The Edes Ave. (East Oakland) Partner Families
The Buitrago Family
Jose and Gladys came to the Bay Area from El Salvador over twenty years ago. After living in San Francisco, they made the move to Oakland in 1990 because they felt that it was a better place to raise a family. In early 1991, Gladys gave birth to their two twin sons, Jose and Joshua, who are now 15 years old.
Now, Gladys works as a driver for Budget Rental Cars. Jose, a former Armed Forces member, owns a small whole selling business and attends school for Automotive Technology at Wyotech in Fremont. Previous to that he received an Associate’s degree in Computer Technology from Heald College in Hayward. Joshua wants to one day either become a United States Naval Officer or a doctor, and Jose Jr. wants to be a professional musician.
Music is a very important ingredient in the Buitrago’s life. Jose and Jose Jr. both play the trumpet, and Jose Sr. also plays the saxophone, trombone, piano, and drums. He also used to play regularly in a band in San Francisco.
The Buitragos are looking forward to living in their new community, where they can work toward a happy healthy community. “Right now,” Jose said, “it’s very hard to be involved in the community where we live because no body is interested in improving the neighborhood or wants to have anything to do with the community. We dream of a better future in which we all help each other and live in harmony.”
The Buitragos thank Habitat for Humanity East Bay for the opportunity to own their own home. “It is a great and helpful organization that helps families to become part of good communities,” Jose said.
The Camacho-Medina Family
Cesar Camacho and Lidia Medina met and married in Mexico, where they both grew up. Soon after their marriage, Cesar moved to Oakland, joining four brothers already living in the city. Six months later, Lidia followed. Their daughter Alexa, now five, was born one year later.
Now thoroughly settled in Oakland, Cesar works as a carpenter, and Lidia is mostly a stay-at-home mom, though also picks up small jobs when she can. Cesar is a big soccer fan, and Lidia enjoys reading and movies. Two of Alexa’s loves are visiting the park and spending time with her cousins; her mom reports that she is also becoming quite the internet aficionado. Alexa attends all the Habitat meetings and seminars with her parents, where she spends her time drawing bright and beautiful pictures which now decorate the office walls. When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, she answered without hesitation, “A children’s doctor!”
Many of Lidia and Cesar’s future hopes are focused around their daughter. They want to see her become more independent as she grows older; they also hope that she studies hard and continues to learn languages (with Spanish and English already under her belt).
Alexa is excited to have her own room, with space to play and to study, and of course room for her toys. Right now she shares a crowded studio with her parents, with the bedroom doubling as living and dining room for all three. Lidia is looking forward to having ample cooking space and space to invite over friends and family. She looks forward to a well-kept community, with every neighbor taking care of their space. “We have to set a good example for the kids,” she said; “they learn from watching the adults.”
Lidia has been doing most of her sweat equity hours at the ReStore, and Cesar has been driving to the Livermore site each Saturday to work on the houses there, with Lidia joining him when she can. For Lidia, working with Habitat has been a unique experience: “For me,” she explained, “this was all new.” Cesar helped his father with construction in Mexico, and as a carpenter is used to working with his hands; he’s been able to put those skills to work out on site. Both have enjoyed getting to know the other Habitat families while completing their sweat equity hours, and are looking forward to moving into their new home on Edes Avenue this summer.
The Carter Family
Linda Carter, a Call Center Rep for Safe American Credit Union, was born in Berkeley and has lived in the Bay Area her entire life. She and her son, Richard, 13, are excited about moving into their new Habitat home on Edes Ave. in Oakland.
Much of Linda’s free time is spent at her church, Williams Chapel Baptist Church in Oakland. Aside from being an usher for 17 years, she is also the secretary of the Sunday school program and usually pitches in for annual fundraising events.
Richard is also currently an usher at the church. He also spends a lot of time playing basketball and football, and he is a member of his school choir. He hopes to play professional basketball one day, and even though he doesn’t begin high school until this coming fall, he has his sites set on attending UCLA.
“My dream is to see my son graduate college and go on to get his Masters,” Linda said. “I’ve been praying for that all my life.”
Linda is really enjoyed the sweat equity component of the Habitat program. She especially enjoys the Homeowner Association training workshops because she gets to interact with her future neighbors.
“It seems like everyone is really nice,” she said. “I pray we can all get along, and it seems like we’re going to. It’s good to get to know the families before the houses are built.”
Linda is very thankful to Habitat for giving her the opportunity to own her own home and has enjoyed being a part of building the homes of other families.
“Being involved with Habitat is one of the most amazing things that could have happened to me,” she said. “The people are so nice! … I’ve learned quite a bit, especially how to hammer nails. It’s a lot of work, and the [construction staff] is very serious about building the houses. They’re really trying to build a nice house.
“I’m so thankful! Thank God I’ve had this opportunity to be part of Habitat.”
