Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter: Habitat for Humanity project to be held in the Dominican Republic in 2020
3 minutes read
Former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter announced the 2020 Carter Work Project by handing a ceremonial tool to Cesarina Fabián and Celso Marranzini of Habitat for Humanity Dominican Republic.
The Dominican Republic will be the 15th country to host Habitat for Humanity’s Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project, the former US President announced today. The announcement of the November 2020 build was made at the close of the 36th Carter Work Project in Nashville, United States.
Since they began working with Habitat for Humanity in 1984, President and Mrs Carter have helped build, renovate and repair 4,390 homes in 14 countries alongside more than 104,000 volunteers through their annual work project. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has served more than 22 million people worldwide.
“We are honoured to host the 2020 Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project in the Dominican Republic,” said Cesarina Fabián, national director of Habitat for Humanity in the Dominican Republic. “President and Mrs Carter are a magnificent example of service. We are so grateful for their commitment to building a world where everyone has a decent and safe place to live.”
The 2020 build will mark the third time the project has been held in the Caribbean. The former president and first lady travelled to Haiti to build alongside homeowners and hundreds of volunteers in 2011 and 2012.
According to the Dominican Republic’s National Statistics Office, the country faces a deficit of more than 2.1 million housing units, which grows by 50,000 to 60,000 each year. Around sixty per cent of the housing deficit is due to the quality and safety of available homes, and around forty per cent is due to a lack of available houses.
This week in Nashville, the Carters joined hundreds of volunteers to build 21 new Habitat for Humanity homes. Another 38 new homes will be built before 2021 with the support of funds raised for the project. In total, the funds raised during the 2019 Carter Work Project will have served 59 Nashville families.
Photos of the Carter Work Project in Nashville and previous projects are available at habitat.ngo/CWPphotos.
About Habitat for Humanity
Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity began in 1976 as a grassroots effort on a community farm in southern Georgia. The Christian housing organisation has since grown to become a leading global nonprofit working in local communities across all 50 states in the US and in more than 70 countries. Families and individuals in need of a hand up partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. Through financial support, volunteering or adding a voice to support affordable housing, everyone can help families achieve the strength, stability and self-reliance they need to build better lives for themselves. Through shelter, we empower. To learn more, visit habitat.org.
About Habitat for Humanity Dominican Republic
With a vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity Dominican Republic empowers families to build strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter. Since its creation in 1986, Habitat for Humanity Dominican Republic has delivered more than 26,000 housing solutions and impacted some 135,000 people. Habitat Dominican Republic contributes to its country by improving the living conditions of families without access to a decent place to live, either because they have no home or because their home is inadequate. It achieves this through several programmes, including building new homes, financial education, disaster response and risk reduction activities, construction capacity building for families and builders, promoting access to microfinance products for home repairs and improvements for low-income families with technical construction assistance, and the help of volunteers. Through shelter, we empower. To learn more, visit habitatdominicana.org.