LEWISTON – Nimo Jama’s wishes for her husband and four children are simple: health, happiness and safety. But in their Lewiston rental unit, she might as well be wishing for the moon.

The apartment is two stories, making it hard for Jama to move and safeguard her 4-year-old son, who has severe seizures and uses a wheelchair much of the time. The busy street in front of the home means her active 3-year-old son can’t go out and play when he wants, which is a lot. The unit has three bedrooms for the family of six, so Jama and her husband sleep with both the baby and their 3-year-old.

Soon, all that will change.

Jama and her family will receive Androscoggin Habitat for Humanity’s next house.

“It’s really going to change a lot, a lot,” she said. “It’s going to change the way we live.”

Both Jama and her husband, Ibrahim Ghaleb, came to the U.S. from East Africa several years ago. They met in Chicago. At the time, Jama was a single mother with a young daughter.

The new family moved to Lewiston-Auburn in 2002 to be near Jama’s family.

They initially rented a two-bedroom apartment in Auburn. When their family grew larger, they rented a four-bedroom apartment – a delightfully large place with big bedrooms and enough space for the children to play.

But when he was a toddler, Jama and Ghaleb’s oldest son was diagnosed with autism. The best school for him was in Lewiston.

So the family moved again.

It didn’t take long to realize the Lewiston apartment wouldn’t work. It was within walking distance of their son’s school, but everything else about the two-story unit was wrong. Doctors re-diagnosed the son with seizures so severe that they, not autism, were causing his extreme disabilities. Because of those seizures, the apartment’s stairs are a hazard to the boy. He cannot share one of the unit’s few bedrooms because he needs his room to remain constantly dark. The apartment’s rooms are so small that he sometimes bangs his head on furniture or toys during a seizure.

“That’s what we worry about so much. Sometimes I think he’s going to die from these injuries,” Jama said.

The family looked for a larger place, but couldn’t find one that was handicapped accessible.

When Jama learned that Androscoggin Habitat for Humanity was accepting applications for a new home, she dashed off an application letter.

Her family was one of 60 to apply. Based on need, ability to re-pay Habitat for the interest-free mortgage, and willingness to partner with Habitat and help build the house, committee members chose Jama and her family.

They were impressed by Jama and Ghaleb’s work ethic. He is a naturalized citizen who works for a local home improvement store while looking for a job that will allow him to use his new electro-mechanical technology degree, all despite a heart condition. She watches the four children, serves as an interpreter for local hospitals and is taking classes that will lead to a nursing degree.

The committee was also touched by the family’s current living situation.

“There was a pretty clear need,” Habitat volunteer Mike Carey said.

Jama and her family learned they’d been chosen this spring.

Androscoggin Habitat for Humanity held a ground-breaking ceremony Friday. The house – a four-bedroom, handicapped-accessible single story – will be built on Golder Road in Lewiston.

The family will repay Habitat for the no-interest mortgage. They will also spend hundreds of hours working on the house.

The Androscoggin chapter builds, on average, one home a year. Officials believe it’ll take months for volunteers to finish this one.

Jama and her family are already planning for it: a special bed to help her disabled son, a fenced-in yard so her 3-year-old can play, enough space so all the children can have their toys out.

And for Jama: some peace of mind.

“I was so excited,” she said. “It has very special meaning for us. Some people think it’s just a house, but it’s more.”