Rising from the ashes: Nursing grad gets new Lebanon home, refurbished after fires
Taking her son to day care one morning, Rabecca Ngugi noticed a leaflet describing the Habitat for Humanity program.
"I was like, 'I would like to be a homeowner,' but it seems like it's a long process, and I don't have enough good credit," she said.
Originally from Kenya, Ngugi had been in the United States for more than five years working two jobs while attempting to get her nursing degree. And in 2020, she was accepted into the Habitat's first-time homebuyer program.
"It was a little bit challenging with COVID, but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do to survive," she said.
That's why, despite the blazing heat Friday, Lancaster Lebanon Habitat for Humanity organizers officially handed Ngugi the keys to her new Cumberland Street home.
"I think if you are going through a homeownership process, you better try Habitat," she said. "It think they're the best."
Ngugi’s home is one of three fire-damaged properties on the 400 block of Cumberland Street that Habitat has been renovating since the build project began in January 2020. The properties were acquired by Habitat in 2018, with funding secured by the Lebanon County Commissioners.
On April 6, 2016, a three-alarm fire believed to be caused by reckless smoking broke out at a home on Cumberland Street, leaving four residents displaced. The fire also damaged neighboring structures, the flames spreading to nearby homes.
In 2017, a two-alarm fire hit three of the same buildings on Cumberland Street, with the cause listed as undetermined.
In 2019, Habitat organizers announced Thursday its plan to transform the fire-damaged properties into affordable homes for local families.
"While the desire from the city and the community was to keep the façade and make these owner-occupied homes, it was all made possible by the special funding we were able to secure for the demolition of the interior and put on these beautiful new roofs," Habitat’s President and CEO Andrew Szalay said.
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City officials were looking for a partner to save the homes. Mayor Sherry Cappello said tearing down the building would have changed the entire look of the block.
"We didn't want something new to be the face of this block because it's historic downtown Lebanon, and it really needs to stay," she said.
Ngugi recently received her nursing degree in December and has a full time job in Lancaster. But she is considering transitioning and looking for work in Lebanon.
"Due to the gas prices, I think it is better to have a job that is closer to home," she said.
As part of the organization's first-time homebuyers program, Ngugi contributed 250 hours to the process of building and owning her home. This included working on the build site and taking homeowner classes, such as financial literacy and home maintenance. Not even knowing how to hold a hammer when she started, Ngugi said she was working in the framing and drywall process and learned a lot about home repair.
"Now I think I can be a good hammer man," she said.
Lancaster Lebanon Habitat for Humanity builds homes, communities and hope for families in need of safe, affordable housing across Lancaster and Lebanon Counties. For more information, visit the organization's website at www.lancasterlebanonhabitat.org.
Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on Twitter at @DAMattToth.
This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Nursing grad gets new downtown Lebanon home refurbished after fires
