The Governor's Scholars Program has always been a rewarding experience for me as a journalism teacher. This was my fourth year on the faculty and one of the best. GSP celebrated its 30th anniversary this year, and to commemorate the milestone, the faculty, staff and scholars on the Bellarmine University campus built a house in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. Since the Governor’s Scholars Program encourages intellectual risk, I took one myself and created this assignment for my journalism class: Report the story of this historic occasion: Two great organizations dedicated to creating a better future for the people of Kentucky become partners in an endeavor never before tried. Never before have 360 rising high school seniors had an opportunity to work together to build a home for a deserving family. Never before has Habitat taken on the challenge of organizing a such a project and completing the build in four short weeks, a third of the usual time for a Habitat home. The project had a profound effect on everyone involved – especially the scholars who discovered a new way to change the world. We had some challenges telling this story, but my 19 scholars created something unique to them. Enjoy the journey. Jeanie Adams-Smith

A Family We Will Never Forget
Opinion
by Alyssa Brooke Young
Taylor County High School

The Governor’s Scholars Program has been providing high school seniors with amazing opportunities for 30 years.
Every year, the scholars at each of three GSP campuses perform a service project in the local community. This year, with the Kentucky Governor’s Scholars Program celebrating its 30th anniversary, Executive Director Aris Cedeño wanted to do something special.
    After much thought, he and his staff on the Bellarmine University campus agreed to take on a project that they had been talking about for years. They decided to partner with Habitat for Humanity and build a house for a deserving family in Louisville. But first they had to convince Habitat officials to do a build in four weeks instead of the usual 12 so the project could be completed during the five-week GSP residency program. And GSP wanted all 360 scholars at Bellarmine to have a hand-on experience in the project. Although reluctant at first, Habitat officials agreed.
    When we scholars found out that we were going to help construct a house in just four short weeks, we were all excited and eager to learn more about the project. During a convocation on the second day of the program, Aris told us exactly what we would be doing and who we would be working with. That night we were all introduced to the family. It was a family with a story that inspired each of us. A family none of us will ever forget.
    The parents, Omar Muse and Ubah Adan, each fled war-torn Somalia where their lives were in constant danger. They met and married here in the United States, and built new lives with their young family.
    They have four beautiful children: Ali, Mohammed, Hawa, Kamal, and they have another one on the way. They have been living in an apartment with their kids and Ubah’s two younger sisters, Hana and Asha.
    Omar and Ubah dreamed of owning a home where their children could grow and play in peace and safety. It seemed like an impossible dream until Habitat accepted their application for a home.
    With Habitat, that does not mean “Free House.” It means a long-term commitment to pay for the house, interest-free, and whole lot of work. Habitat requires families to put in at least 400 hours of “sweat equity,” working on their house, on other worksites or at the Habitat store. While working on their house,  site, both Omar and Ubah suffered minor injuries. On the first day that a crew of scholars began working on the house, a scholar standing on a ladder dropped his hammer, hitting Ubah in the nose and sending her to the Emergency room. Thankfully she came out with no more than a black eye and sore nose. Omar, who works full-time as a taxi driver, twisted his knee one day while working at the site.
Despite their injuries, they were constantly at the worksite, contributing greatly to the construction of their new home.  They far exceeded the required 400 hours and were an inspiration to all of us.
    I asked Omar what he and Ubah thought when they were told that 360 teenagers would be helping them construct their new home.
    “We were shocked,” Omar said. “But we knew it was a blessing.”
    Both Omar and Ubah were deeply appreciative of all the help they received. Usually, whenever a group of scholars arrived at the worksite one of the family members – Omar, Ubah or Asha –  were there working. You couldn’t count how many times they thanked us for our efforts. They were always in good spirits and happy to be building their house, despite the record-breaking heat wave that plagued us.
The family built relationships with the scholars as they worked together. The day I went to the site, one of my friends, Lauren Dale, of Shelby County High School, worked with Asha during our four-hour work shift. They quickly formed a friendship, and. Lauren said she was inspired by Asha’s determination to help out her family.
As we departed, I watched Lauren and Asha hug each other. I couldn’t help but smile, realizing not only the impact that we were having on the family, but also the impact the family was having on us.
 “Being a part of a project like that was a blessing,” said scholar Niko Carter, of Lloyd Memorial High School in Erlanger. “It meant a lot to me to be able to do something like that for someone.”

In the Laughter of Children, Hope
By Katie Woosley
Christian Academy of Louisville

Hawa is a charmer. She teases her brothers incessantly and then squeezes them with her compassionate hugs.
Surrounded by students from Kentucky’s Governor’s Scholars Program Hawa knows no stranger, slamming her little body into the arms of unsuspecting scholars. The three-year-old steals the hearts of all around her.
Ali and Mohammed, the two oldest boys at eight and seven years old, are inseparable. At the Fourth of July carnival hosted by the GSP at Bellarmine University, the boys rotated from prize-winning games to snow-cones and s’mores while spouting off witty comments to scholars nearby, leaving satisfied by their accomplishment of making someone laugh.
Two-year-old Kamal is shy, but always on the move. During the Fourth of July carnival, wobbled from one activity to the next as fast as his little legs could take him. Ubah, his mother, followed close behind. Kamal enjoys his freedom to run, but his sprints usually end in the embrace of a family member.
Sharon Ash, the family’s advocate at Habitat for Humanity, describes Mohammed and Ali as “alert, curious, bright, and energetic.”  She claims Hawa is the family’s “little princess.”
According to Ubah, little Kamal has “no fear and doesn’t listen.”
For the 360 rising high school seniors who were attending a five-week residency at Bellarmine with the Kentucky Governor’s Scholars Program, these four kids brought home a lesson more significant perhaps than anything they would learn in the classroom. For all their energy and joy, these four kids have never experienced the comfort and security of a home that they can call their own.
Until now. This year, the GSP partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build a house for Omar Muse, his wife Ubah Adan and these four kids who were such a hit at the Fourth of July festival. Every Governor’s Scholar at Bellarmine went to the Habitat worksite on Louisville’s West End, put on a hard hat and got to work. It’s called public service, but hanging out with those kids and their happy, hard-working parents made it personal.
The experience of building the house, alongside Omar and Ubah and the Habitat volunteers, was a life-changer. It was a blessing not only for the family, but for the scholars too.
“My passion in life,” said Aris Cedeño, the Executive Director of the Kentucky Governor’s Scholars Program, “is to work in the service of homeless.”

The Muse family crowds under an umbrella during the dedication.

