Somali family comes home at last

It’s been a little over a month since the move-in date, and many walls in the Yusuf-Ismail home still stand unadorned.

But for Mariam Ismail, the cozy two-level single-family residence on Kerrydale Road in Dale City is full of everything she needs. Perhaps most importantly, she has a backyard and a basement “PE room” for her four children to roam.

“I feel a big difference, I am relaxed more,” said Ismail, a childcare provider at Minnieland who called the house a “dream come true.”

“I don’t have to take them outside to play. ... It’s really made my life a lot easier,” she said.

Ismail and her husband, Aden Yusuf, are Somali immigrants who had been living in a modest apartment near the McCoart Government Center for the last five years when they heard about Habitat for Humanity’s Family Partnership program last year. They jumped at the chance to move from their apartment, where sons Abdirahman and Omir and daughters Aragson and Leila’s backyard was a parking lot filled with cars.

Thanks to a recent Neighborhood Stabilization grant, Habitat for Humanity Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park were able to purchase several foreclosed homes and rehabilitate them at a reasonable cost, including the Yusuf’s home on Kerrydale Drive, said Habitat officials.

The rehab started in February as volunteers blazed a path through mounds of snow just to get a parking space. As the weather warmed, the volunteers joined the family in making their new home livable, from painting and insulating to installing a new deck and appliances.

On Monday, Habitat employees and volunteers saw the fruits of their labor firsthand during the Yusuf-Ismail home dedication. They feasted on a traditional Somali dinner prepared by Ismail and many of her Somali friends.

The meal consisted, in part, of whole lamb and a vegetarian sambuusa, a fried Somali snack that is typically filled with meat and a hot green pepper.

Both Habitat Board of Directors President Chris Daffan and Habitat Executive Director Traci DeGroat praised the kindness and hospitality shown by the family throughout the process. Friends of the family echoed similar sentiments as they gathered to celebrate the couple’s new home.

Former babysitter Nimo Nur, who helped prepare the sambuusa Monday, said she and Ismail “just clicked” when they met.

“They are really worth it,” Nur said about Habitat’s selection of Ismail and Yusuf. “I don’t think I have ever met people this good, even in Somalia.”

Nabil Samman and his wife, Safiya, agreed. Samman, an imam for the Muslim Association of Virginia, called Yusuf a dedicated person who is very helpful. Safiya said that Ismail often prepares sambuusa for all those attending Ramadan services.

“They are very hard to make, but she makes them every Saturday,” Safiya said.

During the dedication, Nabil told the story of a man who prayed to Allah to have riches for one year. According to the Muslim prophet Mohammed, the man became wealthy and built a home with four doors facing north, south, east and west. As the story goes, his wealth grew and grew and all the while, he told his servants never to turn away those less fortunate.

When someone asked Mohammed why had the man received such riches when he only asked to be wealthy for one year, Mohammed told him that Allah opened one door for the man and the man opened four more to charity.

Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-530-3904.