Paula receiving a gift from the volunteers during the house dedication ceremony.

Porch construction in January.

Front porch looking towards the road. The “people” entrance to the house.

Finished kitchen and dining room.

A House for Paula

Community Partners : International Relief and Development
Building Partners: Mennonite Disaster Services, International Relief and Development

Paula lives on a beautiful rural site with several rescue animals. She was grown children nearby, and their children are often visiting at Paula’s house.
Paula has lived in a MEMA cottage on site sense soon after the hurricane Katrina, which left her previous home on site inhabitable. Her incredible patience never wore out throughout the process, even when leaving feet away from a construction site.
The house design includes two bedrooms, a large front porch with screened in porch turned away from the front for better views of the garden and animals rather than the road.  The house was designed to fit within several existing trees at a highpoint on Paula’s property.  A back entrance into a tiled room with a washing sinking will help Paula keep and clean the animal she shelters without losing a welcoming front “peoples” entrance.