The American Dream
We all have dreams of different sizes. Zulfa’s dream was that of a young Ethiopian girl moving to America to grow up and live a better life. So, she and her younger brother stepped foot in American in 1991.
Immediately she began to create goals and plan her life. She wanted to go to school and earn a degree in college. She wanted a vehicle of her own. And she wanted to get married, have children and “live happily ever after, like in the fairy tales,” Zulfa said. It didn’t take long for her to find out, nothing is really easy.
She did get married and they had three children, but that ended in divorce. In 2008, Zulfa moved back to Ethiopia with her children, in order to be closer to family. As Zulfa watched her sons grow up in Ethiopia, her original dreams resurfaced and she soon realized her children needed a better education. This left her with two choices. Stay near family with the education they had, or take them back to America and give them the education she originally dreamt for herself. Zulfa made the decision to move back to America, giving up so much to do so.
She has worked hard to give her boys everything she can, but most importantly, a future for all of them. Since returning, she has earned a degree in marketing and currently works for Gwinnett County Schools as a bus driver. She was able to apply for a Gwinnett Habitat home and was chosen to receive one. And she knows the best is yet to come.
“I’m so honored and privileged to work on my own house hand in hand with so many generous and loving people that Allah created in this world. I have no other words to say than may Allah pay them back the good deeds they’re doing for people like me by million folds. Sweating to build the house which my family and I am going to live in, is an awesome feeling which is hard to describe with words. I have learned a lot with in this short period of time and met incredible people. My house has sentimental values because it’s built by my me, my son, family, friends that I knew and didn’t know.”
Zulfa is currently helping build her home in Duluth. She is excited about owning her own home and having a stable place to raise her family.