Winter 2010 | Volume 108 | Number 654
The Greater Good
How the rise of one neighborhood can help lift up a whole ciry.
Harambee, an inner-city neighborhood in Milwaukee, takes its name from a Swahili word for "all pull together." That's just what Thrivent Builds members and Milwaukee's Habitat for Humanity affiliate have done in this neighborhood of 13,000.
With more than $2 million from Thrivent Builds, Habitat has built 30 new homes in Harambee over the last three years. Besides changing the lives of the families who now own them, the houses testify to the difference volunteers make as a community rebuilds. "Milwaukee is an older city, so we have a lot of crumbling housing stock," says Sara Kierzek, former executive director of Milwaukee Habitat and Thrivent Financial member. "Now, it's a community working toward recovery."
Thrivent Builds' involvement gave Milwaukee Habitat a fresh chance to engage local Lutheran congregations in
Harambee's rebirth – and, in the process, build new bridges between different parts of the city. "This has revitalized our connection with congregations all across the metro area," Kierzek says. "It's very important that our work help connect
the communities we're serving and the communities our
volunteers are coming from. When people work together to build a house, they form a deep bond. It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from—people all look
the same when they're covered in plaster dust and paint."
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