USA

A group of former foster kids put their summer vacations on hold, trading in sunglasses and swimwear for hardhats and hammers to help Habitat for Humanity of Martin County build a home for a family in East Stuart.

The group of 11 made the two and a half hour trek from Miami Monday to the Treasure Coast, where they’ve been working every day since. Part of the Miami-based non-profit, Educate Tomorrow, the kids are teaming up with Habitat for Humanity to assist in the construction of an Earth-friendly green home.

“It’s quite amazing to see them all working together,” said Margot Graff, executive director of Habitat for Humanity’s Martin County office. “After all they’ve been through, they still have the joy in their hearts to help others.”

“They have a lot of compassion and love for others.”

When the kids, aged 18 to 23, arrived at the site off Tarpon Avenue in Stuart earlier this week, all that awaited them was cinderblocks. The group quickly got to work, braving the sun, to build the roof by hand, without the help of any equipment or cranes. By Thursday morning, the roof was nearly completed.

“You’re just in awe when you hear their stories and background and they still have a smile on their face,” said Habitat for Humanity volunteer director Mary Jones. “After all of the struggles in their lives, they keep wanting to help others.”

Educate Tomorrow, an organization dedicated to making education and a better way of life an attainable goal for the disadvantaged and kids leaving the foster care system, has been teaming up with Habitat for Humanity of Martin County for three years now.

Lovely Examar, 19, one of the kids on the weeklong trip, was glad to lend a helping hand to someone in need. Being bounced around from home to home her whole life, and separated from her seven siblings since the age of three, Examar knows how it is to need help.

“I’ve been in so many foster homes, I can’t even say how many,” she said. “I like helping people and one day, I want to work with children with mental disabilities.”

Upon its completion, scheduled for sometime in November, the two-bedroom, one-bath, green house will be the new home for a family of two.

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2010/jul/16/former-foster-children-from-miami-help-build-a/