June 11, 2006

After eight days of hard work, Habitat for the Humanity dedicated six new homes built in the Fifeville section of Charlottesville.

"I'm happy to have a house. It is very nice for me," said Josephine Kabagwira.

"I'm very excited. I'm very excited. It is definitely a dream turned into reality," said Lanesia Poole.

Six houses, eight days, 11 builders and hundreds of hours of hard work. That is what it took to transform bare lots into new homes for six families that otherwise would not have been able to afford them.

"It was an incredible community wide effort. The beneficiaries are six very hard working families," said Overton McGehee with Habitat.

Poole is one of those hard working families. Already the mother of a 10-year-old boy, Poole is expecting another child in about a month and a half.

"This is my first baby here. That makes it even more exciting. I'm just excited to move in," she said.

"We got an opportunity to provide them with housing that they wouldn't have had without Habitat for Humanity," said Ryan Homes' Drew Holzwarth.

Holzwarth was one of the builders who began this process last Saturday morning. In all, nearly 200 businesses donated time, labor and materials. Holzwarth says the crews enjoyed every minute.

"We just had a lot of fun with it. If you look at the amount of time the subs and the project managers put into it, they enjoyed every minute they had," he said.

An enjoyment that Poole could not be more thankful for.

"Thank you to everyone that made this happen," she said.

The homes still have a little more work to be completed before the families can move in. The road and the landscaping have to be finished. The families hope to move in some time in early September.