Meet Akhlilu

Akhlilu was starting to fear that his family's fate would follow that of so many of his friends — being forced out of California due to the high cost of housing. "The Bay Area is very expensive to live in," he says. "So, I was looking at moving to another state. But my family really loves living in California." Here, Akhlilu — along with his wife, Yordanos, their 10-year-old son, Hebron, and their toddler daughter, Mercy — enjoy being surrounded by family and friends, a career that Akhlilu loves and has worked hard to advance, and beautiful weather that reminds them of the East African climate they immigrated from years ago.

However, the rent on their San Leandro apartment was climbing rapidly, and Akhlilu felt his family's options narrowing. "And now, especially with the new baby and only one income, we had to do something." Akhlilu says he didn't even dream about homeownership because in all his research, buying a home was simply too expensive. That was until he decided to apply for Habitat for Humanity's Homeownership Program. 

Akhlilu still smiles broadly when he describes receiving the email that let him know his family had been selected to purchase a home at Sequoia Grove in Hayward. "I was so excited! Then, I told my family, and they were so happy, really happy." 

"My wife is very, very excited," Akhlilu laughs. "She cannot wait, she keeps asking when we're moving." For Yordanos, owning a home at Sequoia Grove means a stable, worry-free place where she can focus on their children while they're small, and nurture a career when they're older and both attending the neighborhood schools. For Hebron, it's planning out his future bedroom and already playing at the park across the street. For Mercy, although she's still too young to understand the coming changes, it will be the home and neighborhood where she will toddle after her brother and play outside. 

For Akhlilu, homeownership means "you do not have to keep worrying about, 'When do we have to move, where are we going to go?' We can settle down in one area. And we can really contribute to the community, we can make a difference."

For now, Akhlilu's path to homeownership is paved in the wood and tile he's laid when volunteering on site. Or all the doors he's painted, room by room. Or in all the volunteers he has met and worked alongside. 

Soon, it'll be the housewarming gathering he can't wait to throw, welcoming friends and family into his future home to celebrate.

And through it all, Akhlilu says, "This is a dream. Especially in the Bay Area, especially in California right now when everything is so expensive — to get this opportunity is really a dream. I'm really thankful for Habitat for Humanity for this great opportunity."