On Saturday, August 27, Habitat Greensboro dedicated its sixth home in the Willow Oaks community. The home dedication was held for the Ahmed and Mohammed family – Hatim and Aisha, and their children Osama, Mohammed, Hiba, and Amjad.
David Kolosieke, President and CEO of Habitat Greensboro, began today’s dedication by recognizing the significance of the day, particularly given that the Greensboro Community would gather later in the day to celebrate the life of John Fisher, one of the founders of Habitat Greensboro. In acknowledging the build sponsors, Kolosieke shared, “It is the faith communities that joined together in November of 1987 to form Habitat Greensboro. And, today, the sponsor for this beautiful home is Building on Faith, which is the faith community.”
Representing the build sponsors, Amina Memon shared, “Habitat represents the best of America. When you are a person of color, when you are a person of a different faith, you look to institutions like this for everyone to come together to bring good … I love that they give back to the community because that is a very big part of Islam. We have five pillars in Islam. The third pillar is charity, to give back, is to help the needy, is to help the poor. By helping and by giving, we are being good Muslims. We are being good Americans. It’s every religion coming together to build. I am so proud to be a part of Habitat. I am so proud to have a group that will put in the hard work and the funds to give back.”
Sharing her Muslim faith, Memon offered a quote from the Quran. “Those who spend in charity will be richly rewarded.” Further sharing, “in our faith, it says that wealth does not decrease by giving in charity, but rather grows and is purified, increasing also the individuals’ blessings and spiritual strength. By giving you are not depleting yourself, you are receiving, you are receiving more.”
The family is very excited about the opportunity to purchase their own house from Habitat Greensboro and begin making their house a home. With the fall holidays approaching, the family’s youngest child, Amjad, is most excited about being able to decorate for Halloween!
Hatim and Aisha will soon close on their new home and begin paying an affordable mortgage. All Habitat Greensboro partner families are guaranteed that their mortgage payments will be no more than 30% of their income. This provides families with an opportunity to build wealth and increases opportunities to invest in themselves.
To view the video of today’s dedication, please click HERE.