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| President Jimmy Carter welcomes everyone to the Carter Work project |
President Jimmy Carter was rushed to St Boniface hospital in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada after collapsing from dehydration. The former President of the United States had been working in the Winnipeg heat on the Habitat for Humanity project that is part of the 34th Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project.
"President Carter has been working hard all week. He was dehydrated
working in the hot sun and has been taken offsite for observation. He
encourages everyone to stay hydrated and keep building," a statement
from the Carter Center said.
President Carter has been in Canada since Sunday assisting on the Habitat for Humanity Edmonton Carter's place build in the Laurel community of Edmonton, then arriving in Winnipeg last night. The Carter Work Project is expected to build 150 homes across Canada during the 150th birthday year of Canada.
President Carter and his wife Rosalynn worked on home number 46 in the Carter place project before heading to Winnipeg. Temperatures in Winnipeg this morning were around 20 degrees Celcius (64 degrees Fahrenheit) at the time. During his work in Edmonton, he worked full days on the project and kept busy cutting and measuring wood for various homes on the site.
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| Walking in to the Carter Place site on Day 3 |
Edmonton AB - The 34th Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project is half way through it's 5 day build and the houses being built are starting to take shape. In Edmonton, President Jimmy Carter was hard at work along with his wife Rosalynn, working the electrical saws, getting the pieces for staircases ready for the 2 homes across from house 46.
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| President Jimmy Carter Measures out the first cut of the morning |
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| President Jimmy Carter and his Wife Rosalynn Carter work together on cutting down 2x12s for stair risers |
At the same time Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood were putting together the supports for the front entrances and porches on house number 46. Not afraid of a little work Garth was hauling big beams around for the front porches to be built on. He and Tricia spent the day squaring off the supports for the front porch as well as getting the inside prepped and ready for the next part of the build.
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| Trisha Yearwood behind the frames of the interior walls on house 46 at the Carter work Project build |
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| Garth Brooks looks at one of the support posts for the front porch on house 46 of the Carter Work Project |
I had the opportunity to interview Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood to see what it is about the carter projects that keeps them coming back and what some of their special moments are. Tricia fondly remembers their second trip to Haiti after the earthquake and seeing the families that they had built homes for and just how much that house had changed their lives. For Garth it is the point at which they hand over the keys and a bible for the new house to the proud owners, he said that he and Tricia always end up teary eyed afterwards.
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| Garth Brooks hands Trisha Yearwood back her work belt |
When asked about their experience in Canada on this build, Garth was proud of the fact for every home built in Canada, Habitat for Humanity Canada pledged to build another elsewhere in the world, and that it should be goal of every Habitat around the world to the same and that the International should look at having a role similar to that of Canada.
As big as Garth Brooks and Tricia Yearwood are in the Country Music world, on the ground in Canada at the Carter Work Project, they are no different than any of the other 900 Volunteers who will be participating this week.
But it is also the partners who have supplied volunteers, who came from as far as Puerto Rico, Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Ontario, Newfoundland and Maryland to name but a few of the homes from where the volunteers of the 34th Carter Work Project heralded.
Many thanks go out to the sponsors and their employees who volunteered and sponsored this build, Lefarge, TELUS, Schneider Electric, ATB, Dow, Nissan, Stantec, CGC, Owens Corning, Home Depot, Lowes, Hunter Douglas among many others and all levels of government involved.
What was amazing was to listen, to some of the volunteers, as they told stories of some of the other Carter Work Projects they have been to, and why they keep coming back, some paying their own way just to be here. For one this was the 15th they had been involved in.
For 2 others this was their 34th, and without them this would not be possible, "Thank You" to President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter, as a result of the Carter Work Projects over the years over 3944 homes have been built repaired or renovated and over 92000 volunteers have participated. Considering President Carter is 92 and Rosalynn Carter is 89 and the fact they have been married for 71 years last week, they must be doing something right. I think even their assignment of secret service staff may have had trouble keeping up.
As
Habitat for Humanity International Habitat for Humanity Edmonton,
Habitat for Humanity Canada, and
Habitat for Humanity Manitoba move into the home stretch of the 34th Jimmy and Roslynn Carter Work Project, and the completion of 150 homes for Canada's 150th birthday, things are coming together. We will back at the end of day 5 to see how the Carter's Place, Edmonton Build has faired against the clock. There is no doubt that Carter's Place will be welcoming new residents very shortly.
From Zombies to Sesame Street there was a float that kids from 1-100 could enjoy. 
"President Carter has been working hard all week. He was dehydrated
working in the hot sun and has been taken offsite for observation. He
encourages everyone to stay hydrated and keep building," a statement
from the Carter Center said.
