Engeda said now that he owns his home, the smiles on his children’s faces bring him the most happiness.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca