¡Portiani» (Observer
June 20, 2012
Page II
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Alberta "WB
North Portland
East County
Beaverton
Home
Building
Dreams
East Portland
Habitat for
Humanity blitz
Twenty-five percent of Portland's
population lives east of 1-205, an area
with low homeownership and high pov
erty rates that has been underinvested
by the city.
This month, four professional home
builders teamed with Habitat for Hu
manity Portland/M etro East to do
something about it. Four homes in
southeast Portland were built from the
ground up, helping to provide afford
able housing options in the Centennial
Neighborhood.
As part of a nationwide Habitat
event called Home Builders Blitz 2012,
the Portland builders Fish Construc
tion NW, Neil Kelly, Reilly Signature
Hom es and Schum acher Custom
Homes, along with local trades con
tractors and suppliers, donated labor
and materials to get these homes built
in one week.
The event culminated on June 8
when the four families received keys
to their new homes at a home dedica
tion Ceremony.
The families purchasing these homes
have already put in 500 hours of sweat
equity and will make monthly house
payments that include taxes, insur
ance, and principal on the zero-per-
cent interest mortgage.
The Home Builders Blitz was started
in 2002 by Tom Gipson, a professional
photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bservei
home builder in Raleigh, N.C., who Silidio Ntiranyibagira and his daughter Anelise Nzocumugani are among a group of hardworking families who are becoming
supported Habitat for Humanity’s ef- first time homeowners in east Portland thanks to a partnership between Habitat for Humanity and local home builders. From
continued
on page 18
a family of six, they moved to Oregon in 2007 after fleeing the war-tom country of Burundi in central Africa and then refugee
camps in Tanzania.