Despite being diagnosed and treated for cancer, former President Jimmy Carter is expected to travel to Nepal to witness a major project that the Habitat for Humanity organization is staging.
Habitat said a medical team will be with Carter as he celebrates the nonprofit’s 32nd annual Habitat for Humanity Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project. The project will take place November 1 to 6 in Chitwan district, about 100 miles from the capital, Kathmandu, which suffered tremendously in an earthquake earlier this year.
Carter and his wife have been giving a week of their time for this kind of project annually for three decades.
About 1,500 volunteers from Nepal and around the world will help construct permanent homes in the Nayabasti Gairigaun village. “A majority of these families are Dalits, who are considered the lowest group in the Nepali caste system,” according to a news release from Habitat for Humanity. Many Dalits earn $5 to $7 a day working as construction laborers, farmers or garbage collectors, Habitat said. Some have jobs at a poultry farm.
During the previous 31 projects, more than 92,000 volunteers have built, renovated and repaired 3,943 homes in 14 countries, according to Habitat.
“We are so excited that President and Mrs. Carter are going to be able to join us. Their involvement has inspired millions of people around the world to share our vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to call home,” said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. “The two of them bring such energy and enthusiasm to our mission and we look forward to their participation for many more years to come.”