Jesus and Blanca Prado

Previously living in a trailer court on the city’s East side, Jesus & Blanca Prado and their four children were excited to see their hard work and frugality come to fruition when construction began on their new home through partnership with Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity and Trivent Builds. 

Jesus works at Amaco Transmission while Blanca is a stay at home mom, tending to the care of Tomas (5) and Esmeralda who was celebrating her third birthday when construction began on her new home.  Rudy (15) attends Lincoln High School while Vanessa is in grade school.

Being very family oriented Jesus and Blanca enjoy the stability and security that home ownership now provides their children.

Mohamed Adirizak and Shafiga Said

Fleeing the violence of their native Somalia, Mohamed and Shafiga were forced to leave everything behind, including their large home.  They have worked hard to adjust to their new life in the United States with Mohamed working at Wal-Mart while Shafiga works at Drake University.  They and their four children; 12 year old daughter Najma and three sons Nabil, 9, Nadir, 7, and Najib,6, lived in subsidized rental housing through the Anawim program.

Mohamed’s brother, already a Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity homeowner, encouraged them to join the Habitat program, as did Anawim. 

Now they have taken another step towards rebuilding the life that war tore asunder, they have a home of their own in which to raise their family.

Beth Leader

Beth is the single mother of two young children; Chanel, 10 and Dewann, 8, both of whom attend Johnston Elementary School. Beth currently works at John Deere Credit in the customer service department.

Independence, stability and security is the dream she realized this past fall when she and the children purchased their new Habitat home.  Beth looked forward to having a yard where the kids can play, and she can feel safe that they are nearby and in sight rather than the remote playground at the apartment complex where they used to live.

Now that housing is more affordable, and her assets are beginning to accumulate, Beth hopes to soon resume work on her associate’s degree in criminal justice at DMAAC, a dream currently deferred.