When it gets really cold in Amado, Pedro and Mayra Haro hang up a blanket to partition their borrowed trailer and turn on the space heater. Not the safest way to warm things up.
The two-bedroom, one-bath trailer is like an oven in the summer, with aluminum walls and no insulation to keep the heat out. For both Pedro and Mayra, having a better home for their daughters is the best part of becoming Habitat Homeowners.
For the Haros, the road to Habitat homeownership has been a long one. Pedro is a maintenance worker at Green Valley Country Club and Mayra does housekeeping at Santa Rita Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Green Valley. Their schedule is challenging, getting up at 4 a.m. each day to get to work. Car problems derailed an earlier attempt to become homeowners when it became impossible for them to get to classes and earn their sweat equity. But they persevered, and now look forward to moving into a larger, safer home.
“I’m excited for the girls,” says Mayra. “They are going to have their own rooms!”
Maria says she will have lots of space for her Barbies in her new pink and purple bedroom. Stacy wants her red room covered in roses. Dad Pedro may be able to help with that.
“Having your own property, you can plant whatever you want,” says Pedro, a maintenance worker at Green Valley Country Club. “I like roses.”
Mayra is also excited about having a “real” kitchen, instead of the tiny trailer kitchenette.
That real kitchen will come in handy when Pedro starts entertaining.
“For me it’s better, because I can invite more family to my home,” Pedro says.