Verde Communities residents are invited to attend the dedication ceremony for a Verdes Habitat for Humanity project home on Saturday, Aug. 24, at 10 a.m.

The ceremony will take place at the home, 3606 S. Roosevelt St., in Tempe.

Djbril Cissouma and his daughter, Farimata will move into the home. It was 2012 when Djbril first learned about Habitat and its mission. Still in school and living in another city, Djbril decided then to become a Habitat volunteer.

In 2020, Djbril moved to Phoenix, began working for Bank of America and met someone who told him about Habitat’s Home Ownership Program. Currently, Djbril lives in a two-bedroom apartment with his daughter where the cost of rent is high, and he worries about neighborhood safety.

“Owning a Habitat home will totally change my life,” he said. “I will be able to save more money where I will be able to go back to school, spend more time with my daughter, Farimata, and be more financially stable.

“And coming from Mali, being able to practice our family traditions of connection and celebration.”

Djbril’s daughter has not started school yet but wishes that she becomes a doctor, a wish he once had for himself. Now, it’s all about the new life Djbril and his daughter will share once they move into their new Habitat home.

“I know that I wouldn’t receive this help from anyone else. Thank you, Habitat, from the bottom of my heart,” Djbril said.

The Verdes Habitat for Humanity volunteers plan to begin work on the 29th home they have built for Habitat this coming fall.

The Cissouma home was the 27th home built by the group in 2023. The 28th home, also built in Tempe, was completed earlier this year but has yet to be dedicated.