Just months after undergoing hip surgery, 94-year-old former President Jimmy Carter has picked up his hammer once again and is back to building homes as part of his work with Habitat for Humanity, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
For the last 35 years, Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, have volunteered with the nongovernmental organization and have assisted in constructing new homes for those in need. And the former president wasn’t about to let a little hip surgery stop him from doing it for the 36th year in a row.
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In March 1984, the Carters began working tirelessly to build affordable housing for people all around the world.
The former first couple have worked alongside more than 100,000 volunteers in 14 countries to build, repair, and renovate over 4,000 homes.
In an effort to extend their work with the organization, the pair founded the Carter Work Project , a week-long event in September that takes place in a different location around the world every year.
This spring, 94-year-old Carter fell and broke his hip while en route to hunt turkey at his Georgia home.
In May, he under went hip replacement surgery, a procedure which left him bed-ridden, though not for very long.
Just a month later, he returned to the Sunday school class he teaches, proving that this passionate philanthropist isn’t ready to to slow down any time soon.
The Carters have announced they will be in Nashville from October 6-11 to help build a total of 21 homes there.
“There have been many times when people have tried to count President Carter out, and they have never been right,” Habitat for Humanity International spokesman Bryan Thomas said. “We are excited that they will both be back.”
Country music star Trisha Yearwood and her husband, Garth Brooks, have built homes alongside the Carters for over a decade.
She said no one would ever question it if the pair would want to take a break from building homes after 35 years.
“But the words ‘Carter’ and ‘retire’ aren’t even in the same vocabulary,” she said . “Everyone deserves a decent place to live, but not everyone can afford it. That’s true in our town too, which is why we’re so excited to give a big Nashville welcome to the Carters.”
Nashville is currently struggling to find a way to house its city’s rapidly growing population.
The boom has allowed for more jobs and opportunities, but this has also resulted in an increase in housing prices, leaving lower-income residents struggling to find affordable housing.
Mayor David Briley recently unveiled a new initiative which he’s called Under One Roof 2029.
As part of this initiative , the city has announced it will invest $750 million over the next 10 years to build 10,000 affordable housing units throughout the city.
