Habitat North Central Georgia Starts Home in Cumming

Habitat for Humanity – North Central Georgia held a First Nail Ceremony last Saturday for the Pauk family located on Dave’s Creek Road in Cumming. Despite the very cold temperatures, there was a great turn out of sponsors, volunteers, family members, board members and Habitat staff.  Those who attended the ceremony were touched by the family’s story and their determination to provide a better life for their children. 

The home is being built in partnership with Felix Pauk and his wife Alina who were born in Burma.  The United Nations Refugee Program assisted the family in moving from Burma to Malaysia and eventually to the United States in 2010.  Felix and Alina have three children; Josephine (8), Lal (5) and Christopher (9 months).  Both parents work for Tyson and have lived in Cumming for the last eighteen months. 

During the ceremony, Father Frank Richardson, of the Good Shepard Catholic Church, blessed the site where the home is being built.  Mr. and Mrs. Pauk are members of the Good Shepard Catholic Church, and are honored to have the church participate as a sponsor. The church also provided the volunteers last Saturday who completed the framing of the home after the ceremony. 

The home is being sponsored by several community organizations including; DataScan, Good Shepard Catholic Church, Ingenico, KeyWorth Bank, Siemens, Travelers, United Way of Forsyth County. 

Habitat for Humanity – North Central Georgia is a non-profit, Christian housing ministry that builds simple, decent homes for purchase by low income families who demonstrate a capacity for responsible homeownership. Since its inception in 1995, 248 homes have been completed and over 850 family members have been served in North Fulton, Cherokee and Forsyth/Dawson counties. Each family is required to attend 10 educational classes and perform 300 sweat equity hours. Families earn between 25% and 60% of the Atlanta area median income and purchase their homes from Habitat which provides them with a 25-year, no-interest loan.  Family members work side by side with the volunteers, sponsors, and Habitat staff to build their homes. These families not only get to experience the pride of homeownership but they also know that their lives will be changed forever. For more information on Habitat for Humanity – North Central Georgia, please visit www.habitat-ncg.org.