Opiew, Ochain, Okey, Cham, Awillie and Mary lost their father Chol on Nov. 24, 2021 when he was murdered in Ethiopia while visiting his father. Their home, their hearts, and their lives needed the help of our annual Pay It Forward project.

The nomination letter came to us from longtime neighbors Tom and Alicianne Fritz. The main floor tub/shower was unusable due to an active leak over the furnace and the low ceiling in the upstairs bathroom made things difficult for the five tall men, including the siblings’ uncle, in this home. Chol had wanted to work on home repairs when he returned from Ethiopia. Sadly, Chol would not make it home and it seemed that our community of Austin, Minnesota, was ready to step up and help get these repairs and many others taken care of.

Chol was an asset to the Austin community and his African community as well. He had fled South Sudan in 2000 where he initially was hosted by the Lutheran Brotherhood in Florida for just over a year. Chol then decided to move to Minnesota and had been a resident of Austin ever since. He was a crucial part of the African Asian Refugee Services Agency in Austin and an interpreter at Austin High School. He worked several jobs and had continued his education earning a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. He was always trying to make the world a better place and his smile was one you could not miss — ear to ear, it would light up a room.

We wanted to alleviate the worries and remedy the issues in the home so that his children would be able to work on their healing. We wanted to show them how much the community of Austin cared for and loved them. By the end of five days of work this past spring, we were able to accomplish just that and more.

Among the work that was done …

The kitchen had a lot of wasted space and lack of storage for this family home of seven. We gutted the kitchen and doubled that space, plus put in all-new appliances from Sorenson’s Appliance, including dishwasher, stove, microwave and refrigerator. This family loves to cook, so we purchased new dinnerware, crockpot, Ninja Foodi Smart XL 6-in-1 Indoor Grill, pots and pans, rice cooker, towels, dish cloths, pot holders, and other kitchen accessories. New granite countertops were from CCI Granite, and faucets were donated by Delta Faucet Company.

The upstairs bathroom was gutted and a new soaker tub was installed. A custom vanity was made by Sean Selmecki of Midwest Cabinetry. The granite top was supplied by CCI Granite. New faucets on the vanity and tub/shower were provided by Delta Faucet Company.

The main floor bathroom was gutted and a shower-only unit was installed. We carefully placing the riser of the shower head at 7 feet to accommodate this very tall family. New flooring, vanity, granite top by CCI Granite, toilet, towels and all the accessories that need to come with it.

Bedrooms throughout the home got a lot of attention — new mattresses, sheets, comforters, pillows, window treatments, fresh paint, and other personal touches.

We used over 24 gallons of paint in the home from the basement to the second floor, all of which was donated by Sherwin Williams of Austin, their first year on our project.

New gutters on the house by McKay Brothers Seamless Gutters.The hardwood floors in the dining room, living room, hallway and two main floor bedrooms were re-finished by Mr. Sandless.

Diamond Construction’s Matt Helgeson joined us for his first time. He was responsible for the upstairs bathroom, tiling the shower and so much more. Eric Thompson took on multiple tasks from painting, making window trims and multiple odds and ends throughout the house. Aren Crews was primarily the person behind the beautiful cabinetry install in the kitchen. His attention to detail and all those final touches were a huge asset to the project. For the fourth year, we were joined by fellow plumber Caleb of Felton Plumbing for two days to assist with plumbing work and other things around the house.

Fox Electric did all of the new light installations and the electrical upgrades that were needed.

Advantage Heating & Cooling had owners Lucas and Jess on site to install the new furnace and prep for the future new install of an air conditioner.

Sellers Lock & Key installed new door handles, keyless front lock and new deadbolts on the entry doors. It made for easy access for us during the week and gives the family newly added security.

Endres Window Cleaning did all the windows and glass work inside the house and out. You literally could not even tell there was glass on the windows.

We hauled away more than 12 tons of demolition and clean-out debris. Containers and disposal were donated by Thompson Sanitation.

Weis Landscaping & Design did exterior landscaping work around the home.

The family arrived home for the reveal on a Friday night in style, pulling up in a white stretch limo courtesy of Dawson Limo of Glenville.

It was our biggest project to date. Over $106,000 of work was done on the home.