Habitat for Humanity breaks ground for Nguyen home

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Online Poster

By Tim Schwab

Seven gilded shovels dug into the grassy lot on Tremont Drive in Champaign, unearthing just a scant amount of dark soil, enough to elicit polite applause from the crowd of about 40 people. Vy Nguyen, the one-year-old daughter of the Vietnamese parents at the center of all this attention, ran crying to her mother, bawling at great volume.

Her eyes were not the only ones wet Saturday afternoon at Habitat for Humanity’s groundbreaking ceremony, which marked the beginning of construction on the 40th Habitat house by the Champaign County chapter in 15 years.

The Nguyen house that should stand on this empty lot by Christmas will bear the address 304 Tremont Dr., located near State Street in Champaign. The Nguyens immigrated to America as refugees from Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam three years ago, moving into a two-bedroom mobile home in Champaign.

Vinh Nguyen, the family’s father, who speaks little English, described it only as being “narrow.” The Nguyens continue to reside in Champaign. The parents share one bedroom with their three daughters and Vinh’s father stays in the second room.

Diane Jeffers, who serves on the family selection and support committee, visited the Nguyen home during the application process.

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“(The Nguyens) were definitely doing the best they could,” Jeffers said. “But when you have six people in one trailer, that’s hard.”

The Nguyen family chose to move to Champaign because Vinh’s great aunt, Quyt Nguyen, was already living here. Quyt came to America as a refugee in the 1970s and speaks fluent English.

“Words cannot express our thanks, especially when language is still a barrier,” Quyt said at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Quyt also spoke of the circumstances under which she and many Vietnamese came to America. Following America’s evacuation in 1972, South Vietnam quickly fell to the communist Northern forces, whose subsequent brutality compelled thousands of people to flee the country. Most left by boat, with an unknown number perishing in the escape attempt. Those who survived landed in nearby Asian countries where many successfully applied for entry to the United States, Quyt said.

Quyt works with the East Central Illinois Refugee Mutual Assistance Center in Urbana, an organization that helps families who are new to the country with translations, procuring documents, transportation, and other necessities.

Phien and Trien Van, a Vietnamese refugee couple that received a Champaign Habitat house in 1998, were also at the groundbreaking ceremony. The Vans said they have just added an additional room to their house to make room for their new grandson, who will be the seventh family member living in the three-bedroom home.

The Nguyen house will be the starting point for a more prolific house building in the future, said Laura Huth, executive director of Champaign County Habitat for Humanity.

Habitat has “a staff and a reputation that will allow us to build 40 more houses in the next five years,” essentially building at three times their previous rate, Huth said.

As part of a down payment on Habitat houses, families are required to complete 500 hours of “sweat equity,” which amounts to physical labor in the construction of the house.

According to a press release, Habitat’s new program, Building on Faith, will help build the Nguyen’s three-bedroom house. The program allows 200 people in the community to each donate $200 to raise $40,000 in cash towards the home’s construction costs. Other funding has been secured from the City of Champaign, a matching challenge grant and area Catholic churches.

Annisa Rainey, volunteer and outreach coordinator for Habitat for Humanity of Champaign, said that “the demand for volunteers is especially high for the Nguyen house,” because of its accelerated building schedule.

The University has its own Habitat for Humanity chapter, which will be helping in the construction of the Nguyen home as well.