In May 2009, Karen Raber returned to Henderson, Kentucky, where she was born and raised. “I had no idea where life was going to take me,” she said, but she was sure about one thing: she would never be able to afford a house. That all changed when she began working for Habitat for Humanity, where she was encouraged by the staff to apply for the Habitat Homeownership Program. “My favorite part,” she said asked about her new house, which was completed in October, “is every single square foot. I just love it. I love every part of it.”

[VIDEO]