Keeping the Faith

Out on a morning jog during a visit to New York City in 1984, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter stopped at a Habitat for Humanity rehab project on the Lower East Side. He was deeply moved by the struggles of the volunteers and the overwhelming needs of the community.

“It was such a terrible problem, I thought we should help,” President Carter says.

The Carters’ involvement in the project was the spark that launched Habitat for Humanity’s New York City affiliate, which absorbed the struggling Lower East Side affiliate. The rehab project on the Lower East Side was the impetus for the transformation of a neighborhood that even the most hardened New Yorkers avoided because it was rife with drugs and crime. “I didn’t think I’d [do such a project] a second year,” President Carter says.

He also had no idea that the weeklong Habitat blitz build that now bears his name would continue. Today, 17 years later, the Jimmy Carter Work Project is a benchmark event for Habitat.

While the Carters place their focus during the build squarely on their work of building houses, they understand the value of their involvement and have pledged to continue to work with Habitat as long as they are physically able.

“We’re two volunteers out of tens of thousands, but no doubt the publicity has been significant in Habitat’s rapid growth,” President Carter says. “We recognize that it’s very beneficial to have a former U.S. president and first lady involved.”

The Carters’ role in the world stage since leaving the White House in 1980 has been unprecedented. Presented with an almost unlimited menu of options, they chose to address the issues championed during his presidency, including world peace, fair elections in emerging democracies, and basic human rights.

“We have been in more than 115 nations,” President Carter says. “We’ve learned a lot since we left the White House. In some ways, I’m not proud of that. I should have known more. One of the greatest challenges in the world is the growing chasm between the rich and poor.

“Everyone has a hunger to make our only God-given life significant, to reach out to others less fortunate. It’s an integral part of the faith we profess. It’s not easy to do. How do you break down that barrier between ‘us’ and ‘them’? There are 1.2 billion people on the planet who live on less than $1 a day. How do we help them?”

For the Carters, one opportunity came through Habitat for Humanity.

“We’ve been blessed by Millard and Linda Fuller, who better than anyone I know have given us an opportunity to put our religious faith into practice, not in a sacrificial way, but in a self-gratifying way,” Carter says. “It gives all of us a way to transcend a chasm and break through a shell. When we think we’ve made a sacrifice, with God as my witness, it is never a sacrifice. It is a blessing.”


--Pat Curry





Reprinted from Habitat World Magazine, December 2000/January 2001.
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©2000 Habitat for Humanity International