From refugees to residents: ‘Incredibly deserving family’ gets new Stafford home

A family that lived in a refugee camp before coming to the U.S. will have a new home in North Stafford.

The Habonimana family will move into a new home at 3 Aquia Avenue on Sunday. Originally from Tanzania, mom, dad, and their five children aged 16, 14, 10, 6, and 18 months, will live in the home made possible by Habitat for Humanity Fredericksburg.

The family came to the U.S. in 1994 as a refugee family. They had lived in refugee camps while in Tanzania. They left Tanzania during the genocide.

He lost 12 members of his family, and his wife lost nine. Since, they have worked hard to become citizens and make their way in the U.S.

They moved to the Fredericksburg area a few years ago after being in Kentucky.

— Patty Hunke, Habitat for Humanity Fredericksburg

This home build was made possible by an $80,000 grant from Thrivent Financial, according to Habitat.

In 2015, Thrivent has invested $12 million in building with Habitat for Humanity, International including 121 homes in the United States through the Thrivent Builds Home program.

A special dedication ceremony for the Habonimana family will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday at their new home.

Here’s more in a press release from Habitat for Humanity:

The Habonimanas are an incredibly deserving family, and their story is a testament of hard work and dedication to the American dream. They have completed 500 hours of “sweat equity” helping build and repair locals homes and have graduated from a Homeownership Education course.

Now, they will purchase their Habitat home with a zero-percent interest mortgage. At the home dedication ceremony, the affiliate will share the success the Habonimanas have worked so hard to achieve and attendees will be able to tour the newly built home.

The Habonimanas will move into the home on Aquia Avenue off of Garrisonville Rd. and the home will look like every house in the neighborhood –a simple, safe and affordable home.