Twice disappointed, a family finds a home with FCH Nigeria

This family’s home is part of a complex containing four Fuller Center Nigeria homes. Each will be dedicated as part of the 2010 Millard Fuller Legacy Build–click to learn more!

In 1994, Bright came down to Abuja from the northern city of Kaduna where he had been selling motorcar parts. As a young, single man ready to put his best out to achieve success, Bright had always desired and fantasized about owing a home of his own; he believed a home is the first thing a man needed to have before marrying a wife and having children.

He initially had to live with his sister and her husband in Nyanya, a suburb of Abuja. He then built a single room on a small piece of land he rented that had no toilet or kitchen. The hope that he would soon purchase his own land and build a house made him look at his present living condition as manageable.

Every year, the land owners kept doubling the monthly rent, Bright felt cheated and frustrated and in 2002 he purchased a land in the same locality with all the money he had saved up. He thought to himself, “Finally, I can start building my home”. Unfortunately for him, the man that sold the land to him also sold the land to another person at the same time. He was advised to erect a structure quickly on the land so as to lay claim on the land but because he had no money he could not, and the other person went ahead and started building on the land. That was how he lost out on the land.

In 2003, with all plans of owning a home seeming far-fetched, Bright decided to use the money he had again saved up to get married to his sweetheart, Priscilla, whom he met a year before. He never planned to keep his wife in a single room with no toilet and kitchen facilities, but rather had dreamt of providing a comfortable home for her.

“I had to get married and move on with my life," Bright said. "I wasn’t getting any younger, though I could not provide a good home for my wife. But I pleaded with her to manage what I can afford now and promised her a lovely home of her own later. She agreed.”

Two years later, with his dream of owning his own home still burning within him, Bright decided to buy a piece of land from the government and not from private individuals this time around. He and his wife Priscilla put together all the money they had saved and purchased a piece of land in Galadima (another suburb in Abuja), but the papers never came through and he was left hanging with nothing once again. This really upset his wife, as she had invested all her business money into this. And what was really upsetting was that they were still staying in the same room, without a kitchen or toilet.

Later that year, Priscilla gave birth to a baby boy, Ebube. This gift and joy was greatly welcomed but due to the new addition their living conditions became even worse. After much petitioning, the landlord finally provided a toilet and bathroom for all his tenants. This was the only such facility available in the vicinity and everyone around came to use it. The couple found themselves sharing the toilet and bathroom with over 30 other people.

In January 2008, Sylvester Onyekachi (Fuller Center Nigeria’s 50th homeowner) who was his friend, visited him and told him, he was going to be a homeowner soon. This news was both sad and happy for him. He was happy for his friend but sad that, despite all the efforts he had put into owning a home of his own he was yet to be in his good friend’s position. He and his wife Priscilla were encouraged by Onyekachi to come and attend the Fuller Center’s seminar, see other people’s houses and start the process of owning their own home. His wife was really not convinced, reminding him how many times they had already been disappointed, but he told her to trust him as he believed this was finally it.

Bright was really impressed with what he saw at the Fuller Center Estate and started the process of owning his own home. Throughout the Fuller sweat equity program his wife remained in doubt and told him she feared all their effort would come to naught. The waiting period was a most trying time for the family, as they were still staying in a house that brought daily frustrations, but Bright always encouraged himself that Fuller would eventually give him his home. “I kept calling the Fuller office regarding our house and was always encouraged by the staff. This kept my hopes high” he said.

“I want to appreciate God for His mercy over me and my family. After sixteen years of desiring a home and struggling by my own means and effort to get a house, with no result. I never knew the plan God had in store for us. With God’s divine intervention, we are now proud homeowners of a home that has a private kitchen and toilet and we don’t have to share this with anybody! I want to thank the staff of the Fuller Center for their words of encouragement and their humility towards me and my wife and family”.

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