New Jersey high school students help build home for family in need
ROXBURY, New Jersey (WABC) -- Students in New Jersey came together to build a home for a family in need as part of Morris Habitat for Humanity.
It was part of a high school structural design course, but the lesson the students got at the end of the day goes far beyond what can be taught in a classroom.
Samuel Tadesse and Senait Tesfaye are full-time working immigrants from Ethiopia but were never able to afford a home.
They currently live with their three children in a cramped two-bedroom apartment in East Orange.
Now they'll be able to spread out in the 3-bedroom home featuring two bathrooms, a full garage, a basement, and a spacious yard.
The couple, alongside volunteers, and thanks to donations from many companies, put in 450 hours of sweat equity to plant roots.
They were on hand to cut the ribbon to their new home on Wednesday.
The couple said they are very happy and grateful for the new home.
Roxbury High School students took on the task of building parts of the home for a project at school.
"It's the most heartwarming thing you can feel, to give that to someone, I come from somewhere where I know what that's like to not have a home, and it's the worst feeling," Roxbury student Elliott Brown said.
The students' efforts helped make the life-changing moment for Samuel, Senait and their kids possible.
The family plans to move into their new home in October.
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