Tiny house donated to needy veteran, wife

EATONTON, Ga. - A veteran in need and his wife got a surprise they call an "answered prayer": a new roof over their heads, in the form of a tiny house made by local school children and volunteers.

"I don't have the words to tell you what we feel," said a tearful Eddie Browning, 61, a Navy Veteran.

"I couldn't believe it," said Cindy Browning, 59. "It's a dream," she said.

The tiny house was presented Friday to the family at the Georgia Tiny House Festival in Eatonton, at the Ooh La La Lavender Farm.

FOX 5 first told you how the project started last year, when Elm Street Elementary in Rome, Ga. constructed a tiny house for a veteran in need. The schoolchildren ran into a roadblock, when the school could not find a legal place to put it.

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Once word about the project got out, organizers with the Georgia Tiny House Festival and Ooh La La Lavender Farms helped spearhead the effort to add electricity, plumbing, and a large addition to the tiny house constructed by the children.  

Months later, with help from numerous corporate sponsors, donors and volunteers, the house was finally ready to be given to a veteran. The children from Elm Street Elementary were at the festival to see their creation go to a  family.

Eddie and Cindy Browning said they have been living in a camper in Norwood, which had fallen into severe disrepair. Organizers said the camper had been damaged by fire.

"[This] will be warm. We've been freezing to death," Eddie Browning said.

The couple plans to bring the Tiny House back to their property in Norwood.

Elm Street Elementary officials said the school now plans to build a tiny house every year for a needy family.

Donations for Brownings and future projects can be mailed to Elm Street Elementary, care of Elm Kids Construction.

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