I am a single mother of 6 and a grandmother of 2. It’s not easy being a single mother, especially with two children having a lifelong disability. Throughout all my years of being a single parent, I had my share of struggles including being an alcoholic, which I am proud to say that I am in my tenth year of sobriety.

One day a friend had texted me a picture and said that I should apply for Habitat for Humanity NT. I thought about it and asked my boss for a second opinion, and he was the one who encouraged me to apply, so I did. After submitting the required documents, I doubted my chances of becoming the successful partner family and lost hope, convincing myself, that it was ok not to be chosen and I could reapply next time. Then out of the blue I got a call stating that I made it past the first phase! I was shocked and thought okay, I got this, I just need to keep faith and pray that I will make it to the next phase and leave it all in God’s hands. My family moved to the home visit stage, and I again said to myself, it’s OK, everything happens for a reason, and we just must have faith. Then one day, I was about to leave to visit my mom when I got the call. I literally pulled over and burst out crying because I knew God had finally answered our prayers. I have always told my babies that one day mom will buy you a home to call our own so that I don’t have to worry about you. One day when mom wins the lottery, I will buy you a home and all our worries will be no more. This here is so much bigger than winning any lottery because this tells me that I have worked hard to get this far in life especially being a single parent. The day we got our key to move in, my children were so happy and excited to see our new home. They were like, “Wow, its so big!” and were already picking out their rooms. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t do it, because you can! Look at me, I did it with the help of my babies by my side and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

We would love to thank Habitat for Humanity and their contractors for making this possible for our family and past/current partnering families for believing in us and giving us another chance through your program.

Mussi Cho ©