Youth United Build 2010-2011 Najway Jadalrab Family

 

Najwa Jadalrab, a counselor and designated trainer at Systems Unlimited, will move her family into the Youth United Build this spring. And according to her, this place to call home couldn’t have come at a better time for her and her kids.”It was a relieving time for us, very comforting,” Najwa said when reflecting on being approved for a Habitat home. “The kids are so excited, and it came for me at the right time because I had just lost their dad.”

Najwa moved to the United States from Sudan in September 1998 with her late-husband, Najmaddin, and two kids. The family had plans to move to Colorado so Najmaddin could study to take the bar exam, but a friend on the East coast described Iowa City as the “best place to raise kids.” That December, the family moved there to begin their new life in America.

The future homeowner said her first impression of the area was one that was framed with compassion. She, along with her daughter, took the Coralville Transit to look for jobs, and being unfamiliar with a bus system, didn’t pay attention to what bus she was on. After the bus had completed its entire route, the bus driver approached her and questioned where she was going. Najwa said she teared up, knowing she had gotten lost. The bus driver graciously helped her transfer buses and get back to their home in Coralville. It was evident this experience helped to shape her image of her family’s life to come in Iowa

Aside from Najwa’s current job at Systems Unlimited, she’s worked in food service at the Iowa Memorial Union, served as a child advocate for a local daycare, and held a contract research position in the University of Iowa Microbiology lab. Unable to find stable work related to her undergraduate degree in Zoology and her Master’s degree in microbiology that she received while living in Sudan, she most recently has pursued a Surgical Technologist education at Kirkwood Community College.

Since the death of her husband just a year ago, Najwa said she’s placed her concentration on raising her two kids. Najwa’s tenth-grade daughter is involved in Student Senate, Youth Congress and has been a volunteer at the Iowa City Public Library for the past five years. Her son, a full-time employee at Best Buy, is also a full-time student at Kirkwood. He has plans to transfer to the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business this fall.

Najwa said she’s excited for her kids to gain the personal space and privacy they deserve that will come with this new home. The larger space will also help them to stay together as a family.

“My daughter said, ‘Oh mom, I’m going to invite my friends over now,’ Najwa said smiling. “And my son is excited to use the large backyard to exercise. We’re so grateful for Habitat. [It’s] put back a smile on my kids.”

The Youth United Build is an abandoned home that is being rebuilt by youth ages 5 to 25 years of age in order to help a low-income family into a safe, decent, affordable home they deserve. You can find more information about Iowa Valley Habitat by going to www.IowaValleyHabitat.org.