Zelda Gallegos considers herself blessed to have reached two milestones in her life thus far: owning her own home and being mortgage-free.

That's what the owner of the first Habitat for Humanity home built in Rapid City accomplished in just 18 years. She celebrated the event with a mortgage-burning ceremony on Dec. 5.

In 1989, Gallegos saw an advertisement on television inviting Rapid Citians to apply to have a home built through the Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity program.

"I wrote down the number and went down to the old gas company on Kansas City Street and applied. I never thought I'd get it, but I had high hopes anyway," she said.

About a month later, Gallegos received the news that her family had been selected as the first to get a home.

"I was so excited," she said. "Imagine growing up on the reservation where there are no jobs; when I moved to Rapid City in the 1950s, finding a job and owning my own home were my dreams."

Gallegos, her husband and 6-year-old son moved into the home at 600 Lemmon Ave. in December 1990.

Gallegos said she has no idea why Habitat for Humanity selected her family as the ones to receive the first home.

"I was told once that it was because the home we had been living in was on St. Onge Street close to the cement plant, and the dust over there was really bad for my husband's health (he suffered from lung cancer and died in October 1998). It wasn't a good house, but the rent was cheap, and we could never qualify through a bank to buy our own home, so that's where we lived," she said.

Even after her husband's death, Gallegos stayed true to her commitment, and worked hard to make her house payments on time each month.

Gallegos has many fond memories of the build. "We did hours of sweat equity with volunteers, pounding in nails and putting up boards. My son hauled rocks, and he was good at it! One day, no men showed up and five of us women set the sides of the house up. One of them told me later she would drive by every day just to make sure it was still standing," she said.

After her home was finished, Gallegos said she continued to promote Habitat for Humanity by speaking at local churches, and when former President Jimmy Carter was working with a Habitat crew in Eagle Butte, he sent her a letter stating that he wanted to meet her.

"I was so thrilled, but I couldn't go; my husband was too sick," she said. "But I have always tried to promote it every way I can. I can't say enough good things about Habitat for Humanity."

Gallegos' son is now married and lives in Minneapolis, and her brother and sister-in-law have moved in with her and help her care for the home. Over the years, she has done routine home maintenance, including painting, replacing carpet and flooring and landscaping.

"I can't imagine not having my home, and I've always taken care of it. I would never let it crumble," she said.

Now that she has her mortgage paid off, Gallegos has a new dream.

"Hopefully I'll be able to build an addition on the north side of the home to extend the kitchen," she said. "I've always wanted a big kitchen."

Gallegos said her lifelong dream of home ownership has been passed on to her son.

"He has it in his head that he is going to build his own home someday, and he will do it, I believe. When children are raised in homes with ideals and dreams, they have dignity and pride, and want to work for better things," she said.

Scott Engmann, Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity executive director, said he is proud of the work the organization does.

"In the current financial market and mortgage turmoil, where thousands are losing their homes, Habitat for Humanity is showing that there are positive solutions available, if people are willing to get involved," he said. "It's an incredible feeling of empowerment for these homeowners, who were all rejected for traditional home financing opportunities before they got involved with Habitat."

Engmann said that because of people like Gallegos, who are making their payments every month and working toward paying off their homes, more money is going into the program, making it possible to build more Habitat homes.

"It's really a 'pay-it-forward' program," he said.

Engmann looks forward to Dec. 18, when Gallegos is scheduled to speak at a Habitat for Humanity new family orientation to share her experience and offer encouragement. "Seeing her excitement upon completion of the program and its impact upon her life gives a real feeling of satisfaction," he said. "It's an early Christmas gift for Zelda and for Habitat."

Facts about Habitat for Humanity

y Habitat for Humanity International is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry that seeks to eliminate poverty housing.

y Habitat has built more than 300,000 houses around the world, providing more than 1.5 million people in more than 3,000 communities with safe and affordable shelter.

y Habitat for Humanity was founded in 1976 by Millard Fuller along with his wife, Linda.

y Through volunteer labor and donations of money and materials, Habitat builds simple, decent houses with the help of the homeowner (partner) families. Habitat houses are sold to partner families at no profit and financed with affordable loans. The homeowners' monthly mortgage payments are used to build more Habitat houses. In addition to a down payment and the monthly mortgage payments, homeowners invest hundreds of hours of their own labor-sweat equity-into building their Habitat house and the houses of others. Habitat houses are affordable for low-income families because there is no profit included in the sale price.

y Families in need of decent shelter apply to local Habitat affiliates. Families are selected based on their level of need, their willingness to become partners in the program and their ability to repay the loan.

y In Rapid City, the next information meeting for potential Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity family partners is at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 17, at the Rapid City Public Library, 610 Quincy St. For more information on Habitat, call 348-9196 or go to www.blackhillshabitat.org.

Source: www.habitat.org