Georgina Lopez wants everyone to know that she and daughters Abbie and Jael are so thankful to become future Habitat Homeowners. “We are very happy to get our home! It’s one of the best things that will happen to us,” Georgina says
Georgina is a patient care technician at Tucson Medical Center, preparing patients for surgery and taking care of them in the recovery wing. She loves her job and enjoys working extra hours if needed; her colleagues also make her work environment a really positive one. “It’s a really easy environment,” says Georgina.
The Lopezes have lived in Tucson for 10 years and currently rent an apartment. Georgina says it’s a big apartment complex and short-staffed, so it takes longer for the landlord to fix things. To make things better for her and her girls, Georgina has worked hard to save money for her Habitat Home down payment and complete her sweat equity.
Jael (pronounced Hi-el) looks forward to having her own room and decorating the walls with posters of super heroes, as well as with her own drawings of buildings and animals. She plays trombone and can already read music, thinks her science classes are sort of fun, and history is pretty okay, too. Jael likes photography, and when she grows up she wants to work in art and music. For Jael, home means family and pets, good neighbors and a house with pretty decorations.
Abbie, a high-schooler, has dreams of living abroad, but for now can’t wait to graduate. French and chemistry are Abbie’s favorite subjects, and says her teachers make the classes really fun. She also wants to learn Italian and Russian. As a future world-traveler, Abbie wants to decorate her new room with posters of scenery from all over the world. For Abbie, home is “where I can be myself and not pretend – where I can be relaxed and accepted.”
For Georgina, home means a safe place she can go to rest and relax with her loved ones. “The fact I’ll be in one house where I don’t have to move every two or three years – to have our own place – that’s what I look forward to.”