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Owing My Own House is Like a Dream!

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Sediqah’s Story – Part 1

Another Habitat for Humanity Saskatchewan family told us how they feel about their homeownership journey. If the tears in their eyes don’t get you, we don’t know what will!

Sediqah says it is like a dream that she has a house, her kids have grown into good men and they have a good future now with peace.
Homeownership has made her so happy and it has been a blessing for her family. She prays for single mothers like her to have a place to live like she does and food to feed their families. She says that Habitat has been a big help and she is forever grateful!

Thank you to all of the donors, sponsors, community partners and volunteers who have made Sediqah’s homeownership dream possible.  Without the generous support of people in our communities across Saskatchewan, helping a family like Sediqah’s could not happen.

 

Be a Hero Today!

If you want to be a hero in a family’s life, like Sediqah’s, please donate to Habitat Saskatchewan today! Any donation helps our purpose by empowering Saskatchewan families through safe, decent and affordable homeownership.

 

Donate Today!

What Tanya Taught Us

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Who is Tanya?

Tanya and her girls are at their old rental place.

Tanya is a Habitat for Humanity Saskatchewan family that signed her mortgage with us in August of 2022. That’s right! Tanya is a homeowner! She lives in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and was renting a home that was not a safe place to raise her two daughters, Brooklynn and Chelsea.

As a single mother raising her two daughters while working full time, you can imagine the stress that creates. Not only does it create stress, but it can be traumatic and unsettling. With that said, Tanya found the courage to apply to our program giving Habitat Saskatchewan all financial documentation so we could decide to partner with her.

She managed to work on building her new home and helping with fundraisers with our committee to get her 500 mandatory volunteer hours completed. What an accomplishment!

Why is Homeownership so Important to Single Mothers?

Homeownership for many low-income single mothers is only a dream! We witness this repeatedly when we meet with the single mothers that apply to our homeownership program. Our waitlist is very long, and many single mothers are fighting for the chance they deserve so they can give their children a safe and stable place to call home.

All we want as a parent is to provide for our children and hope they are more successful in their lives than ours. Homeownership allows our low-income families to build equity and create self-reliance and independence. Our program provides low-income families with a hand-up in their life journey, which makes happier children who have a better chance of success in their future.

We have many success stories, and I know Tanya is one of them!

Tanya Wanted to Share Her Story

Cutting the ribbon at Tanya’s key ceremony.

“I would like to thank Habitat for giving Brooklynn Chelsea and myself a chance to purchase a house to call our own. For years the girls and I had lived in fear of not knowing what would happen. In 2009 I became a single mother and feared for the girl’s safety. The girls and I lived behind locked doors for the next five years. The girls are growing up too fast, and I want them to be able to enjoy their childhood as much as they can. I applied to become a Habitat partner family when they started helping families in Moose Jaw. I realized it was not my time at that moment. Habitat had let me know what was needed to succeed in the future to be accepted. I continued to move forward and not give up, and I worked on what was suggested. I knew my girls deserved a better, safer place to call home. They need to be kids and not have to worry.

My family and friends encouraged me to apply a second time. I’m unsure where I would be right now if it weren’t for them. We screamed with delight when we got the call saying we had been chosen to become a Habitat partner family. Our dream had come true. When we found out where the house would be in Moose Jaw, I sighed in relief. I grew up in the neighbourhood where the house would be built. My parents are two blocks away, and my great-grandma is a block away. I have always been close with my parents and sister, and now that I will be back in the neighbourhood, my girls can have that same feeling I had growing up, feeling safe and being close to family. Thank you, Habitat Saskatchewan, for everything you do for families. You made this family’s dream come true.” – Tanya

What Tanya Taught Us

Tanya taught us that no matter if you are a single mother or a person with a low income, homeownership is possible.  You can turn your dreams into a reality.  Having the support and encouragement of others is a blessing. If you fight hard enough and are dedicated, becoming a Habitat homeowner will change your life!

Be a Hero to a Single Mother in Need

With so many people waiting on our waitlist for the opportunity at homeownership and the inflated costs to build homes, Habitat Saskatchewan and our low-income families need your help more than ever. You can help give these families everything they need to feel safe and stable for the rest of their lives. You would be giving a child a home base so they can succeed in their future.

Tanya’s new Habitat for Humanity Saskatchewan built home.

With your gift, you can be a hero to these families today, giving them the comfort of an affordable place to live that they need right now and the assurance of knowing they have a safe place to call home.

Donate Today!

