For more than three decades, President and Mrs. Carter traveled the world together, working shoulder to shoulder alongside others who share their vision of what the world can be when people of faith — and people of good faith — take action. It’s just what you do, Mrs. Carter said. “It’s being able to help people, but it’s also being in a place where everybody wants to do something good. That’s what my faith means to me.”
“The first house we ever worked on was in New York City. I told Jimmy that I would help with the food, that I was not going to do hammering. The only thing I had ever done was to nail a nail into the wall to hang a picture. Jimmy asked me and some other women to pry up some linoleum from the floor. Just before we finished, somebody brought some boards for us to nail down. The first day, I was hammering.”
“It hasn’t been easy, sleeping in a tent. But as you can see it is a miracle. Jimmy and I get a lot of attention, but you’re the ones that deserve it as much as we do. We just thank you for all you do for us and for Habitat and for Jesus.” — Mrs. Carter speaking during the 1990 Carter Work Project in Tijuana, Mexico, and San Diego, California
“You come to know the homeowner and love the homeowner family. It has made me a better person.”
“I have become aware of the great needs of people who don’t have a home. They want an opportunity to have good lives. That is what Habitat is about. It just makes you want to keep building more houses.”
“I’m a fairly accomplished carpenter now. I’ve even framed a door, which is not easy. I never dreamed I would be a carpenter. And I really enjoy doing it, too. It is so much fun to see a house go up.”
“Having a home is the catalyst for achieving so many other aspects of a meaningful life.”
“If you could see the expression on the faces of the people when we give them the Bible and the keys to their house, you would know why. It’s the families that keep us going.”
“It really does change their lives and the lives of their whole family. When somebody has a home, they don’t have to struggle as much. They have more time for family, more time for children. It is just life-changing.”
“We do most things together, but this is so different. It is a good feeling to be together with him.”
“The president and Mrs. Carter, you kind of can’t say one without the other. He just shines when she is around. Whatever he is doing on the worksite, he makes sure he knows where she is. President Carter always says she is the boss. She has that quiet, Southern strength, and I admire her so much.” —Trisha Yearwood, speaking about her fellow Habitat Humanitarians in 2017