Aris had two requirements for the potential Habitat family: There had to be females in the household, since 60 percent of the Bellarmine scholars were female, and it had to be a “family with children.”
Habitat for Humanity then proposed the Muse family. In addition to their four children, Omar and Ubah are awaiting the birth of their fifth child. And Ubah’s two sisters, the teen-aged Asha and her youngest sister Hana, will also be living with them in their new four-bedroom home.
Hana, a pretty, soft-spoken 12-year-old, said it’s “fun to live with my sister. I think of her more like a mom,” Hana, who has been living with Ubah since 2010, is excited to finally move out of an apartment into her home. She has moved five or six times since 2006. In this new home she will have a bigger room which she will share with Hawa. She doesn’t mind sharing, though, because they get to have bunk beds. Hana dreams about swinging and gardening in her backyard. She wants to grow a tomato and cucumber garden.
Ubah said she sees a difference in the children as they plan how they will “own” the house, “planning their own things” and “their own room.”
Throughout the building process, Omar and Ubah took the children to the worksite every night so they could view the day’s progress.
Now the children will be allowed to “stay at the same school” with the “same friends,” a luxury the parents could not guarantee while living in apartments.
And now, proclaimed Ubah, who escaped a life of constant fear in war-torn Somalia, “They feel free.”

New Life for an Old Neighborhood
By Susan Bailey
Breckinridge County High School

George and Wanda Allen have been sitting on their porch on a beat up recliner watching the Habitat for Humanity house come together since early June
A quite a show it has been. Shortly after the foundation was laid, groups of young people have been coming to the worksite, usually in two shifts of about 20 people a day. They have stood quietly at attention – many with that “deer in the headlights” look on their faces – while Habitat’s Team Leader George Sgro gave them safety instructions and their marching orders.
Then the fun began. The shrill song of the circular saw, and the rat-a-tat-tat-tat of hammers on nails filled the air while a constant parade of people hauled studs, trusses and plywood sheets, pounding them into place, caulking and painting.
All the while, their clothes darkened with sweat and began to take on a reddish tint from the dust that filled the air.
For George and Wanda, it was not only fun, but it was a sign of hope for their neighborhood on the West End of Louisville.
“This is an old neighborhood, and it is most inspiring to see the new life being brought up and changing the neighborhood for the better,” said George as he and Wanda watched the dedication ceremony after the house was completed in just four weeks – a record build for Habitat.
George was a retired union painter and was a contractor for seven years, so he watched with admiration at the quick build from the ground up. His home had once been a drug house and he and Wanda see great hope in this new house and the young family that is moving in.
The 350 young people at the dedication ceremony were rising high-school seniors from across Kentucky who worked on the house as part of a five-week and academic and leadership residency with the Governor’s Scholars Program. The leadership of GSP proposed a partnership with Habitat for Humanity to build the house for Omar Muse and Ubah Adan and their young family.
The neighborhood has become so crime-ridden it has earned the nickname “Little Chicago.” In 2005, the West End had almost 50 percent of the total murders in Jefferson County. Just a few months ago several shootings broke out leaving three people dead and three others hospitalized.
However, Habitat and the GSP see this project and other like it and a way of changing the neighborhood.

Wanda and George Allen watch the dedication ceremony from their porch.

    “We build where there is opportunity and the potential here is incredible” said Habitat’s Chuck Sgro, team leader at this and many other home sites in the area. The Muse family was carefully selected by Habitat as a family that can truly make a difference.
Omar said he is not worried about any danger in the neighborhood and has met some very welcoming neighbors, including the George and Wanda, who live right across the street.
Aris Cedeño, the executive director of GSP, worked hard to build this partnership with Habitat. He sees the project as a way of giving his scholars a firsthand look at how to create change in a community.
“It is important to help this community,” he said, “because deep down every community has gold. It’s our job to bring it out.”

Once a Scholar Always a Scholar
By Zach Childers
Hopkinsville High School

Carin Veech remembers well the days she spent with Kentucky’s Governor’s Scholars Program, which was created in 1983 to take talented high school students and build them into the future leaders of Kentucky.
“It has had a profound effect on my life,” Carin said. “It was the first time in my life where achievement was celebrated by everyone around me, and we were encouraged to dream bigger dreams.”
Carin attended GSP at Western Kentucky University in 1985, not long after the program began inviting the state’s “best and brightest” rising seniors for a college campus residency that focused on academic and leadership skills.
“It was a very powerful experience,” she said. “As the program was in its infancy, they were just defining what they wanted it to be and they were asking for, and listening to, the input from the scholars as to what they wanted their experience to be.”
Now Volunteer Coordinator Carin Veech of Habitat for Humanity Metro Louisville is deeply involved in that organization’s vital mission of changing lives and rebuilding communities. Still she finds herself in constant touch with her GSP roots.
“I became part of a larger community of scholars. I have met former scholars with startling regularity throughout my life, both socially and professionally.”
This year was truly special as the Governor’s Scholars Program, based at Bellarmine University for five week, formed a partnership with Habitat to build a home on Louisville’s West Side. The GSP Foundation would provide seed money and 360 scholars would provide the muscle and sweat.
For Carin, two of the great influences of her life were coming together in one place. Habit compressed their usual timetable for a build from 12 weeks to four so the scholars could see their work from bare foundation to finished house. In her job, Carin is responsible for matching up the many volunteers with the right worksites at the right times.

Former GSP Scholar, Carin Veech, at the Habitat site.

“As the Volunteer Coordinator, it seemed like an amazing challenge – to build a home in one third the usual time and with teenagers,” she said. As part of her job Carin had to decide which Habitat volunteers would be best suited for working with 360 high school kids. This presented a challenge and she recalled how she made the decision:
“We looked for a team that had enough members to provide leaders, strong organizational skills and a desire to take on a project we had never tried before,”
Chuck Sgro, who was chosen as Team Leader for the project, worked closely with Carin.
 “She does a tremendous job, she is outgoing, a great communicator, and knows how to say thank you,” he said. “She is very good at making people feel good about what they do.”
Now that the project is finished Carin spoke about how proud she was of the scholars.
“I am amazed but not surprised at the success of the program. I would love to see the momentum continue and for there to be a GSP alumni house each year,” she said.”
 “GSP was the first extended period of time I had ever spent away from home, the first time I'd ever had a roommate, the first time I'd ever been around so many interesting and new people in my life.
“Watching this class of scholars experience the same things has been very exciting.”

