Archived News

8/23/2004 - Sudanese Refugee Gets Foundation-Sponsored Habitat for Humanity House

A refugee from strife-ridden Sudan, his wife and four children own their own home today, thanks to the Lancaster Area Habitat for Humanity and the Armstrong Foundation.

At a dedication and house blessing ceremony on Saturday, August 21, 2004 the new owner, William Abdelshahid, expressed his appreciation to Habitat and Armstrong for “helping people with low incomes to find homes.”

The three-bedroom duplex built and funded entirely by volunteers, is the fourth Habitat house the Armstrong Foundation has sponsored. A non-profit, non-denominational housing ministry, Habitat depends upon the support of individuals, businesses, corporations, churches, synagogues and private foundations. It will celebrate completion of its 100^th Lancaster Habitat house in October.

ABP President & CEO, Steve Senkowski, spoke at the dedication “on behalf of over 2,000 Armstrong employees who live and work in the area.” He thanked Habitat for giving Armstrong the chance to participate in a program that benefits all Lancaster County residents. Then he addressed the owner and, again on behalf of all Armstrong employees, wished him and his family well in their new home.

William Abdelshahid was an engineer in Sudan, where, 23 years ago, he met and married Abadit Woldearagay. The couple had three children, George, now 19, Georgeana, 17 and Jolit, 14. When civil and religious strife, political instability, high inflation, and a drop in international aid combined to throw the republic into upheaval, the family relocated to a refugee camp in Ethiopia, and later to a small house in Addis Ababa, where a fourth child, Yosef, now 12, was born.

(Pastor Charles Lisse prepares to bless the Lancaster City Habitat House of William Abdelshahid and family.)

Assisted by the IRC, an international refugee program, the family emigrated to Boston, Mass., in 1998. They moved to the Lancaster area four years later.

All families entering into a partnership with Habitat must meet stringent criteria and are carefully screened by a selection committee. Families must spend 500 hours working on their home or on other Habitat homes.

“In only the first few weeks of the partnership,” said Loretta Risser, Habitat Partnership Committee, at the dedication, “William had already logged over 160 hours.”

Families who purchase Habitat homes benefit by being homeowners and face all the responsibilities of homeownership. A partner from the Habitat Partnership Committee is assigned to aid the family during the construction period and at settlement. The family is taught skills needed to work on their house, provided assistance with budgeting, instructed on how to make simple repairs and taught how to get more complicated repairs fixed by contractors.

Habitat renovates and builds new homes at significant savings using volunteer labor and donated materials whenever possible. This low cost community approach to construction provides homes for families with incomes too low to qualify for conventional mortgages or FHA loans.

The Armstrong Foundation is committed to helping communities where Armstrong employees live and work.