Sun, Jul 20 2008
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Published May 12, 2008 11:09 am - Wearing safety glasses, knee pads, and a bright red “Women Build” T-shirt, Nohemi Eligio cut tile for the floor she and her family will walk on soon. Ready, set, build! By BETTY SMITH Press special writer TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS — Wearing safety glasses, knee pads, and a bright red “Women Build” T-shirt, Nohemi Eligio cut tile for the floor she and her family will walk on soon.
Nohemi and Jesus Eligio and their three children, Jesus, 13; Briscella, 9; and Gisselle, 4 will move from a cramped two-bedroom duplex into their new three-bedroom home by the end of June. They’ll be the 13th family to occupy a house built by Tahlequah Area Habitat for Humanity. About 100 women lent a hand to its construction during a three-day “Women Build” campaign that concluded Saturday. “We’ve already been out here two nights,” Habitat President Linda Cheatham said Saturday morning at the site. “We’ve already had more than 100 women sign up, so many that we had to add two days. We are considering another home built entirely by women.” The Tahlequah group is an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, a nonprofit Christian organization dedicated to eliminating poverty housing. Habitat brings together people with resources and people in need to build simple, decent affordable homes. The houses are sold at no profit to people needing housing. Since 1990, the Tahlequah group has built 12 houses, providing homes for 40 people, Individuals, churches and community groups have donated funds and their time to make this possible. Cheatham said men weren’t excluded from the effort, and several men were active on the site alongside the women. “We’re focusing o women this week, staffing the majority of today’s volunteer crew with women from our area,” she said. Some of the women were longtime Habitat volunteers, while it was the first time for quite a few – an effort they said they plan to continue. Even though she didn’t pick up any tools Saturday, Grace Fites brought moral support and a big platter of homemade cookies. “I’m not building, but I brought cookies,” she said as she arrived. “I was on the Habitat board for 10 years.” “This is the first time I’ve ever done it,” said Shirley Crawford, as she applied a coat of mint-green paint to the siding. She learned about the Women Build effort at a PEO meeting. “I’ve heard about the Habitat project for a long time and I know it’s a great project,” she said. She’s done quite a bit of indoor and outdoor painting, and with each brush stroke she imagined the excitement the Eligio family is experiencing. 
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