Habitat for Humanity (H4H) has been on a building spree as of late. This past Saturday, the non-profit organization announced that it had completed 277 houses within the city of Buffalo. H4H held a dedication ceremony, which was led by Jerry Sheldon, Habitat for Humanity Buffalo’s new President & Executive Director. The event also marked the completion of the first H4H completed in 2016 – 457 Busti Avenue (inset).
The Busti Avenue house (aka the Pope Francis Build) was made possible thanks to a donor’s anonymous $60K, a sum that helped to foster the development, which was also made possible thanks to the numerous volunteers that took part in the project.
Now that the house is complete, homeowners/partners Kemal Asabel and Meaza Tedela will be taking up residence. The couple contributed 500 sweat equity hours on H4H houses, which is part of the deal that new home owners must agree to before being considered for home ownership. Kemal and Meaza have three children – Eliyas, Ermyes, and Eleny. The Ethiopian family has lived in the US for ten years.
14 homes were built in 2015, and they expect to complete 16 in 2016.
In order to keep the program moving along, and affordable for the new home owners, H4H provides the new families with no-profit loans, and the monthly payments are directed towards other new builds. The program counts on donations of materials and volunteer hours in order to succeed. According to H4H, 14 homes were built in 2015, and they expect to complete 16 in 2016.
To donate a house to H4H, call 716-204-0470