It was a very exciting moment for two Nanaimo families. Habitat for Humanity Mid Vancouver Island handed over the keys to their new homes during a dedication ceremony on Wednesday, January 15. They’ll be able to move in next week.
Both families include single mothers with two young kids. Jenn Stuart says the 500 hours of sweat equity she had to put in as a down payment was a huge challenge, but she’s glad she took it on. She says the best part is that it’s a neighbourhood she knows well.
The duplex on Prideaux Street represents the 13th and 14th homes that Habitat has built in the mid-island. Executive Director Teresa Pring says it took a lot of hard work from many people in the community, including volunteers, VIU students and corporate donors.
Pring says the work is not quite over yet. They raised just under $120,000 through their Building Homes Building Hope fundraising campaign, but they need about $30,000 more to pay off the project. And then, they’ll get back to work. She says they have two possible properties in Nanaimo in mind. They set a goal in 2012 to build 20 homes by 2020, so they have 16 more to build in order to achieve that dream.
