A Habitat home brings stability to a family
Poe Shee’s journey to a decent, affordable home might have had twists and turns, but he never stopped believing his family would find a safe, stable home.
Poe, his wife Paw Lay Moo and their two children came to the United States eight years ago from a Burmese refugee camp. They lived in three or four places, he says, working to earn enough for a down payment on a house.
“Sometimes I would have to work somewhere else, and leave them for a little bit,” Poe says. “So they stayed in one place, and I was in another. It was hard.”
Today, Poe and his family are together in Indiana, happy in the Fort Wayne Habitat house he helped build. The family received the key to their new home in January, and Poe celebrates all that the house means.
“We know people here. We know we have a permanent place now. We can plan for things.”— Poe Shee, Habitat homeowner
“Our children have room to sleep and to play,” he says. “Life does feel more stable.”
Fort Wayne Habitat CEO Justin Berger sees the change — and the potential for Poe and his family. “The dedication of Poe Shee and Paw Lay Moo’s home was the beginning of a new safe, stable journey. The future is filled with hope in their new home, which offers the first stable environment for their family to grow in almost a decade.”
Poe’s focus can now turn to the future.
And, he adds, he can help others know the hope and stability that a Habitat house can bring. “I’m glad to be able to build other people’s houses, too,” he says. “Everybody should have a home.”
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