The Decent Thing to Do
By Adam Plumley
Paintsville High School

“I’m ‘Deadly’ Dexter,” he said, introducing himself to the rest of the guys in the circle. They were playing the “name game” on the first day of the Governor’s Scholars Program, using a descriptive adjective to learn each other’s names in their dormitory hall at Bellarmine University.
The game was suggested by their resident advisor. No one expected “deadly” to come out of someone’s mouth on the first day of a five-week academic and leadership residency funded by the state of Kentucky.
“It was the only ‘D’ word I could think of,” Dexter explained later. “Ya think I really wanted to pick ‘deadly’? If I could go back, I would pick ‘dexterous.’”
Whatever. Of course everyone in the group thought Dexter’s ego was out of control.
    There was a reason that Dexter A. Smith, a rising senior at Lloyd Memorial High School in Erlanger, was selected for the Governor’s Scholars Program, a summer residential program originated in 1983 “for outstanding high school students in Kentucky who are rising seniors,” according to the GSP official website. He was one of 360 students staying at Bellarmine in a program designed to develop them intellectually, socially, and emotionally and prepare them for leadership positions.
Community service, like caring for the poverty stricken and homeless, has always been a large part of the program, but this year brought the biggest service project ever as GSP partnered with Habitat Humanity to allow the scholars to build a home for a deserving family in Louisville. The project would take four weeks and every scholar and every teacher in the program would take part.
It was huge: 360 Kentucky teenagers, including our “Deadly” Dexter, were going haul the wood, hammer the nails, fit the siding, caulk and paint alongside the experienced volunteers from Habitat. Every scholar put in at least a half-day shift of sweat and tears during the build. They all walked away proud of what they had done.
Dexter was proud too. But one shift was not enough for him.
“I wanted to work on the house again,” said Dexter. “I wanted to help out that family the most that I could.”
Dexter was awed by the family, by the work the young parents put in to create their homestead, a haven of safety and happiness for their children.
 “I never knew they had to buy the stuff to build the house,” he said. “They, like, have to actually earn the house for themselves. I like that I actually got to help them reach their goal because they really did deserve it.”
After his first tour of duty at the worksite, Dexter knew he had to go again, even though he also knew he wasn’t God’s gift to homebuilding.

Dexter A. Smith

“I’m a strong, strapping young man,” he said, “and it took me six times to hammer in one nail, and then Chuck comes over and gets it done with two shots. Boom! Boom!” Chuck Sgro, the worksite Team Leader for Habitat, was both carpentry instructor and father figure to the scholars. Working with Chuck helped Dexter to realize his passion for building and community service.
“As soon as I turn 18, I’m going to call Habitat and schedule to volunteer for them in the Cincinnati area,” Dexter said.
For now, though, he wanted to get back to that worksite again. He knew that wouldn’t be easy. The daily schedule of vans from Bellarmine to the worksite was not something that could easily be altered. To get back out there, Dexter would have to talk to Dr. Aristófanes Cedeño, the Executive Director and Academic Dean of the Governor’s Scholars Program. A meeting with Aris is no small matter. From Day One, in his first speech to the scholars, he made it clear that the very strict rules of behavior at GSP are absolute and any violation would have serious consequences. Oh, and Aris was also the enforcer.
“I was nervous because I heard he likes girls better than guys,” Dexter joked. “Nah, but really, I wasn’t nervous because I wanted to go so bad. I had to ask him.”
Aris granted him permission, if Dexter’s schedule permitted.
“He expressed so much passion for the work that his four hours didn’t seem enough to him,” said Aris. “I told Dexter that if there was a time when not much was going on and he wasn’t missing classes, that he could possibly go again.”
As it turned out, Dexter didn’t make it back to the worksite until the dedication ceremony on July 14. Conflicting field trip schedules kept him away, but he earned points with his hall buddies.
“Deadly” Dexter was all but forgotten, replaced by “Decisive Dexter” who saw a need and was determined to do everything he could to help. And “Daring” Dexter who had the courage to march into Aris’s office and request another trip to the worksite.
As for himself, Dexter wouldn’t make a fuss over it.
“Working at the house was an awesome experience,” he said, “so I just asked if I could go again.”
So how about “Decent” Dexter?

GSP, Habitat Build a Future Together
By Carly Raymer
Edmonson County High School

Dust is flying, everyone is coughing, and temperatures are over 100 degrees.
McKenzi Belt, a rising senior at Paducah Tilghman High School, wipes the sweat off her forehead and smiles. She and 17 other high school students are hard at work building a house with volunteers from Habitat for Humanity.
Today they are bending metal for the roofing and installing wall insulation. Despite the uncomfortable conditions – a record-breaking heat wave baked the worksite on Louisville’s West End – positive attitudes reign. They were building a house for a deserving family.
McKenzi sums up her experience as “extremely rewarding and worthwhile.”
That is exactly the response that officials from the Governor’s Scholars Program were looking for when they decided to pursue a partnership with Habitat for Humanity. This year 360 scholars who were selected for a five-week residential program at Bellarmine University were also able to take part in a Habitat build.
GSP Executive Director Aristófanes Cedeño said he wanted to accomplish three goals by working on a Habitat house: To have all scholars working as a community on one public service project; to open the scholars’ eyes to a situation that can be used in the future; and to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Governor’s Scholars Program with something great.
For the past six years, the faculty and staff of GSP have been talking about a partnership with Habitat for Humanity. About a year ago, they began to pursue it in earnest, opening discussions with Habitat.
During the planning sessions, GSP coordinators sensed some reluctance among the Habitat representatives. There were questions about the plan to complete a house in just four weeks instead of the usual Habitat timetable of 12 weeks. And Habitat prefers volunteers to be over 18 years of age and the scholars were 16 to 17. And finally, having 360 inexperienced volunteers working on one house presented organizational and safety issues.

McKenzi Belt and Julie Spaulding

Aris Cedeño insisted that the scholars were selected for the program because they had solid records not only in academics but in extracurricular and community activities.
“Over 20 years the scholars never change in the mind,” Aris said.
Habitat was convinced, and this unique partnership was in place on June 17, when the scholars arrived at Bellarmine. During the week before, GSP staff helped assemble wall sections off-site while Habitat prepped the worksite and poured the foundation.
When the first shift of about 20 scholars arrived at the site in GSP vans, Habitat Team Leader Chuck Sgro was waiting for them with hardhats, a safety lecture and detailed instructions for the day’s work. Chuck was a born leader, full of knowledge, good humor, and patience.
“My middle name is Job,” he said.
In the end, the house was built on time and up to Habitat’s quality standards. All the scholars were present at a dedication ceremony when the house was presented to Omar Muse and Ubah Adan, the hardworking parents of a young and growing family. Ubah is pregnant with their fifth child.
For scholar Alyssa Young, of Taylor County High School, it was an unforgettable moment.
“GSP has been a great experience,” she said, “to try new things, make friends and serve others.”
In the end, Chuck Sgro called this build, with 2,020 hours of work, 18 full workdays, and 360 teenagers on the worksite, “The biggest in Louisville, ever, ever, ever.”
So how did he manage to complete the house in just four weeks – a record time for Habitat – with hundreds of inexperienced scholars under foot?
“I have no idea,” he said with a smile.

The Man Who Makes Big Things Happen
By Kellie Upton
Oldham County High School

Sixteen-year-old Aristófanes Cedeño stepped into the bathroom during a break at his job in Panama, and there in the bathroom was United States President Jimmy Carter. Aris reached out to shake the President’s hand and felt a gun shoved in his back as he said, “You must be the President.”

Little did he know, but this chance encounter with the President of the United States was just a warm-up, preparing Aris for a future of encounters with government officials. A teacher and scholar, Aris found his life affected by politicians and government workers since joining the Governor’s Scholars Program in 1992. And that has only increased since he became executive director of the organization in 2006.

The GSP’s goal, to keep the “best and the brightest” of the Commonwealth’s students living and working in the Commonwealth, requires an investment from the state. So much of Aris’s job is to convince politicians that GSP is important and a good investment for the state.

