The Bekele Family Found a Place to Call Home

After a long and challenging journey, the Bekele family found a place to call home. Earlier this week, Loudoun Habitat for Humanity dedicated its 59th home to Mekdes and her two children.  The children cut the ribbon on the 3-bedroom Leesburg townhouse that will provide a stable and secure future for the Loudoun County family.

 Working hard as an operating room and emergency room technician for many years, Mekdes overcame financial and housing hardships, at one-point commuting from Richmond to a job at Reston Hospital. Difficult situations resulted in the family leaving Richmond and living in a shelter before they could get space in a transitional housing program.  From there, they were able to move into a 2-bedroom apartment in Loudoun County where they have been living recently. 

 Mekdes shared that she came to Loudoun Habitat for Humanity last year because she was financially stable enough to realize her dream of homeownership but needed the extra help that Habitat provides through its Homeownership Program.  Mekdes sacrificed many hours as she participated in the 8-week Home Buyers Club and completed over 200 hours of sweat equity working on a current Loudoun Habitat house and in the Loudoun Habitat ReStore. As she walked through the townhouse with her children for the first time, the expressions of pure joy made all her hard work worth it.

 At the dedication, Mekdes shared “I never thought this would happen for me. This took me more than a decade. This is not just a dream for me, but for my kids. I wish that every single mom had this opportunity, because this is more than a dream for us. Thank you very much. I honestly appreciate everybody for making this possible for us.”

 To learn more about how to support families through the Habitat homeownership program, please visit the website loudounhabitat.org or call 703-737-6772 x 100