A garden for Barekzai

Habitat for Humanity announcement.

Originally from Afghanistan, Barekzai worked for the U.S. military until the evacuation in August, 2021. During this tumultuous time, he and his family were safely flown to the U.S. Upon arriving in America, Barekzai says one of the first thoughts was, “I have to buy a home for my family.” He worked tirelessly obtaining a green card, then a job, and as he says, “step by step it happened.”

Currently, Barekzai works as a forklift operator. For several months, he and his wife, Fatima, have worked hard toward homeownership. The two have spent hours taking the online courses needed to become Habitat homeowners, as well as putting in sweat equity hours in the Stores and in Home Renovation.

“I learned a lot of things,” says Barekzai laughing joyfully. “If something breaks I can fix it.”

The couple of have three boys – Baktash (10), Shahram (7) and Shahzed (4). Barekzai looks forward to enrolling the boys in school in their new neighborhood. “Baktash, he is really good in math. I want him to have the chance to excel.”

One thing Barekzai looks forward to in his new home is gardening. He used to garden back home in Afghanistan, but hasn’t had the opportunity since arriving in the U.S. Their new home, with its large backyard, should present plenty of opportunity for gardening.