This year, Aris wanted to offer a unique opportunity to his scholars, one that had been knocked around for years in discussions with faculty and staff. It was a partnership that would bring together the best aspects of two public agencies dedicated to change – GSP and Habitat for Humanity. The partnership would marry the key concept of Habitat, homes for the homeless, with the public service mission of GSP.

For Aris, the time was right. The upcoming 30th anniversary of Kentucky’s Governor’s Scholars Program called for something special, and this was it.

    “We wanted to celebrate the 30th anniversary with something bigger than the campus,” said Aris. It also fit with his passion to serve the homeless and nurture the next generation.

Aris Cedeños holds Hawa Muse at the dedication of the Muse's home.

    With this project, Aris had three goals in mind: to involve the whole campus in a single community service project, to make scholars and others aware of dire situations such as homelessness, and to help scholars understand the concept of people and place and how they affect their surroundings.
   
The Habitat organization is currently the ninth largest homebuilder in the United States, having built more than 500,000 homes and having provided shelter for approximately 2.5 million people worldwide. When Aris presented his idea to local Habitat officials, they were skeptical about having 360 teenagers constructing a house in five weeks. On average, a Habitat build involves about 30 volunteers and takes approximately three months to complete. And then there was the age of the scholars: all of them were minors under the age of 18, and many of them were only 16.

Aris fought to make this happen.

    “I just knew how much you were going to embrace the project,” he told Habitat officials.

Perhaps it is no accident that Aris fought so hard to cultivate this relationship with Habitat, an organization that was heralded by Jimmy Carter in 1984 as a meaningful way to promote peace and human rights. Aris is an inspirational and caring person to all who get to know him. His love for community is shown through his attention to each individual scholar. His intelligence and kind heart enable this program to succeed and flourish.

“Aris is like my second father,” said Bryan Rich, GSP’s assistant director, Bellarmine Campus, who has been working alongside Aris for 15 years. “He is very people oriented and cares for the program and everyone in it.”

For Aris, the clear focus of this project was the family that would occupy the Habitat house, particularly the children. Watching his actions and expressions when communicating with the kids offers a peek into his soul. He finds he can most relate to Hawa, the youngest daughter in the family, because he never had sisters. He admires the attitudes and energy of little kids, and he respects their take on life.

    “You will not enjoy life if you are not like them at some point,” he said.

Timeline: From Nightmare to Dream House
By: Julia McCorvey
Henry Clay High School, Lexington

Twenty-five experienced Habitat volunteers, 54 mostly inexperienced Governor’s Scholars Program staff members, and 360 upcoming high school seniors all working together to build a house.
That sounds like a logistical nightmare.
Add to that the fact that they planned to build the house in just four weeks, when the usual time for building a Habitat home is 12.
To some people, that sounds impossible.
 “I don’t think anyone realized what we had stepped up to do,” said Chuck Sgro, the Volunteer House Leader.
It’s doubtful that anyone fully realized what GSP was getting itself into when a year ago program leaders decided to partner with Habitat for Humanity to build a house on the west side of Louisville.
But once committed to the idea, GSP’s Executive Director and Academic Dean Aris Cedeño did everything he could to make it happen, despite misgivings by the local leadership of Habitat. Sure , the work crew would mainly be made up of young and totally clueless amateurs, but Aris had every confidence in the students who had already proved their worth – in academics, leadership and public service – before they were even considered for the GSP program.
In their initial meetings with GSP, however, Habitat leaders were not as enthusiastic about the partnership, fearing safety problems with such a large and inexperienced workforce.
    But Aris was determined. “They are good, and they are going to do it!” he told Habitat leaders.
“It wasn’t a matter of if you could do it. It was a matter of if (legally) we could put a power tool in your hand,” Chuck said. But Habitat agreed to partner with GSP and build a home for a family of deserving immigrants from war-torn Somalia.
The scholars began working on house in June, shortly after the foundation had been completed. Four weeks later, the house was completed – a record time for Habitat. Much of the credit belongs to Chuck Sgro, who created a safe and efficient working environment for all his young workers.
 “The thing that made it different was that I had to have either our suppliers, sub-contractors or other specialty groups come in on days when the GSP folks were not there. It was a challenge. Add to that the holiday and the fact that two of the weeks (had) triple-digit temperatures!” said Chuck, still appearing a little amazed that the job was done and done well.
Here is how it happened, as revealed in timelines Chuck provided:

Dirty Hands and a Mission Accomplished
By Austin Lowe
Green County High School

Kenny Wilson knew he was selected for Kentucky’s Governor’s Scholar Program based on his academic achievement, community involvement, and extracurricular activities. He didn’t know that the GSP also wanted him to do some carpentry work.
But shortly after he arrived on campus for the five-week program at Bellarmine University in Louisville, he was stunned to learn that he and 359 other scholars would be required to build a house with Habitat for Humanity.
Kenny, a rising senior from South Warren High School (Warren County) is deeply involved with mission work and Christian ministries, but this was a different kind of mission.
“I was excited to be helping out the family, but I was nervous because I did not know how I would be contributing,” said Kenny.
Well, it would be dirty work, but at the end of the day, he could see the progress he made.
When Governor’s Scholar Program Executive Director, Aris Cedeño, announced that the program was partnering with Habitat for Humanity, Kenny made a strong connection to his mission work. Kenny is an active member at Living Hope Baptist Church, and enjoys devoting his time to his Christian faith and witnessing through others.
“While doing mission work, we try to help others during situations when they are in need. We want to help better the lives of those we encounter and create a positive impact,” Kenny explained.
Work at the Habitat building site on the west side of Louisville began shortly after the opening ceremony for the five-week GSP experience at Bellarmine University. The foundation was in place when the scholars arrived, so Kenny and his fellow workers began to add trusses under the watchful eye of experienced Habitat volunteers.

GSP Scholar, Kenny Wilson

Despite the heat and hard work, Kenny took pride in what he had accomplished. Each of the 360 scholars were expected to put in a half-day shift at the site, doing whatever was needed, from nailing studs to installing vinyl siding, flooring, roofing, and finally painting, and landscaping.
“It was nice to compare how much progress was made from the beginning of the day to the end,” Kenny said.
Kenny was honored to work alongside the family. On his day at the worksite, he heard stories of how the family had worked hard to make ends meet since they settled in Louisville. The father, Omar Muse dreamed of having a home for his family and finally found his opportunity when he was accepted into the Habitat program.
“Having Omar on the site was inspiring because the family has been through a lot. But through hard work, they will now accomplish their dream of having a home,” Kenny said.
The house finished, a dedication ceremony was held on Saturday, July 14, just one week before the end of GSP. Scholars, Habitat volunteers, neighbors and community leaders gathered at the site to celebrate with the family, who were given the keys to their new home.
As a token of gratitude, family members gave cards to all of the scholars. Kenny cherished his gift as a way to remember the hard work and passion that went into creating a home.
“It was amazing to have everyone in the community involved,” he said.

