Jimmy Carter “set the course for affordable housing,” says Habitat Manitoba vice president

The world remembers Jimmy Carter. Winnipeg also remembers.

The former US president, known worldwide not only for his politics and faith but also for his humanitarian efforts, died on Sunday in Georgia. Carter was 100 years old.

His humanitarian work was significant in parts of Canada, including Winnipeg. During his last visit to the city in 2017, Carter joined volunteers to build one of 20 Habitat of Humanity Manitoba homes.

“In the nearly 40 years that he has been involved and committed to Habitat projects around the world, he has set the course for affordable housing and that care, I believe, has enabled him to make it clear to people that he is not “He was just a speaker, but a person of action,” said Steve Krahn, vice president of regional development for the local Habitat chapter.

He still remembers the former president’s visit in 2017. What impressed Krahn most was the former president’s “human element.”

“It didn’t matter what your background was, what your race was, what your gender was, what your economic background was. He connected with people. He added a deep care and love for the people and made eye contact with the people, the stories and the words.” “He would use it,” he said Sunday.

“You could tell there was empathy and understanding.”

VIEW | Carter at the launch of the Habitat For Humanity project in Winnipeg in 1993:

Carter joined a Habitat construction site in Manitoba in 1993 before returning 14 years later to swing hammers again with volunteers and future homeowners.

Tevarh Zeru lives in the Habitat home that Carter worked on in 2017.

Zeru is originally from Eritrea and immigrated from Sudan more than a decade ago. She is grateful for the opportunity to have met Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, who died in November 2023.

“He came and it was very nice and then full of joy. He gave us a Bible. They shook our hands,” Zeru said Monday. “But still, it’s so sad to lose him… and then hear this news.”

Carter collapsed from dehydration while working at the Deer Lodge site and spent a night in St. Boniface Hospital before being released and returning to the site the next morning.

Carter’s desire to return the next day was a testament to his character, Krahn says.

“His commitment, his commitment to people and to affordable housing was palpable and a real testament to his character,” he said.

The former president later returned to take photos with volunteers and later spoke during the building’s closing ceremony at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Krahn recalled.

The impact of having a major figure like Carter on the ground supporting Habitat projects in Winnipeg has been tremendous as the organization continues to provide housing for more low-income families.

“First Lady Rosalynn Carter said Habitat Manitoba delivered the very best and most organized Carter Works project,” Krahn said.

“That was a real highlight for us … and something that really just strengthened us and gave us a bigger stage to talk to other Manitobans about the need for affordable housing.”

Habitat Manitoba handed out keys to 22 families across Manitoba in 2024, and the nonprofit says it is on track to give keys to at least 26 families next year.