On November 21, we welcomed home four families home for the holidays in our Millard Acres development! Congratulations to Mitiku, Emebet, Wegihu, Bisrat, Tesfaye, Okuba and their families for all the hard work they put into the program, building their homes and taking homebuyer education classes. We hope they enjoy filling their new homes with joy, love and special memories this holiday season!
Meet Mitiku & Emebet
Mitiku and Emebet were both born and raised in Ethiopia but came to the U.S. for better opportunities, finding that Sioux Falls had good schools, less crime and was a good place to raise children. Emebet works full-time at a production facility, and Mitiku works part-time due to ongoing pain and physical limitations from a work injury. Though they lived in an apartment with safety and maintenance issues, it was unaffordable for them to purchase a home on their own.
When friends and family shared Habitat’s program with them, they applied and were accepted in April 2024. After many years of financial difficulty and discouragement because of Mitiku’s work injury, they now own their own home and can provide safety for their children and have a place to celebrate holidays with family and friends. “It is like a dream come true!”
Meet Wegihu & Bisrat
Wegihu and Bisrat are an Eritrean couple that moved to Sioux Falls for a quiet place to raise their children. Growing up, Wegihu enjoyed farming with his family in an Eritrean village, but Bisrat’s family lived in a refugee camp in Sudan that was not a very safe place. Now, Wegihu works full-time as a medication aid for a local retirement home and Bisrat cares for their three children.
Their family was renting an apartment, but the cost was continuing to increase and apartment life was making Bisrat’s health issues more difficult to manage. When they were approved for Habitat’s program, they were excited to build and own their own home with support from the community. Their home has more space for the children to play and sing, and it’s a healthier environment for Bisrat, with no one smoking and no stairs to climb.
Meet Tesfaye
Tesfaye was a teacher in Ethiopia before he immigrated to the U.S. over a decade ago. He liked that Sioux Falls had good jobs, friendly people and many cultures. Tesfaye, his wife and their three children lived in an apartment with crowding issues. Apartment life was also difficult for his wife and youngest daughter who have health issues. Even though he works full-time at a retail warehouse, it was unaffordable to purchase a home on the open market.
Tesfaye was approved for our Homeownership program in April 2024, and he said, “Owning a home will change our lives for the better. It will provide more safety, and the kids will have more space.” Their family is thankful and happy for the support they received from the community and the Habitat program.
Meet Okuba
Okuba grew up in Eritrea, moving to a refugee camp when her home country was no longer safe. She immigrated to the U.S. and liked that Sioux Falls was a small city with opportunities for education and a better life. She and her three children live in an apartment with crowding, maintenance and management issues. Even though she makes a good income from working full-time at a local production facility, purchasing a home was unaffordable.
When her Eritrean community told her about Habitat, she applied for our program and was accepted in April 2024. She is appreciative that the community was willing to help her family and knows that homeownership will change her family’s life because they will have a safe and healthy environment.
In the News
Dakota News Now: Four families move into Habitat homes ahead of the holidays
Thank You
These homes were made possible by the generosity of The Bancorp, the CNH Industrial Foundation, Wells Fargo, Pathward, Citibank, First PREMIER Bank & PREMIER Bankcard and the U.S. Bank Foundation. We would also like to thank our many other corporate and private donors for their support.
We would like to thank Project Warm-Up for their donation of blankets and Ben Reifel Middle School for making welcome home kits and signs for our new homebuyers.
Thank you to the 664 volunteers who devoted 4,450 hours to building these homes alongside these four families.