At Habitat, Only the Best Get in the Door
By Austin Hertzler
Apollo High School, Owensboro

Out of every 100 people who apply for a Habitat for Humanity house, only three are accepted. For applicants, the process won’t just be tough, it will be close to impossible.
Omar Muse and his wife Ubah knew they faced slim chances when they began the application process with Habitat in Louisville.
Of the 1000 applications Habitat of Louisville receives every year, only 30 become a part of the program. With odds against them, the family of Somali immigrants jumped into the three-month application process that would eventually match them with a team of 360 teenagers who would help build them a home as part of their work in the Kentucky Governor’s Scholars Program.
    Before families can even begin the Habitat application process, they must first complete a pre-application that reveals their income and debt to see if they will be able to afford and maintain the home. The income requirements are very specific.
A document obtained from Jackie Isaacs, Family Services Coordinator, states that the family must have “28 (to) 70% of Area Median Income.” Volunteer House Leader Chuck Sgro added that the family must have “no more than $3,000 of debt in anything.”
    If approved they move on to the six page full application, which is much more rigorous. Out of the original 1000 pre-applications, only 100 move on to the full-application. It requires a seemingly endless list of documents, including proof of income, tax returns, bank statements, birth certificates or green cards, all loan information and insurance information.
    All of this is reviewed and further scrutinized by Habitat’s Family Selection Committee. They also check the family background on seven other points ranging from employment and landlord references to running a lien check. After meeting requirements in every way, applicants are chosen by a vote before entering the program.
    “I get to see dreams come true,” Isaacs said, “but I also have to see dreams not come true.”
    Ubah and Omar persevered through the intensive process to become one of those 30 lucky families. They proved that they could be sound homeowners and follow through with the commitment required. Once accepted, their work was still far from over. Habitat for Humanity does not simply give away the homes they build.

Aris Cedeños hands the house keys to Omar Muse at the dedication.

     “Habitat for Humanity offers a hand up, not a hand out...” states the Habitat website.
    Unknown to most, families must complete 400 hours of “sweat equity” by working on their home, other Habitat homes, or working at the Habitat ReStore. Ubah and Omar were very dedicated to this. They both worked right alongside the scholars building their home, even during the days of unrelenting heat. Plus, they both contributed to other Habitat homes being built.
    “I feel Ubah and Omar were very grateful because they worked hard through the whole process.” said Governor’s Scholar Rebecca Black of Dawson Springs, who saw firsthand the work of the husband and wife.
    The kids, being under 16 years old, couldn’t contribute to the sweat equity hours, but they helped in their own way, creating thank you cards for the scholars and the leaders from both Habitat and the Governor’s Scholars Program.
    Habitat also requires families to attend classes that would give them the skills and know-how to  be responsible and efficient homeowners.
    “They have to go through budget classes, home maintenance classes, (and) neighborhood classes… about 125 to 150 hours,” said Sgro.
    Once it is built and the family closes on their home, normally about a year after an approved application, they begin making payments. The loan is a 20-year, interest free mortgage making it easier for the families to follow through on paying for the home. All of the payments they make will go straight to building a home for another Habitat family.
This seemingly never-ending process is what matched the Governor’s Scholars with a family that touched their hearts. The family felt they were being blessed by the experience when in fact the scholars were the ones being blessed.
“We wanted a family with younger children that (the scholars) could relate to,” said Aristófanes Cedeño, the Executive Director of the Governor’s Scholars Program. “We wanted a family that matched best to this group.”
The Muse family was a perfect fit.

A Record Build, a Blessed Experience
By Zac Garrard
Owensboro High School

When Omar Muse and Ubah Adan learned that Habitat for Humanity was going to build them a house, little did they know that their construction crew would include 360 inexperienced, up-coming high school seniors.
Sure, those students were members of the 2012 Governor’s Scholar’s Program, a highly competitive academic community made up of Kentucky’s best students and young leaders, but could they build a house?
Perhaps they weren’t the best candidates for a construction crew, but remarkably, that was not the biggest challenge facing Habitat leaders as they planned the project. The truly inspiring aspect was the time frame for the build.
In partnership with GSP, Habitat officials agreed to complete the work while the scholars were living and working in the summer program at Bellarmine University in Louisville. In addition, every scholar was to take part in the construction during that time.
“We were asked to consider doing it in a four-week period so we could begin and end it while all of them were still at Bellarmine. That added several other challenges to the process. It normally takes Habitat 12 to 14 weeks to begin a house and take it through the full process,” said Chuck Sgro, the Habitat site construction manager.
With Sgro and his Habitat volunteers leading the way, the scholars came through, completing their work in a record-setting four weeks, and Habitat dedicated the house on July 14.
Throughout Sgro’s long tenure as a volunteer Team Leader for Habitat, never has he had to build a home from concrete slab to living functionality in such a demanding amount of time.
Scholars played a role in every aspect of the build after the cement foundation was in place. With  two groups of 18 to 30 scholars arriving at the worksite each day, they raised the frame and roof, added siding, painted the house, and even set up a Habitat community garden for downtown Louisville residents.
“I was fortunate enough to visit and work on the house twice,” said scholar Bryce Rowland of Ballard High School in Louisville, “and each time I felt moved to help in any way possible.” Bryce said he was delighted to have spent his summer “involved in such a noble way.”
The course of construction was not a smooth and simple one, however. On arrival every day, each new group of scholars had to be prepped on basic building techniques and safety.
But the scorching summer heat was the most constraining factor in getting the job done. Oftentimes an afternoon session would be cancelled due to the unhealthy heat. Habitat volunteers and scholars would try to take full advantage of the time available until the temperature was officially deemed too hazardous to continue.

GSP Scholars attend the dedication of the Habitat house.

Regardless of the setbacks, Habitat and GSP volunteers completed construction on schedule and the keys were turned over to a grateful and hard-working family at a dedication ceremony on July 14.
Omar Muse and Ubah Adan are Somali immigrants who eventually married and settled in Louisville, where they have been forced to move from motels and short term housing for several years. They have four children, with one on the way, and two of Ubah’s young sisters will also be living with them.
For Chuck Sgro, that was the big payoff from Habitat’s partnership with the Governor’s Scholars.
“In the end,” he said, “your group has made it possible for a very young deserving family to have a new, safe home that they will own to raise their family and to improve their lives -- and we are all blessed to have had the experience.”