The Malone Family
Victoria Malone, Bakery Manager for Pak N Save Foods, was born in Oakland and has lived in the Bay Area her entire life. She and her daughter, Charmaine, 10, and her son John, 14, currently live in East Oakland, only a mile from where her new home is to be constructed.
After hitting some hard times early in her life, Victoria decided to pull herself up and take charge of her life. She worked hard on fixing her finances and decided to go back to school, which she hadn’t been to in over a decade. She’s currently simultaneously getting her high school certificate from Hayward Adult School (which she will receive in June) and working on her general education classes for an Administration of Justice degree at Laney College, with the goal of becoming an Evidence Technician.
She hopes that her children will follow in her footsteps and eventually go to college themselves. Her son has been involved with football for the last 4 years, and her daughter, who has already expressed interest in attending the Performing Art Academy in Oakland, is a dancer.
Victoria currently gives regularly to the Elmhurst Food Pantry and has used her computer graphic skills to help her children’s schools publish their yearbooks. Victoria looks forward to working with the members of her new community in Sobrante Park and patrons of the local church to affect positive change in the surrounding community and Oakland as a whole.
Victoria is especially excited about owning her own home through Habitat for Humanity East Bay.
“I know that I will be a very good Habitat homeowner because I am responsible, dedicated, and a very hard worker,” she said. “My kids will finally have something to call their own, and I will finally feel that the eleven and a half years that I have put into my job have paid off.”
The Sanford Family
Toya Sanford was born in Oakland and has lived there her entire life. She graduated from a two year program at Oakland Technical School and has worked for the U.S. Postal Service for the last 16 years.
Toya learned about Habitat for Humanity East Bay during the selection for the Fruitvale homes, completed in 2004. She applied but didn’t make it then. She kept trying, and now she is excited to be a future Habitat homeowner at the Edes Ave. project.
In her spare time, Toya enjoys bowling and going to the movies. A lot of her time is taken up working with her children, Arianna, 13 and Steven, 10, and their many extracurricular activities. Arianna plays softball for Oakland girls league, cheerleads for the East Bay Warriors, participate in her local Girl Scout Troop, and swims on Oakland Park and Recreation’s team, where she is also a junior lifeguard. Steven plays baseball on Cal Ripkin’s Little League, plays football for the East Bay Warriors, and also swims on the Oakland Park and Recreation team.
Toya is now involved with learning how to run a Homeowner Association at her new home in East Oakland. She is working with the other families to create a “nice and descent” neighborhood.
“It looks like a group where we’re all on the same page as far as what we expect and how we want to live,” Toya said about her future neighbors. “Before [I was selected for the Habitat project] I didn’t know anyone what had been selected, so I didn’t know what it would be like. Now, though, it’s real, and it’s hard to believe. I tell everyone I know about Habitat.”
The Zavala-Otero Family
Daniel and Marina are from El Salvador, but have lived much of their lives elsewhere. When the civil war in El Salvador began in 1980, they fled to Honduras with their families, remaining there as refugees for nearly a decade. After a brief return to his home country, Daniel moved to Oakland in 1990 with the support of a brother and cousin who had arrived in the country previously; Marina arrived with similar help in 1994. Although they met as teenagers in Honduras, it was only after moving independently to Oakland that their relationship began.
The family found out about Habitat East Bay’s homeownership program through Marina’s sister and Daniel’s brother, who recently purchased a home together at the Palm Court site in West Oakland. Daniel’s cousin, Juan Zavala, is also a Habitat homeowner, as well as a Habitat employee. After donating time at the West Oakland site to help family members complete their sweat equity hours, they decided to apply for the program themselves, and will move into one of the Builder’s Blitz homes this summer.
To complete their own sweat equity requirement, Marina, Daniel and Bladimir have been spending every Saturday working at the Habitat construction site. Marina has enjoyed the varied work and reports that despite language limitations, Habitat staff find a way to communicate the tasks which need to be completed. Daniel is also enjoying the on-site work and may continue to go out even after the family’s hours are completed. “You learn so much there,” he explained; “there are so many parts to building a house, and you learn each of them.”
Marina and Daniel have not had much free time as of late, with their Saturdays spent on-site, and church on Sundays. However, when she has time, Marina likes taking her daughters out to the beach, the zoo, or the park to play. Daniel stays active fishing, playing soccer, running and biking. They also remain involved with the Obrero Católico, an organization that housed them and helped them to find work when they first arrived in the area.
Currently, Marina, Daniel, and their two daughters, Jenifer and Sandra, all share one bedroom in a three-bedroom house, which they live in with other extended family members, including their nephew Bladimir, who will move into the Habitat home with them. They are looking forward to a larger living space, where their daughters will have space to study and to play, and they will be able to invite family and friends over from time to time. Marina and Daniel are also getting to know their future Habitat neighbors through the sweat equity process, and hope to “continue sharing our lives with them, form strong friendships, and support them however we can.”