Dessie – A Habitat Saskatchewan Family Story

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Dessie originally came from Ethiopia and spent some time in a refugee camp in Uganda until he was accepted by the government of Uganda and given a refugee mandate. After 16 years of suffering through refugee life, in 2007, he was sponsored by Knox Metropolitan United Church. He came to Regina with his 5-year-old son. Shortly after being in Regina and taking English classes, he started working with the Saskatchewan Health Authority as a continuing care aid. To become certified, he could work there while taking the continuing care aid course through SIAST.

Dessie told his story at the Habitat Saskatchewan Doors and More event in 2019.

In 2011 he became a Canadian Citizen. In 2013 he applied for the Nursing Program at SAIST and was accepted. He knew that accomplishing this would be challenging as a single father. Still, he worked very hard, knowing it would help give his son and himself a better life in Canada. His dream was to graduate as a nurse, get a good job, buy a house, and proceed to plan for their future.

The Next Chapter

When he started his second year of nursing study, tragic and shocking news came from back home in Ethiopia. His elder sister and her husband died in a car accident, leaving their four children without a guardian. The children were also travelling with their parents, but they survived, except one had a terrible back injury. These children don’t have other aunties or uncles who can care for them except for Dessie. From that point, he decided to discontinue his studies to work full-time and help his sister’s children. He took the responsibility of caring for them by sending them money through the temporarily assigned legal guardian. The following steps would be to figure out how to get them to Canada and apply to be their legal guardian soon.

Dessie applied to Immigration Canada to sponsor his four orphan nieces and nephews to come to Canada and live with him. His application was accepted for all children, which was a significant accomplishment. Two children could come to Regina before the other two, making the transition hard but manageable. The other two children had to stay behind in Ethiopia together due to the back injury of the youngest child. During his immigration process, the youngest boy’s medical result showed that his back injury had nerve and muscle complications. His mobility will be affected while he grows up unless he gets proper medical attention. When he gets older, he may have difficulty walking up and downstairs. Dessie was told he would require a wheelchair-accessible home before the other two children could join them in Canada. Dessie was sad and upset as he was unsure how to get an accessible home due to the lack of options and financial situation. Ultimately, he could not save for a house downpayment with the many loans and students he had taken on for his schooling.

Dessie decided to go back to his nursing school studies in the meantime while he tried to figure out his housing situation. The three-bedroom apartment he lived in with the three children in downtown Regina was old and poorly maintained—cracks in the walls, heating and window issues, and infested with mice and Cockroaches. The building they lived in was also unsafe. The security system at the entrance door would not work, so anyone could open and enter the building. They found numerous homeless people inside, sometimes with knives and potential weapons, sleeping in the front door and hallways. Dessie and the children were extremely scared, and this living situation was not ideal with the children involved.

Applying for the Habitat for Humanity Saskatchewan Homeownership Program

After thinking hard about his situation, Dessie applied to the Habitat for Humanity Saskatchewan homeownership program. After going through the application process and supplying Habitat with all of the required financial documentation, and then having a home visit, he was accepted into the program. Habitat was able to build Dessie and his family a four-bedroom home with a full basement that was wheelchair accessible.

 

Dessie and some of his children with Tara Goulet, the Director of Family Services for Habitat Saskatchewan enjoying a nice visit together.

Once Dessie was able to confirm with Immigration Canada that he had a stable and accessible home, he was able to apply to have the other two children join their family in Regina. As of 2021, all the children are together in Regina, safe and sound. All his children are happy and confident to invite their friends to come and play and hang out in their new home. They are so excited to be together in the same house and now have a sense of stability. Dessie is happy to be a homeowner while paying down a mortgage to help him build equity for his children’s future, which he never thought would be achievable. “After all these children have been through, providing them with stability and a safe neighbourhood is a dream come true” – Dessie.

Dessie’s life has also changed throughout his homeownership journey, especially now that he has more joy and confidence. Dessie is no longer a single dad and has an addition to his family, a beautiful baby girl! Congratulations are in order! “Homeownership with Habitat has given me blessings” – Dessie.

Watch a clip we took of Dessie as he tells us how he feels about being a homeowner:

 

Be a Hero Today!

Thank you to the many donors, volunteers, and partners who helped Dessie and his family achieve their homeownership dream and the safety they deserved.

If you want to be a hero in a family’s life, like Dessie, please donate to Habitat Saskatchewan today!

Any donation helps our purpose by empowering Saskatchewan families through safe, decent and affordable homeownership.

Click Here to Donate