Habitat Families Must Earn Their Keys
By Ashley Dawson
Murray High School

Fleeing a life of fear and constant danger in war-torn Somalia, Omar Muse and Ubah Adan each came to the United States attracted by the promise of peace and freedom.
They met and married and settled in Louisville. They worked hard, but tough economic times kept them from achieving their dream of owning a home. Now that dream has come true, thanks to Habitat for Humanity, which partnered with the Governor’s Scholars Program of Kentucky to build a house for Omar, Ubah and their family.
“I heard about Habitat from an aunt,” Ubah said. “I saw her house, and I liked it. And it’s better for my kids too.”
Little did she realize how long and how difficult it would be to make that dream come true.
First came the preapplication. Thousands of preapplications are completed annually at Habitat and then screened by the Family Services Coordinator for outstanding debt. About 1,000 of them are sent to Habitat for the full application. Once that six-page document is filled out and verified, only 100 families will advance to the interview.
“We turned in our application January 30th. A week later we got a letter saying we approved for interview,” Ubah said. During the interview, families meet with the Family Services Coordinator to review all the submitted documents.
Jackie Isaacs, Family Services Coordinator of Louisville, said the interview process includes going through the documents with a fine-tooth comb, informing the family about the process, and giving them a chance to ask questions.”
    The Family Service Coordinator then meets with the family and informs them about the building process, sweat equity, and the cost of the house.
    If the applicants qualify and agree to the conditions, their file is sent to the Family Selection Committee for a vote. Of the original 1,000 applications, only 30 are approved each year.
    And of course, Omar and Ubah made the cut.
“Oh my gosh! I was so happy,” Ubah said “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! Is it true?’”
Habitat encourages new families to start the program immediately. There is much to be done before even one nail is hammered.

The GSP Habitat house completed in four weeks.

“They have to go through budget classes, home maintenance classes, (and) neighborhood classes,” said Chuck Sgro, volunteer team leader at the family’s construction site.
After about three weeks of class, the family has the opportunity to pick among three plots of land to build on, and that can be a hard decision.
“The family is kind of pressured to pick one of the three plots of land. If they turn down all three, they return to the bottom of the list,” Sgro said.
Once the land is chosen, Habitat begins building the house. Each family is required to put in 400 “sweat equity” hours, working on their house and on other Habitat projects.
“Omar and I were so excited to start building,” Ubah said. “By March, we started doing sweat equity hours on other Habitat projects. We did 100 sweat equity hours in one week.” Ubah and Omar far surpassed the 400 required sweat equity hours.
Most Habitat houses are built by 40 volunteers, and the process takes about three months. Omar and Ubah didn’t know it when they applied, but their home was going to special. Habitat had partnered with Kentucky’s Governor’s Scholars program to allow 360 upcoming high school seniors to work on the house. The house would be completed while the scholars were attending the program for five weeks at Bellarmine University.
The work was done in a record-setting four weeks, and Omar and Ubah’s Habitat experience was truly unique. While putting in the “sweat equity” on their house, they were surrounded by dozens of equally sweaty teens – new friends that they would never forget and who would never forget them.

A Heart as Big as His Beard
By Dabney Crawford
Fleming County High School

The sun bears down on a Habitat for Humanity worksite during one of the hottest summers on record in Louisville. Red dust kicks up from the bare ground and the banging of hammers on nails drowns out all but the most strident of shouts as dozens of volunteers work together.
In all this mayhem, one figure seems to stand out in the crowd. Saw in hand, bent over his work with a gray, saw dusted beard reaching down toward his belly and an old wooden pipe clenched between his teeth. They call him George, and all the 360 high-school students who worked at the site as part of the Governor’s Scholars Program will remember him.
The scholars were there as part of a first-ever partnership of Habitat, which builds home for deserving families, and Governor’s Scholars, which offers a five-week course for top Kentucky high school students that includes academics and public service. The course often changes the students’ perspectives.
George Hofmann might be a case in point. At first glance, most George looks intimidating, maybe even scary, but when people get to know him, it’s a complete turnaround. Scholars describe him as “patient,” “resourceful” and “a good Christian.”
    “At first, I was scared of him because of his long beard, but then after a while he was nice and very helpful, said scholar Sydney Abrams from Henry County High School. “George helped me cut the wood for the kitchen cabinets. I’d never cut wood before and he was a great instructor.”
    George has been growing that intimidating beard for the past thirty-two years, and it now extends to his chest. Scholars joked that when he finished cutting a piece of wood that his beard would be full of sawdust.
He will take off his hat exposing a bald head, and laugh, saying the hair “just keeps sliding down” to his beard.
George has been working with Habitat for Humanity for the past seven years. His journey started when his church sponsored a house. After completing that house he asked Chuck Sgro, the Habitat team leader on site if he could continue working on “Chuck’s Team,” and he has been ever since. 
“It keeps me out of the bars.” George jokes.
Chuck has a similar story about getting involved with Habitat. His wife asked him to fill in for her one day and help with a Habitat home as part of a church project. He has been a volunteer ever since. Chuck has this to say about George:
    “Well he’s a little old curmudgeon. He is bright and intelligent. He always says, ‘This is the way grandpa would do it....’

George Hofmann on the Habitat site.

Wise scholars take his advice to heart. In the past, George worked in a metal shop as a project manager. He is now retired for 15 years but still dedicates three days a week to Habitat for Humanity. He estimates that he has helped build between 50 and 60 houses in the last seven years. His favorite part of building each house is “raise the roof.”
    “It’s like there is nothing there one minute and then the shape of the house is there the next minute.” he said.
George says he does whatever Chuck tells him to do, but he mainly cuts all the wood for the house and lays out the walls.  He is there from the beginning to the end of each build, helping guide other volunteers and getting to know the family.
    “If you ask him to do anything, you can be sure he will complete the job,” Chuck said. “I couldn’t complete a job without him. George has a heart as big as a house.”

Taking the Spirit Home
By: Makayla Wiles
Todd County Central High School

     On a muggy afternoon in mid-July, 360 students from the Kentucky Governor’s Scholars Program gathered on the street in front of a brand new Habitat for Humanity house on Louisville’s West Side.
    They were there for the dedication of the house, and the weather conditions were no favorable. It was sunny for a while, it was raining for a while, and it was constantly hot and humid. But this was a truly special occasion and nobody wanted to miss it. This was the dedication of a house that each one of the scholars had a hand in building. Sure the weather was uncomfortable, but it was nothing compared to the record-setting heat wave that bore down on them when they were working on the house, drenched in sweat and caked in red dirt and sawdust.
    There to celebrate with them on this day were the dozens of teachers and staff who guided them through the five-week GSP academic and leadership regimen at Bellarmine University, and the 25 Habitat volunteers who spearheaded the construction effort.
    The speakers, which included Louisville Mayor Greg Fisher, Habitat for Humanity Metro Louisville Director Rob Locke and Governors Scholars Program Executive Director Aris Cedeño, remarked on the partnership that made this house possible and reflected on the work that is changing lives and neighborhoods in the city.
    But the real stars were Omar Muse and Ubah Adan, who were there to accept the keys to the house for their young family.
    “It was uncomfortable,” said Alyson Croley a scholar from South Laurel High School in Laurel County, “But it was worth it to see the happiness of the family. We accomplished something so important that really changed a family’s life….”
Many of the scholars agreed that working with Habitat not only changed a family’s life, but it also impacted their own lives in a very special way.
“[The ceremony] brought home for me the fact that through working together as a community, we made a very special dream come true-extremely quickly,” Alyson said.
    Her experience in the Governor’s Scholars Program and her public service work with Habitat has had a profound effect on Alyson.

Scholar Alyson Croley poses at the Habitat house.

