![\"walker.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/ezing.me\/transfer\/wp-content\/uploads\/stories\/walker.jpg\" "\\"walker.jpg\\"")
<\/p>\nOXFORD – It’s been more than 30 years since Barbara Walker \n\u00a0\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n“It was out on the outskirts of town,” said Walker, a \nNow, thanks to Habitat for Humanity chapters at the UM and \n“Owning a home again wasn’t really on my mind,” Walker \nHabitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization that works \n“Applicants must be screened and approved, just like a \nFree labor is what helps keep the costs down. Like all \nWalker hasn’t minded sweating for her home one bit. \n“It’s a wonderful feeling to know that you’re helping to \nAnd she’s not the only one reaping satisfaction. \n“This crosses gender, race, education,” Whittington said. \n“The camaraderie is so close, because you’re working on a \nMost of the work is done on Saturdays, weather permitting. \nAmong those students is Austin Sumrall, a sophomore \n“After that first workday, I was hooked,” said Sumrall, who \nAmong the most dedicated volunteers are people Walker sees \n“Working with these people has really been a blessing,” \nFor more information about the University or \n
\nowned a home, and when she moved out, it wasn’t under the
\nbest of circumstances. She was in the process of splitting
\nup with her husband, and the neighborhood was getting
\nrougher. In short, it was just time to leave her home of
\nsix years.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\n58-year-old custodian at the University of Mississippi who
\nworks mostly in Bishop Hall. “I got out there and realized
\nI was out in the country by myself. I was going through
\nsome things with my husband, and I just didn’t want to live
\nout there anymore.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nin Oxford, Walker is about to get her second shot at home
\nownership. After more than a year of construction, her new
\nhome just east of Oxford is nearly complete, and she hopes
\nto move in this spring with her two grandsons.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nsaid. “This is really a blessing.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nwith volunteers to build affordable housing in this country
\nand around the world. Although homes are not given away,
\nthey are built, priced and sold at the lowest possible cost
\nto the owner-occupant, who must qualify for an
\ninterest-free mortgage and repay it if approved.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\ntraditional loan,” said Darryail Whittington, construction
\nsuperintendent for the Oxford-Lafayette chapter. “So far,
\nwe’ve been able to get people into homes under $40,000.
\nThere’s nowhere in Oxford where you can get a house for
\nthat.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nHabitat for Humanity homes, labor is provided by
\nvolunteers, including the prospective homeowner. “The
\nclient must provide 500 hours of sweat equity,” Whittington
\nsaid. “They must work on the house.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\ncreate something you want and need,” she said. “It’s
\nfulfilling to know you can help do that. It’s been fun and
\nquite rewarding.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nWhittington said that Habitat volunteers come from every
\nwalk of life: faculty and students, young and old, black
\nand white, rich and not-so-rich. Yet all the differences
\nmelt away as they work side by side on the paneling of
\nWalker’s future home.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\n“We’ve got teenagers, faculty, college students and career
\npeople. We’ve got people who have never done labor at all.
\nIt’s a melting pot of all kinds of people throughout
\nOxford.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\ncommon goal,” he continued. “I’ve gotten to know people
\nthat I’d never have gotten to know otherwise. Most of us
\nfeel that way.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nAnd UM students often come out in solid numbers, even on
\nhome football game days.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nmechanical engineering major from McComb. Over several
\nvolunteer Saturdays, he’s painted walls, put flooring down
\nand moved a dirt pile. But it’s worthwhile work for a
\nworthy cause, he said.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\noversees fraternity involvement for the newly reinstated UM
\nHabitat chapter. “Oxford is known for its grand houses, but
\nthere are a lot of people living below the poverty level
\nright here in Oxford. People need homes. And working on
\nMrs. Walker’s home has just been a great experience.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nevery day at Bishop Hall – the faculty, staff and students
\nin the Department of History.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nWalker said. “Just to have them give of their time, on
\nweekends, to do something on a volunteer basis without
\ngetting paid … it’s more than a joy.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nOxford-Lafayette chapters of Habitat for Humanity, visit
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.olemiss.edu\/orgs\/habitat<\/a> or email the
\nchapter at
\nhabitat@olemiss.edu<\/a>.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"