Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Ground Broken For Habitat Home
PRAIRIE GROVE — A single mother with three children is ready to remove her children from an unsafe environment in Fayetteville and relocate to a new home in Prairie Grove.
Rebecca Ponder has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity of Washington County for almost three years to be eligible for her own home. Last Tuesday, March 18, Ponder and her children grabbed shovels and turned dirt on what eventually will be their new home in Battlefield Estates subdivision.
The house will be the first Habitat for Humanity home outside the Fayetteville and Springdale metro area.
“We’ve seen a lot of stuff,” Ponder said about living in an apartment building on the south side of Fayetteville for the past three years.
They’ve seen a “crazy girl with a knife,” drug deals, the SWAT team, fighting and other violence. One time someone died in an apartment and the body wasn’t discovered until four days later.
Ponder’s 17-year-old son, Antonio Juarez, said the kids stay inside most the time. Or if they venture outside, it is never alone. Ponder’s other children are Elena Juarez, 13, and Austen Juarez, 11.
Antonio is looking forward to the new home.
“Honestly, it will be a better environment for Elena and Austen and I won’t have to worry so much,” Antonio said. “It will be nice for my mom because she deserves it for all her hard work.”
Elena said she is happy about it because the family will be in a safe neighborhood. Austen is looking forward to possibly a dog and a trampoline.
Jason Kindall, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Washington County, said the organization is excited to be in Prairie Grove and expanding into the county.
“I guarantee it will be one of the nicest houses in the neighborhood,” Kindall said as he addressed a large crowd gathered last week for the groundbreaking ceremony.
The house in Prairie Grove will be the 51st home built by the Washington County organization. The 1300-squarefoot craftsman style home will have three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a garage. It will be located on a corner lot in Battlefield Estates, at 1381 Arkansas Lane.
Work will start almost immediately as the lot will be cleared, footings dug and the foundation poured. On April 5, Habitat for Humanity will have what is called “Walls Up” day, when the walls are raised for the new home. Other work days will be ongoing after that.
Kindall said enough money has been raised to start the house but donations are still needed.
“We’ll get there,” Kindall said. “It’s an exercise in faith.”
Ponder has been a single mother for five years and lost her home because of bank foreclosure following a divorce from her former husband. Her children lost their childhood home and have had to move several times during the past five years because of finances. They lived in Prairie Grove before moving to Fayetteville.
She is looking forward to a new home because it will provide stability for the family.
“Just on one income, it’s hard to raise three big kids,” Ponder said. “We’re doing pretty well but we are in government housing. I’m glad I’ll get my stability back. It’s rough on them. It’s been very difficult because there’s been a lot of changes in the last several years.”
She has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity the past three years by working on other Habitat homes, helping at fundraisers and other events.
The program requires Habitat recipients to put in at least 300 hours of sweat equity before they are eligible for their own home. The program requires the recipient to have a job and Ponder works for the Optical Center at the Walmart Supercenter on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
“Being in this program and seeing people’s lives changed, it’s helped me become a better mom, a better friend and have a better work ethic,” Ponder said. “It makes you feel you need to help out in your community. It makes me feel happy to help them.”
She added, “I’m very grateful for Habitat for Humanity for giving me this opportunity to not only better my life but my children’s lives.”
Her youngest son put it this way, “”I hope we live here for the rest of our lives and we don’t move.”
A savings account for donations to the project has been set up at Arvest Bank. Donations can be made to the Habitat for Humanity account or account # 50239805.