    “In the future, I hope every scholar gets the chance to build a house,” she said.”It’s a very inspiring and rewarding experience.”
    When Alyson returns home, she wants to build a gazebo in a local park in honor and memory of Iraqi war veterans and their families. She would love to recruit volunteers from her high school to help with the project.
    “I want to go home and give something back to the people who have already given so much,” she said.
   

The house that Chuck built
By Natalie Hewlett
Scott County High School


Chuck Sgro looks like your average, happy- go- lucky retiree. His tan suggests that he’s just returned from a trip to the beach, his eyes twinkle when he speaks, and his booming laugh makes everyone around him smile.
But it doesn’t take long to see that Chuck Sgro is made up of so much more. He got his tan not from daily trips to the beach, but from long hours of hard work outdoors. His smile is inspired by the joy of those around him. Chuck has dedicated his life to helping others through Habitat for Humanity. That’s what makes him happy.
It all started in 1998, when he began work on his first Habitat House through his church in Louisville.
“I met the family that was going to live in the house,” said Chuck, “and at one point, went to speak to the mother (who) was a single mom, and was the exact same age as one of our daughters. I thought, OMG, what if this was my daughter and these three children were my grandchildren?”
He was hooked. Since then, Chuck has built 108 homes; 93 in Louisville, and 15 in Baton Rouge, La. He has helped to provide security and safety for 168 adults and 279 children. That’s almost 450 people.
The home he is building now on the West End of Louisville will be his 109th achievement, and what an achievement it will be. Habitat for Humanity has partnered with Kentucky’s the Governor’s Scholars Program to build a home in record time. As Habitat’s team leader at the worksite, Chuck would be training and working with 360 teenage scholars. GSP wanted the scholars so see the project completed before their five-week residency program at Bellarmine ended, so Chuck also faced a daunting timetable of four weeks. That would be a record pace for Habitat, which usually takes 12 weeks to build a house. Never before had Habitat attempted a project such as this.
“I don’t think anyone realized what we had stepped up to do,” Chuck said.
From raising the walls, to installing insulation, to painting, scholars had a hand in each step of this home. This also meant that Chuck had a big responsibility. Not only was he in charge of “Chuck’s Team,” the group of 25 Habitat volunteers working on the project, but of every scholar as well. As each new group of about 20 scholars arrived on site, Chuck would instruct them on safety and walk them through their specific jobs, Chuck worked tirelessly among scholars and volunteers all day. He oversaw the shipments and installation of new materials, made sure the house was kept up to code, and dealt effortlessly with unforeseen complications. To most, this job would seem daunting, but Chuck was never too busy to offer a smile or an encouraging word.

House Leader Chuck Sgro

“I love all of the enthusiasm, the wide eyes when getting out of the vans or off the bus, the incredible heartfelt messages that so many people wrote to the family,” Chuck said.”It is not about how much we can get done, but how it can possibly transform some of the students’ lives.”
His incredible positivity was infectious. The GSP faculty and staff discovered that while working at Habitat House during a week of preparation before the scholars arrived at Bellarmine.
“After the faculty went to the Habitat House, I kept hearing one word: ‘Chuck,’” said Aris Cedeño, executive director of the Governor’s Scholars Program. “I knew (we) were going to have a wonderful leader in Chuck. He’s probably the most inspiring person for the faculty and scholars. He gives me confidence and trust in the leadership on the other side of this project.”
The scholars were even more impressed:
“He really cared about what we were doing, which made me want to work harder for the family and for the home,” said Meghan Eleniak, of Ryle High School in Union.
    “It was good to see him working so hard on a house. It really set the tone for everyone else,” said Josh Price, of Central Hardin High School (Hardin County).
Chuck doesn’t see himself as an inspiration to others. For him, it is not the number of house he builds or the record pace of this last one. It’s about “knowing I have spent my days, weeks, months and years doing God’s work.”
Like most superheroes, Chuck is humble.

The Day the Hammer Dropped
By William Downer
Ballard High School, Louisville

“MC Hammer,” “Ubah Slayer,” “Butterfingers,” “Thor.”
Aren’t nicknames fun?
Not for Max McGehee, they aren’t. Not for the Governor’s Scholar who dropped a hammer on the face of Ubah Adan, the mother of the family for whom Habitat was building a house on the West Side of Louisville.
For Max McGehee, those nicknames evoke memories of a brief but painfully embarrassing moment in his young life.
“I was hammering some vertical planks and I was on the last board, and I remember thinking, ‘Wow, I’m tired,’ and then the hammer slipped out of my hand and the flat end hit Ubah in the nose,” Max said.
Very few people actually witnessed the hammer falling and striking Ubah. But some remember the blood, and there was apparently enough of it to warrant a call to the Emergency Medical Service. Of course the rumors, rumors flew around campus faster than a falling hammer. Talk of a cracked skull, a broken nose, a black eye, and an emergency room run as well as other, equally misleading rumors were waiting for Max when he arrived at Bellarmine University, the host campus for this year’s Governor’s Scholars Program.
“It wasn’t as bad as people thought,” Max said, but that didn’t make him feel much better about it.
Max, a rising senior at Dixie Heights High School in Kenton County, is one of 360 scholars at Bellarmine for a five-week residency program to engage them in academic, leadership and public service activities. This year’s public service, building a Habitat for Humanity house, was the biggest ever, and scholars set about the task with feverish dedication, despite the manual labor and record-breaking heat wave.

Max McGehee poses with Ubah Adan

GSP officials experienced some temporary shock, at first hearing rumors that a scholar had been hurt, and then getting the more accurate but equally dismaying news that Ubah had been injured. They breathed a sigh of relief when they learned that the injury amounted to a bloody nose.
Max too, felt relief. Relief that Ubah had no hard feelings and held no grudge over the accident, because she knew that it was just that. An accident.
“She was back the very next day,” said Chuck Sgro, Habitat’s team leader at the worksite, although Ubah was sporting a black eye. “She kept saying she was okay, and she came back to work hoping to see Max.”
“It definitely gave me some comfort, knowing the she forgave me immediately,” Max said. “It made it much easier to forgive myself.”

