The Natchez-Adams County affiliate of Habitat for Humanity, a United Way agency, is proud to announce that Ericka Y. Johnson and her two children will be moving into their new home very soon.

There will be a formal dedication ceremony at the house, 1119 Martin Luther King St., at 2 p.m. Sunday; at this time the keys to the home will be officially presented to the Johnson family.

All financial donors, volunteer workers, other Habitat homeowners, city officials and the general public are invited to come to the dedication ceremony.

Please come and see the emotional impact a new home can have on the new family. It is a joy to behold.

Construction of this house started back in November 2011 and was built primarily with volunteer labor; 160 different volunteers spent the equivalent of more than 350 workdays to finish the house in just eight months. Included in this total are the 376 hours worked by the Johnson family and friends as a certain number of “sweat equity” (actual work time) hours is a requirement strictly imposed by Habitat.

A very special thank you to those who provided their expertise free of charge or at a substantial discount; these include Lee Scott Construction (electrical), Premo Stallone Plumbing (plumbing), Ken Tillage (cabinets), Scooter Cauthern (dug foundation) and Jeff Holmes (sheetrock finish).

And we cannot forget all the volunteer groups that helped throughout the process: Alcorn University (Kappa Alpha Psi, Kappa Alpha Kappa, Alpha Phi Kappa, ABEC and Sigma Beta); various churches (Trinity Episcopal, St. Mary Basilica, Greater St. James Baptist and Jefferson Street United Methodist youth group; civic clubs (Cathedral Key Club and Kiwanis Club) and finally, 10 students from Hamilton College in New York.

After a brief rest period during these hot months, Habitat will start construction on another house on one of the two vacant lots the organization owns on MLK Street near the Smith Street intersection.

Habitat for Humanity International, based in Americus, Ga., is an ecumenical Christian ministry dedicated to eliminating poverty housing. Habitat has built more than 500,000 houses and more than 2.5 million people are living in Habitat homes they helped build and are now buying through no-profit, zero-interest mortgages.

Here in Natchez, the local affiliate is completing its 16th house since its organization in 1991.

If you wish to make a financial contribution, donate construction materials, receive an application for a Habitat home or volunteer to work on the next house, you may contact Habitat for Humanity by calling 601-445-8639, 601-807-4956 or by writing to P.O. Box 100, Natchez, MS. 39121.

 

Duncan McFarlane is the secretary/treasurer of the Natchez-Adams County Habitat for Humanity.