"The Eagle Home project is a great way for our Eagle Scout alumni to reconnect with  Scouting and the values of the Scout Oath and Law," says J.T. Dabbs, Scout Executive of the Capitol Area Council, Boy Scouts of America. "The Scouting program has been proven to help young people succeed and families grow closer, much in the same way having a home can reassure and empower families. It is our honor to help provide this new home and help Mr. and Mrs. Guedes and their daughter to realize their full potential."

Henry Guedes and his wife Maylin, the future homeowners, moved to the United States from Cuba five years ago with the hope of finding better opportunities. While they found jobs here in Austin, they still could not afford to purchase their own home.

Henry, Maylin, and their seven-year-old daughter Yahiris currently live in a one-bedroom apartment in a complex where crime is frequent and apartment maintenance is scarce. They've been victims of robbery and have had problems with their plumbing the entire time they've lived there.

Henry says that he looks forward to giving his daughter her own room, and he is confident he will be able to save money for her to go to college, thanks to the affordable monthly mortgage he'll pay through the Austin Habitat homeownership program. He is reserving the third bedroom in his new home for his mother, who is working to secure a VISA to join him in Austin.

Three days before construction began, the Eagle Home committee and some of the build captains from Scout units in the Capital Area Council shared dinner with the Guedes family and had a ceremonial groundbreaking near the slab of the soon-to-be home. 

The following Saturday, Eagle Scout volunteers worked alongside the Guedes family to raise the walls of their new home. They will continue to work together through the eight week duration of the build, with each week being led by a different local Scout troop.