Former Scholar Finds a Home at Habitat
By Sarah Czarnecki
Tates Creek High School, Lexington

“I loved GSP,” said Jackie Isaacs, Family Services coordinator at Habitat for Humanity in Louisville. “I loved being able to define who I was by who I wanted to be, rather than by who I was supposed to be.”
As a rising high school senior in 1999, Jackie was selected for a five-week summer residency with the Kentucky Governors Scholars Program, an experience she describes as life changing. The program involves scholars in academic, leadership and public-service training while living on a college campus.
This year, a group of 360 Governor’s Scholars based at Bellarmine University worked on a Habitat for Humanity home, a project that delighted Jackie, who was intimately involved in the selection and training of the Somali immigrant family who would occupy the home. It was by far the most challenging public service project ever attempted by the GSP.
The cost to become a Habitat House sponsor is $40,000, money that was provided by the Governor’s Scholars Program Foundation, a private, non-profit organization that raises money to help defray GSP’s expenses and provide community service opportunities such as this.
Aristófanes Cedeño executive director of GSP, has a strong passion for the homeless and has worked hard to make this project possible. Jackie Isaacs has been working with Habitat for five years, meeting with prospective families during the application process and helping with finances.
Coincidentally, Jackie attended GSP on the Northern Kentucky University campus in 1999 when Aris was executive director on that campus and they remain close friends to this day. Aris says he admires her deep commitment to Habitat. And Jackie says her GSP experience inspired her to dedicate her life to public service.
“GSP was my first exposure to a wider world than the people I had always gone to school with and the activities that I had always done,” Jackie said. “While at GSP, I attended a camp called UDSAP (University of Dayton Studies of Appalachia Project), which provided numerous services to underprivileged children and at-risk teens in Eastern Kentucky.”
The UDSAP camp made her realize that she wouldn’t be satisfied working a normal 9 to 5 job. She wanted to be able to work in an environment where she could serve other people and make a real difference. Habitat was an easy choice for her.

Jackie Isaacs attends the final dedication of the GSP Habitat House

“The most rewarding thing is always seeing the transformation of the families,” she said. “There are those really incredible times when I get to see families grow in their self-confidence, learn how to manage their finances better, learn how to use power tools…and then they come out of this program ready to grow and change their lives.”
She describes Habitat for Humanity as a truly amazing program, and is very happy that the scholars have the opportunity to get involved with the organization.
“I have never found another environment that could rival the intellectual and emotional stimulation that GSP offered,” Jackie said, adding that she believes this year’s scholars are truly blessed to be involved with such a great cause.

Habitat’s History of Giving
By: Elizabeth Black
Dawson Springs High School

 “Home means freedom.”
    Those are the words of Omar Muse, the father of a Somali family that is moving into a new home built by Habitat for Humanity on Louisville’s West Side. Omar knows what he is talking about, He escaped the fear and chaos of civil war in Somalia, where freedom was just an empty word. He emigrated to the United States, met his wife Ubah, also a Somali immigrant, and started a family.
Their home became a reality when a partnership between  Habitat and the Governor’s Scholars Program brought together 25 Habitat volunteers and 360 upcoming high school seniors selected by the GSP for a five-week residency program in Louisville.
    The GSP provided money to fund the build, which celebrated the 30 anniversary of the program and became a major public service project for the scholars. Habitat agreed to build the house in four weeks so the scholars could see the fruit of their labors. Normally, a Habitat house takes 12 weeks to build.
    It was worth the trouble. Building the house affected every scholar intellectually and emotionally.
Susan Bailey, a scholar from Breckinridge County High School, was awed “to see such an inspiring home” rise up in the city’s troubled Russell neighborhood. But the builders had to overcome some challenges.
Chuck Sgro, Habitat’s team leader at the worksite, said, “It was no surprise that most of the Scholars who came to help had not really been involved in any type of construction. What was a bit unnerving was the reality that there was a six-foot ladder limitation on the height that a scholar was permitted to work, and that they were limited to using non-power tools.”
But Sgro rose to the challenge, aided by a crew of 25 seasoned Habitat volunteers and plenty of enthusiast help from scholars. The house was dedicated on July 14. The four-week build time was a record for Habitat. And it was 377th Habitat home built in the Louisville metro area.
    Internationally, Habitat for Humanity has built over 500,000 homes in over 3,000 communities with volunteer labor and donations of money and materials.
In Louisville, over 5,000 men, women, and young people volunteer annually. The families who benefit from the program perform hundreds of hours of sweat equity and pay off their mortgages with interest-free loans. A family’s mortgage payments are used to fund more homes.
    President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, have long been involved with Habitat for Humanity, but they have never served in any official capacity. According to Habitat leaders the Carters are just a couple of the most famous volunteers in the organization. But they have done a lot to promote the cause. Every year, the Carters organize large building crews who take trips to Africa and South America to build homes with Habitat for Humanity.
    Jimmy Carter once said, “Habitat is the best way to partner with God’s people in need without either demeaning them or exalting ourselves.”

Aris Cendeños with Rob Locke(r) and the Muse family.

    The partnership with the Governor’s Scholars Program in Louisville will no doubt result in another generation of leaders who are dedicated to Habitat’s cause.
 “I don’t think I have ever done anything that impacting before,” said Austin Hertzler, a scholar from Apollo High School in Owensboro.
    Team Leader Chuck Sgro had this to say about his crew of young scholars:
    “You continued to come. and the smiles on your faces and the love in your hearts lifted us past any limitations and made us want to work even harder to make this successful.”
    The payoff for the scholars, the thing that will keep them coming back, was the smile on Omar’s face as he accepted the keys to his family’s home and his symbol of freedom.

A Blessing in Many Ways

By Shelby Abrams
Henry County High School

   It was Saturday, June 30th and the day was already starting to heat up as people gathered for a ground blessing at a Habitat for Humanity worksite on Louisville’s West Side.
    Habitat traditionally hosts a ground blessing as a new build gets underway. The blessing is a time for giving thanks and celebration.
This was a special event, though, celebrating a home that was the result of a partnership between Habitat for Humanity and the Governor’s Scholars Program, which offers a five-week college experience for selected high-school seniors. The Habitat project served as an intense public service project for the scholars.
As work ground to a halt in preparation for the blessing, the soon-to-be homeowner Omar Muse and his family, some relatives and friends huddled in the shade with scholars and Habitat volunteers.
“The family sets the tone for the event, often selects a member of their faith group to offer the blessing,” said Sue Martin, president of the Habitat for Humanity of Metro Louisville Board of Directors.
Sue was among several speakers at the blessing, including leaders from the Governor’s Scholars Program and Habitat for Humanity.
The new homeowners Omar and Ubah, who had immigrated to America from war-torn Somalia long ago, offered their thanks to all the volunteers and invited Mustafa Mohammed, a leader in Louisville’s Somali community, to offer a blessing.
“Worship is Habitat.” Mohammed said, reflecting the joining together of peoples from two religions.
Habitat’s Sue Martin said,” One of the greatest benefits of volunteering with Habitat is the opportunity to meet and work together with people of all faiths from different parts of our city. Habitat for Humanity is a Christian organization serving people in need of affordable housing regardless of their faith.”
    The family’s new home is near several other Somali families and many other homes built by Habitat. It was clear that the Muse family felt a sense of community here. Their new home would provide a safe haven for them and a backyard for their children to enjoy.

Chuck Sgro holds the youngest Muse at the dedication.

    “The house gives us a peaceful place to live,” Omar said with a smile.
     As Omar thanked the volunteers, Chuck Sgro, team leader at the worksite, picked up Omar’s youngest boy and placed a kiss on his forehead. Ubah and the girls handed out bags filled with food that they had made for the scholars to eat, and the little boys passed out popsicles. Everyone chatted about the house and got to know each other.
“I am glad I got a chance to be part of the ground blessing,” said Sara Biery a scholar from Pikeville High School. “I felt closer with the family, and it made working on the house in the heat of the day easier.”