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You feel pride because [a Habitat for Humanity home] is your own, you helped build it." |
Mulumeoderwa, known as Chubaka which means "builder" in Mashi, will be moving with his wife, Mwangaza, and their children into his new Habitat house in Hills later this year. He and Mwangaza are proud to help build his family's long-awaited home and boasts of the skills they acquire while working on the construction site with Habitat for Humanity. He is also ecstatic that his kids will now live in a home the family owns, “[y]ou feel pride because it is your own, you helped build it” he says.
The couple is from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the family enjoyed the comforts of home until violence destabilized the country. To escape the turmoil, the family spent over a month travelling to a Ugandan refugee camp by foot. The journey was harrowing but they arrived in Uganda safe and healthy. They spend the next 11 years in the crowded confines of the refugee camp until their application for resettlement in the United States was accepted. The family first settled in Texas but came to Iowa City two years ago seeking better schools, job opportunities, and the serenity that is elusive in bigger cities.
Chubaka works at Whirlpool and Mwangaza is a resident assistant at a retirement community. Their six children, Benedicte, Pacific, Joel, Fortunate, Abigael, and Gloria are all students. Benedicte is currently enrolled at Allegheny College and is looking forward to being the first in her family to graduate from college. The family enjoys spending time together by attending church, celebrating holidays, and indulging in their favorite meal of rice, beans and beef.
The family still finds it hard to believe they have been approved to build a Habitat for Humanity home and each person is excited for the opportunities their new home will provide. Gloria looks forward to a bigger living room where they can all watch TV together. She also hopes that her parents will allow her to get a dog. Fortunate says she is happy the family will finally be able to stay in one place and will have more room and be more comfortable. Tereza, Mwangaza’s mother, has found it difficult to see the burden her daughter's housing situation causes the family; she knows an adequate home will alleviate some of the biggest stresses in their lives. Speaking for the family, Tereza asks God to continue to bless the many people who have contributed to building the family’s new home, saying “I ask them to continue to follow their hearts.”
-Story written by Diana Russo
The couple is from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the family enjoyed the comforts of home until violence destabilized the country. To escape the turmoil, the family spent over a month travelling to a Ugandan refugee camp by foot. The journey was harrowing but they arrived in Uganda safe and healthy. They spend the next 11 years in the crowded confines of the refugee camp until their application for resettlement in the United States was accepted. The family first settled in Texas but came to Iowa City two years ago seeking better schools, job opportunities, and the serenity that is elusive in bigger cities.
Chubaka works at Whirlpool and Mwangaza is a resident assistant at a retirement community. Their six children, Benedicte, Pacific, Joel, Fortunate, Abigael, and Gloria are all students. Benedicte is currently enrolled at Allegheny College and is looking forward to being the first in her family to graduate from college. The family enjoys spending time together by attending church, celebrating holidays, and indulging in their favorite meal of rice, beans and beef.
The family still finds it hard to believe they have been approved to build a Habitat for Humanity home and each person is excited for the opportunities their new home will provide. Gloria looks forward to a bigger living room where they can all watch TV together. She also hopes that her parents will allow her to get a dog. Fortunate says she is happy the family will finally be able to stay in one place and will have more room and be more comfortable. Tereza, Mwangaza’s mother, has found it difficult to see the burden her daughter's housing situation causes the family; she knows an adequate home will alleviate some of the biggest stresses in their lives. Speaking for the family, Tereza asks God to continue to bless the many people who have contributed to building the family’s new home, saying “I ask them to continue to follow their hearts.”
-Story written by Diana Russo
