Jimmy Carter 'moved the needle on affordable housing,' says Habitat Manitoba VP
Former U.S. president who died Sunday worked on Habitat projects twice in Winnipeg
The world is remembering Jimmy Carter. Winnipeg is remembering, too.
The former U.S. president known worldwide not just for his politics and his faith, but also for his humanitarian efforts died Sunday in Georgia. Carter was 100 years old.
His humanitarian work was marked 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 almost 40 years that he was committed and dedicated to Habitat projects around the world, he moved the needle on affordable housing and that care allowed him to make people, I think, recognize that he wasn't just a person of talk, but a person of action." said Steve Krahn, vice-president of regional development for the local Habitat chapter.
He remembers the former president's 2017 visit vividly. The thing that resonated most with Krahn was the "human element" of the former president.
"It didn't matter what your background was, your race, your gender, your economic background. He connected with people. He added a deep care and love for people and he would make eye contact with people and the stories and the words that he would use," he said on Sunday.
"You could tell that there was an empathy and understanding."
WATCH | Carter at the 1993 launch of Habitat For Humanity project in Winnipeg:
Carter joined a Habitat Manitoba construction site in 1993 before returning 14 years later to again swing hammers with volunteers and future home owners.
Tevarh Zeru lives in the Habitat home that Carter worked on in 2017.
Originally from Eritrea, Zeru immigrated from Sudan more than a decade ago. She is grateful for the chance to have met Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, who died in November 2023.
"He came and it was very nice and then joyful. He handed us a Bible. They shake our hands," Zeru said Monday. "But still it is so sorry to lose him … and then to 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 build site the next morning.
Carter's desire to return the following day was a testament to his character, Krahn says.
"His commitment, dedication to people and to affordable housing just rung through and was a true demonstration of his character," he said.
The former president later returned to take pictures with volunteers, and later spoke during the build's closing ceremonies at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Krahn recalled.
The ripple effect of having a big personality such as Carter on the ground assisting with Habitat projects in Winnipeg has been huge as the organization continues to provide housing for more low-income families.
"First lady Rosalynn Carter said that Habitat Manitoba ran the very best and most well organized Carter work project," Krahn said.
"So that was something of a real feather in our cap … and something that really just bolstered us and gave us more of a stage to be able to speak to fellow Manitobans about the need for affordable housing."
Habitat Manitoba presented keys to 22 families across Manitoba in 2024, and the non-profit organization says it's on track to present keys to at least 26 families next year.
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With files from Zubina Ahmed and Santiago Arias Orozco