Nadia Mirali and Mohammad Iqbal arrived in the United States from Afghanistan in 2021. They came to Erie hoping to make it home. Over the last year, through a process with the Greater Erie Habitat for Humanity, they have worked toward that goal.
“This is a wonderful day,” said Iqbal. “ We are so excited. We are over the moon right now.”
Monday, the Iqbal family and the Greater Erie Habitat for Humanity broke ground on the 81st home in the organization’s history.
“To see the number of families that we have put into homes, we don’t give them homes; this isn’t a freebie,” said Dr. Elisa Konieczko, Board Vice President, Greater Erie Habitat for Humanity. “These families have a mortgage, and they pay insurance, and they pay taxes. They are building communities.”
Mirali and Iqbal have gone through a process over the last year to reach this point. They had to first apply to the program and meet certain qualifications. They were then interviewed before they were selected for the program. They underwent a final approval by the board.
Each family selected for the program must complete 300 hours of “sweat equity”, working on other Habitat homes. They are also paired with a family partner who walked them through the process, from the financial aspects of owning a house.
“We are looking for families that are hungry for home ownership,” Dr. Roché Vermaak, Executive Director, Greater Erie Habitat for Humanity. “We are not a handout, we are a hand up. We help families help themselves.”
Iqbal said the process has helped prepare his family for the future.
“It not only [has] you put the hours in, but also it teaches you a lot of the things you as a homeowner are going to need in the future,” said Iqbal. “I didn’t know how to do floors, now I know. I didn’t know how to paint, now I can paint.”
Eriez Magnetics sponsored this home, the third time the organization has partnered with Habitat for Humanity in its history. They sponsored homes in 2010 and 2016 as well. For leaders at Eriez, they see this as a chance to build the community.
“Eriez has been involved for quite some time. It’s important for us to establish good quality homes for young families in the Erie community,” said Mike Monkosa, vice president of global technology. “It helps build the community, it helps build the families, and schools, and does all the things we need to do to get people in the workforce and engaged in the community. It’s good for us and good for the community, and we enjoy doing it.”
Iqbal and Mirali said they have talked about their future home nightly with their five children.
“The kids are all about my room color is going to be pink. My room color is going to be blue. This is all the discussion we have for the new house,” said Iqbal.
The foundation has been set, and the framing for the houses is expected to be completed over the next two weeks. The family is expected to move into their home in May of 2026.