The Mohamed-Ibrahim Family's New Home

After escaping the war in Somalia, and living in a refugee camp for nearly 20 years, the Mohamed-Ibrahim family will finally have a place to call home.

Siyad Mohamed and Hodan Ibrahim applied to become Habitat homeowners in September of 2011. After completing the qualification process and being selected as future homeowners, Siyad and Hodan logged 400 hours of "sweat equity", dedicating time to the construction of their new home and working at Habitat's ReStore facility. After completing Habitat's homeowner training program, the family of eight (Siyad, Hodan, Fatima, Abdirahmen, Abdulahi, Abdiaziz, Abdikani, and Fardosa) were informed they had been matched with a home in St. Paul -- and they couldn't have been happier about the location.

The family already has strong ties to the St. Paul Somali community, and their new home will be close to Hodan's work and to St. Paul Community College, where the family's eldest daughter Fatima plans to attend college. The home will also provide the extra space this active family needs. At the dedication son Abdikani was already campaigning to turn the large basement into a soccer field!

The Cornerstone Sponsor for the family's home is Holy Hammers, an ecumenical coalition of 14 churches partnering with Habitat for Humanity to help bring affordable housing to the Twin Cities communities. At the dedication ceremony, Holy Hammers presented the family with a photo album, t-shirts, and a CD with photos of the build. This was the 15^th home that Holy Hammers has built since their formation in 1999, and this year they are set to pass the $1 million mark in funds raised for Twin Cities Habitat.

Many neighbors attended the dedication, including several Habitat homeowners eager to welcome the newest addition to their wonderful neighborhood!