Amanda, her husband Valentin and their son Jefferson (12) and daughter Glenda Elizabeth (10) have lived in their newly constructed Habitat house for 6 months now. Prior to building their house, the family lived on the same property but the house was small and housed their family of seven, including two adult children and their spouses. Amanda and Valentin recognized the family’s need for space and with the extra land around their house, built a house for themselves and their two young children and also gifted space to her daughter Sheila, to build as well.

Valentin works at a tire shop while Amanda sells fruits nearby the house. Amanda says “it is nice to have our space here.” The new house has two bedrooms and a kitchen, enough room for beds for Glenda and Jefferson and a room for Amanda and Valentin. The family have plans to expand the house in the next few years, “our dream for the house is to put a garden in the front, and a corridor, and eventually, a second level to the house, with more space for the family,» says Amanda.

Amanda remembers fondly the  group of volunteers, who came to help with the construction, “we were happy and got along well, they were hardworking and were a large group. There was a part of the group who worked on my daughters house and another part of the group who worked on mine, it was nice how everyone got along.” Amanda still talks with her daughter, Sheila, about the hard work and says: “you came to lift your hands and to help, thank you, it was a beautiful chance to meet and to know you and to work together.”

Nelver and Norma have been married for 2 and a half years. Each year of their marriage, the couple have received a new blessing. In their first year of marriage, they found out they were expecting their first child, a daughter, now 15 months old, whom they named Emily. In their second year, the couple discovered they were expecting their second child, a son, whom they named Nehemias, now 2 months old.

With their family continuing to grow, the couple decided it was time to move but had limited means to do so. Prior to their Habitat home, the family rented a bedroom in the house of another family. They had a bathroom, and a bedroom and improvised a kitchen in their bedroom to have some privacy. Just before the birth of Nehemias, the couple agreed that it was time to consider getting a home of their own.

Norma works in the local municipality and Nelver is a national policeman. The family have lived in in their new Habitat home for two months now. “We love the house because it is our own,” says Nelver, “here we have tranquility and quiet. We like our neighbors and live in peace, because of this, there is more love in our house and it is a good feeling.» Norma adds «Everything from the roof, the walls, everything is ours. To live here, in peace with our family and to make our own decisions is the part that I like most.”

When asked about their future in this house, the couple says they have many plans. Nelver has experience in carpentry and in his spare time says “I plan to build some of the furniture to fill the house.” One of Nelver’s recent projects was building a wooden addition behind the house where they house the kitchen. By putting the kitchen outside, the family has more rooms inside the house to use for bedrooms. For Norma, she smiles and says, “I want decorate and paint the house to make it a style of our own.”

The family is so grateful to the group of volunteers who came. “We had a special experience and cannot forget those who came from so far to help our family to build this home. Here we are content and want to thank you for making it possible.”