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Women Build Hope

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By JO-ANN JOHNSTON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 22, 2007

DADE CITY - You'd have to say the new construction site on Davis Avenue is truly female-friendly: More than 250 women congregated here Saturday to build a four-bedroom home for a single mother and her three daughters.

'It's just like busy bees,' said volunteer Jean Nathe, as she looked out over the crew of women - and a few men - slinging hammers and framing walls.

'Everybody's in their corner, doing their stuff.'

In many ways, the construction project is like many of the other ones completed over the years by the nonprofit group, East Pasco Habitat for Humanity. Habitat, a worldwide organization, operates through local branches to build affordable homes for lower-income families. People volunteer on projects to qualify for a Habitat home and typically also work on their own houses, as Emine (Mina) Ishmaku did Saturday.

The difference is that the Ishmaku was selected for one of the nonprofit's specialized volunteer programs, Women Build.

Habitat is always trying to broaden its volunteer base by simultaneously recruiting volunteers from the general public and from niche groups, such as college students, recreational vehicle owners or women.

But the Women Build program hasn't been done very often, locally. East Pasco Habitat last pulled together a Women Build effort seven years ago, and there haven't been many others in the Tampa Bay area in recent years, either.

The program's appeal is obvious to Natalie Sotomayor, the San Antonio contractor who is directing the work on the Ishmaku home. Women get the chance to help another family with a fundamental need - and learn new or additional construction skills in an environment where they don't have to feel intimidated or lectured for being novices. Volunteers can take free clinics covering construction basics. In this case, the Lowe's in Zephyrhills offered the women courses covering framing, vinyl-siding application, roofing, interior painting and safe use of power tools, said Teri Sperry-Connolly, store manager.

Some classes attracted between 30 and 50 students, more than Sperry-Connolly had anticipated.

'They're very interested,' Sotomayor said. 'They want to know how to do this at their own homes.'

More practiced construction workers - male and female - serve as mentors on site, as is the practice on all Habitat projects, said John Finnerty, executive director of East Pasco Habitat.

'That's the secret to Habitat,' Finnerty said. 'There are so many diverse tasks involved in building a home, almost anybody can come and do something at their comfort level.'

Habitat also created some buzz about the project by attracting a few high-profile volunteers, such as Pasco County schools Superintendent Heather Fiorentino.

The advance publicity attracted Felicia Primus, an interior designer from Lutz. While she had thought about volunteering for Habitat before, she never did. Saturday, she came with a friend.

In fact, so many volunteers turned out Saturday that, at one point, Sotomayor couldn't fit them all on the Ishmaku site. So she sent the overflow crowd to a neighboring Habitat project and had them start putting up the walls.

Habitat wants to give more women the chance to volunteer, have fun, and come back for other projects.

'I think they're a huge, untapped resource,' Finnerty said.

He said he'd like to see the local Habitat stage a Women Build project annually.

One of the challenges will be to maintain the enthusiasm that was evident Saturday, said Habitat staffer Niki Trapnell. Women typically have so many responsibilities, volunteer time can get crowded out.

Trapnell suggested the Ishmaku family would be a good match for another Women Build project, as she expected women would relate to Ishmaku. She came to the United States from Albania about five years ago after herhusband died. Even though she knew no English, she thought opportunities would be better here for her family.

Within a couple of weeks, Ishmaku landed a job in a supermarket and started learning English. Now, she works in the housekeeping department of Florida Hospital Zephyrhills, where she was advised to go to Habitat.

If all continues to go well with the construction on her home - the walls and roof sheeting were done Saturday - her family may be able to move in by Christmas. Ishmaku will let her daughters decide what decorating projects they want to start.

The new home will have a lasting, positive influence on the family, predicted volunteer Maria Florez. She speaks from experience: Her family lives in the Dade City home constructed under the first Women Build program in east Pasco, seven years ago. Like Ishmaku, Florez is a single mother and works as a housekeeper at Saddlebrook Resort. Her oldest child now attends the University of South Florida.

'If you have a home, you know you are safe,' said Florez. 'You know you're going to raise your children there. I enjoy my house every day.'

TO LEARN MORE

For information on East Pasco Habitat for Humanity, call (352) 567-1444, or go to www. ephabitat.org.

For information about the Women Build program, go to www.habitat.org/wb/

Reporter Jo-Ann Johnston can be reached at (352) 521-3062 or jfjohnston@tampatrib.com.

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