Sawyerville resident Dorinda Crews has heard about Habitat for Humanity in the past, but not once did she think her and her three children would be move from their rented trailer with a holey roof, no hot water , and broken windows and doors, to a newly constructed

Habitat home.

“I am thankful for the students’ talent and their time,” Crews, 37, said, “I thank God for blessing me with this new home.”

Crews isn’t the only one happy about moving out of their trailer. Her 13-year-old daughter Cameshia “CC” Banks is looking forward to their new home, which will provide the young lady with her very own room that she plans to keep her brothers out of.

But Damarious “D” Banks, 12, and Tamija “Shawn” Banks, 7, will have other plans beside bothering their older sister as they hope to get a Playstation 2 for their new room.

D is also glad because he knows that for the first time in his life, his family will own a house, instead of renting one. After putting in 250 hours of “sweat equity,” Crews will buy the home with a zero percent interest rate from habitat.

In addition to making the family happier, their new home will also make them healthier. As D suffered from bronchitis and Shawn battled with asthma, the mold and mildew growing in the old home after Hurricane Katrina only aggravated their conditions. But a new home, with no leaks, will be sure to have positive effects on the young boys’ health.

As Hale County’s first Habitat for Humanity house, 14 Auburn University DESIGNhabitat2 architecture students have added a twist to the average

three-bedroom, one bathroom home.

To cut down on construction time, the students designed the home using two ready-made rectangular units on the side and the center, connecting piece will be built on site.

Danielle Dratch, Jennifer Givens, Cayce Bean, MacKenzie Stagg, Joey Aplin, Joey Fante, Russ Gibbs, Matt Murphy, Ryan Simon, Bill Moore, David Davis, Simon Hurst, Vel Bassett and Walter Mason will work from sun up to sun down for the next week to complete the home.

On Thursday, the students lead by professors David Hinson and Stacy Norman, began constructing the home.

Early Friday morning, the two pre-built modular

units were craned into place on the foundation.

“They started Thursday and they are already almost 80 percent complete,” HERO director Pam Dorr said. “They are building the porches right now.”

But the AU students aren’t the only people in Greensboro donating time to the project. A master gardener has volunteered to design the landscaping and nine local churches and community groups have volunteered to feed the students during the build.

Habitat is currently accepting applications from other families affected by Hurricane Katrina because more homes will be constructed in the next few months. For more information on applications, volunteering, supplying meals or hosting a group dinner, contact Habitat for Humanity in Hale County at (334) 624-0842.